Uttar Pradesh: PM Narendra Modi to touch Kushinagar on way to Nepal on May 16

LUCKNOW: Nearly seven months after he inaugurated the Kushinagar airport in October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to use the facility to fly to Nepal to pay a visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha in Nepal, on Buddh Purnima on May 16.
"The PM would land at the newly constructed Kushinagar airport from where he would visit a Buddha temple, situated around 4km away.Later, he would leave for Nepal in a chopper," a senior BJP leader familiar with the development told TOI. He said the official schedule of the PM was expected soon after which a formal announcement would be made.
The leader said after returning to Kushinagar, the PM was likely to reach Lucknow where he would interact with the ministers of the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. He would return to Delhi the same day. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will welcome the Prime Minister in Kushinagar and accompany him back to Lucknow.
Modi's visit to Kushinagar gains significance against the backdrop of BJP's growing overtures to consolidate the support of Dalits, who often embrace Buddhism. Political analysts said the PM's visit could help the BJP strike a fresh chord with Dalits, who are the core voters of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
On Thursday, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) had announced that PM Modi would visit Lumbini on Buddha Purnima. This will be his fifth visit to Nepal since assuming office in 2014 but the first after his re-election in 2019. Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Lumbini.
The two leaders are also scheduled to visit the Mayadevi Temple, dedicated to Buddha's mother. They will attend a foundation-laying ceremony for a centre for Buddhist culture and heritage, the MEA said in a statement.