Modi undertakes roadshow, pays homage to 1998 blast victims in Coimbatore

Prime Minister Modi pays homage to Coimbatore bomb blast victims during a roadshow ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

After taking out a roadshow covering 2.5 km in Coimbatore on Monday, ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to the 58 people who died in a series of bomb blasts 26 years ago — on February 14, 1998, in the city.

Amid shouting of slogans “Modi Modi”, “Meendum Modi”, “We Want Modi”, “Jai Shri Ram”, and “Bharat Matha Ki Jai” by the BJP cadre and supporters, who had lined up on either side of the road, Mr. Modi arrived at R.S. Puram, which was one of the places of the serial blasts.

He spent around four minutes at the spot, paying floral tributes to those who had lost their lives and also enquiring with S.R. Sekhar, State treasurer of the party, about the blasts.

Mr. Sekhar posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a floral tribute to the victims of the Coimbatore bomb blast in 1998. I have reminded him of those tearful moments. He enquired about the pain I have endured as a survivor of the bomb blast. His gesture touched my heart deeply. I am proud to be a part of Modi Parivar!”.

People, including children and the elderly, started arriving at the venue at R.S. Puram from 4 p.m. and waited behind barricades for almost three hours. A group of people that had come from tribal hamlets in the district performed the traditional dance as they waited for Mr. Modi to arrive.

Prabha, a local resident who had come with her children, said she was a big fan of Mr. Modi.

“The Prime Minister is paying tribute to all those who died in the bomb blasts, including Muslims,” K. Annamalai, BJP State president, told presspersons earlier in the day.