The parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Om Birla, participated in a prayer session and placed a brick within the construction site, reports Asian Lite News
Om Birla, speaker of India’s lower house of the Parliament along with a 17-member delegation on Wednesday visited BAPS Hindu Mandir, which is under construction, in Abu Dhabi.
Federal National Council member Ayesha Mohammed Al Mulla accompanied the group, who were received and greeted in a traditional way by religious leader Pujya Brahmavihari Swami, the Khaleej Times reported.
Birla is on a first-ever official visit as the Speaker of the Lower House of the Indian Parliament to the UAE.
“Feeling blessed at the Swaminarayan temple being built in Abu Dhabi. In three water streams of the temple, devotees will get virtuous benefit of confluence of Ganga, Yamuna & Saraswati rivers. It was proud moment to see artisans of Rajasthan who are giving shape to these streams,” Birla tweeted.
“Also offered ‘seva’ in construction work of Swaminarayan Mandir. During the visit, interacted with the workers, many of whom were from Bharatpur and Alwar regions of Rajasthan,” he added.
Apart from an overview of the construction work, Brahmavihari Swami also gave a vision of what to expect once the temple is completed, Khaleej Times reported.
Sushil Kumar Modi, who is part of the delegation, said: “Among all the temples across the globe this temple is iconic and historic and marks its position in a different league.”
The delegation participated in a prayer session and placed a brick within the construction site, it was reported.
Brahmavihari Swami added that the purpose of the traditional temple is unification of minds and hearts.
“BAPS Hindu Mandir has brought not just India and the UAE closer together but brought countries, cultures, communities, and religions closer together. We thank the leaders of both the UAE and India for their support and encouragement in creating this spiritual oasis for global harmony,” Swami was quoted as saying.
Later in the day, Consulate General of India in Dubai Dr Aman Puri welcomed Speaker Om Birla.
“Hon’ble @loksabhaspeaker, Om Birla and the accompanying delegation welcomed by CG Dr. Aman Puri to Dubai today,” tweeted Consulate General of India, Dubai.
This is the first-ever visit under the bilateral exchange of parliamentary delegations from either side, read the official release of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The delegation includes Sushil Kumar Modi, Dr Fauzia Tahseen Ahmed Khan, Dr MK Vishnu Prasad, P Ravindhranath, Shankar Lalwani and Dr Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, all Members of Parliament and Utpal Kumar Singh, Secretary-General, Lok Sabha.
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