Bhubaneswar:
Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi is visiting Odisha on Tuesday and is scheduled to meet the Puri Shankaracharya.
According to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr Modi will reach Bhubaneswar airport at 9:15 am by a chartered flight. He will then leave for Puri by road. On his way, Mr Modi is scheduled to pay tribute to "Pancha-Sakha" (five legends) at Sakhigopal as a mark of respect towards Odiya heros, Odisha BJP president KV Singhdeo said. Mr Modi will wrap up his one-day visit at 4:45 pm.
The BJP says that Mr Modi's Odisha visit is non-political. "(The Gujarat CM's) Odisha visit is totally non-political. He would seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath. He is a devotee of the Lord and used to perform the 'chhera pahanra' (sweeping of the chariots) for the car festival in Ahmedabad," Mr Singhdeo said.
Though no public meeting has been planned, Mr Modi will meet a gathering of state BJP leaders at a hotel in Puri before departing from the holy town, the party said.
There is tight security cover in the state for Mr Modi's visit. "The personnel of CISF and Odisha Police have been deployed for security during Modi's visit," Sarat Kumar, the director of Bhubaneswar's Biju Patnaik Airport, said.
The entire route from the airport to Sri Jagannath Temple at Puri is being manned by security personnel.
"Since Modi gets Z-plus category protection, we have made all necessary arrangement for his visit," said Puri Superintendent of Police Anup Kumar Sahoo.