PM Modi's presence at Kullu Dussehra marks his constant celebration of Indian festivals

New Delhi: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to attend the famous Kullu Dussehra celebrations on Wednesday, officials said he has made it a point over the course of his tenure to participate in celebrating numerous Indian festivals.

Modi will visit Dhalpur Ground Kullu in Himachal Pradesh to participate in the International Kullu Dussehra Festival and witness this unique rath yatra of more than 300 deities. He will be the first prime minister to attend the historical Dussehra event, they noted.

Recently, he visited Gujarat and participated in the Navratri festival in Ahmedabad. He had also gone to Union minister Piyush Goyal's residence, where an idol of Lord Ganesha was installed, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi in August.

Similarly, officials said, the prime minister celebrated Raksha Bandhan with the daughters of his office's staff. On the occasion of Bihu in April, he had attended the celebrations at the residence of Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who hails from Assam.

In the same month, he attended the 400th Prakash Purab celebrations of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur at Red fort, they said.

On the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti in February, he visited a temple dedicated to social reformer and revered saint Ravidas, who has a huge following especially among the Dalits, in Karol Bagh here and participated in the 'Shabad Kirtan'.

On December 25 last year on the occasion of Guru Purab, the prime minister addressed devotees at Gurudwara Lakhpat Sahib in Gujarat, they noted.

In November 2020, he participated in the 'Dev Deepawali' festival in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi. In April 2018, he had joined the celebrations on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, they said.

On the occasion of the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Sikh guru Gobind Singh, Modi attended the event in Patna Sahib in October 2017.

In February 2017, he visited Coimbatore and unveiled a 112-foot iconic statue of Adiyogi Lord Shiva while he had celebrated Dussehra in Lucknow in October 2016, they noted.