Modi to attend Combined Commanders Conference in Bhopal; flag off Vande Bharat train

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal on Saturday (April 1) to take part in the ongoing Combined Commanders Conference and also flag off a Vande Bharat Express train service to Delhi.

However, a roadshow scheduled to be held to welcome and thank the PM stands cancelled due to Thursday’s Indore temple tragedy in which 36 persons died, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary said.

As per sources, the PM will arrive here and take part in the Combined Commanders Conference at 10 am on Saturday, and he will flag off the Vande Bharat Express from Rani Kamlapti railway station in Bhopal to Delhi at 3:15 pm.

Also read: Images: Modi pays a surprise visit to new Parliament building

In view of the temple tragedy in Indore, the proposed roadshow to honour the PM has been cancelled, MP BJP chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma told reporters.

Thirty-six persons were killed after the floor of a temple built on top of a “bawdi” or stepwell caved in during Ram Navami celebrations on Thursday.

A havan (fire ritual) was being held at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple located in Patel Nagar area at the time.

Also read: Indore temple stepwell collapse death toll rises to 35; probe ordered

The Combined Commanders Conference is being held on the theme ‘ready, resurgent, relevant’ and will see deliberations over a spectrum of issues pertaining to national security, including jointness and theaterisation in the armed forces.

(With agency inputs)