40 pictures from PM Modi's Varanasi visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, inaugurated phase-1 of the newly-constructed Kashi Vishwanath Dham. He offered prayers at Kaal Bhairav temple and took a cruise boat from Khirkiya Ghat to Lalita Ghat to visit Kashi Vishwanath temple. He also took a holy dip in the Ganges. A large number of people thronged the streets when his convoy headed to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, where he offered prayers and planted a Rudraksha tree on the premises of the temple. PM Modi also had lunch with the workers involved in the construction work of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor. He also took part in the Ganga aarti at Ravidas Ghat along with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other Chief Ministers, deputy Chief Ministers of BJP ruled-states and top BJP leaders. PM Modi said, "Tyrants attacked this city, tried to destroy it. History is witness to Aurangzeb's atrocities, his terror. He tried to change civilisation with the sword. He tried to crush culture with fanaticism. But the soil of this country is different from the rest of the world. Here if an Aurangzeb comes, a Shivaji also rises."