Couple Goals: Sunak, wife do thoda pyar, lots of puja at Akshardham

NEW DELHI | Updated: 10 September, 2023 1:10 pm IST

Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty perform Aarti in Akshardham temple in New delhi

NEW DELHI: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who proudly calls himself a “proud Hindu”, visited Akshardham in the early hours of Sunday morning to pay a visit to the Hindu temple, with his wife Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Infosys CEO Narayana and author Sudha Murthy.

Visuals show Sunak performing aarti at the Swaminarayan temple near the Yamuna river. He was spotted with numerous temple seers proclaiming and owning up his Hinduism, despite being in the United Kingdom for almost his entire life.

His wife was also seen accompanying him, with a picture being released with both of them standing on the grounds of the hallowed place of worship. The couple was presented with a miniature model of the temple as a prize for their devotion.

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Taking some time off from the hubbub of the G20 Summit which is being held at the Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, India’s son-in-law and Akshata, found their way to Akshardham.

*Rishi Sunak, British PM, and wife Akshata Murthy, praying at Akshardham temple, as a proud Hindu*

The temple had been inaugurated in 2005 by Pramukh Swami Swaraj of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), which had been then dedicated to the nation by the then President APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition LK Advani.

Before Sunak’s arrival at the temple, security personnel of the British PM had been deployed to secure the premises. Playing true to his Hindu roots, he had earlier said that he wanted to visit temples in Delhi, proclaiming his love and respect for PM Narendra Modi.

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Ahead of the G20 Summit, on the occasion of Janmashtami, he said, “I am a proud Hindu. That’s how I was raised, that’s how I am. Hopefully, I can visit the Mandir while I am here for the next couple of days. We just had Rakshabandhan, so from my sister and my cousin, I have all my Rakhis.”

This was Sunak’s first visit to India as the sitting Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and he has said that he will be staying in the capital for another day to “make up for missing out on Janmashtami”.

Around three weeks back, Sunak attended a Ram Katha by Morari Bapu at Cambridge University in the UK and thundered: ‘Jai Siya Ram’. “Bapu, I am here today as the Prime Minister, but as a Hindu,” he told the spiritual leader.