Screengrab from a video showing kanwariya Rupendra Tomar carrying a statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his shoulders.
Credit: X/@ShadabKhanPost
Haridwar: A 'kawnariya' caught eyeballs here as he carried a statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his shoulders during the pilgrimage.
A pathologist by profession, Rupendra Tomar has travelled on foot all the way from Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh to Haridwar with Modi's statue on his shoulders.
Tomar, a Shiva devotee like the prime minister, bathed Modi's statue in the Ganga at Har ki Pauri.
"When Modi became prime minister for the third time, we had resolved that we will take his statue to Haridwar and bathe it in the Ganga," Tomar said.
A diehard Modi fan, Tomar said he also wants to meet the prime minister and gift Ganga water and the statue to him.
"PM Modi is a devotee of Bhagwan Shiv and I am a devotee of Modi ji," he said.
"The prime minister has dedicated the Ram Temple in Ayodhya to Hindus. The whole country is happy with his achievements," he said.
The statue weighs eight-and-a-half kg and it took two to three months to prepare the statue, Tomar said.
The pilgrim said so far he has spent Rs 70 to 80 thousand on this journey.
After the holy bath, he left for Baghpat with the statue on his shoulders.