INDIA's Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) speaker Om Birla visited the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, London, on 11 January during his official visit to the UK.
The visit followed an invitation from Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the UK House of Commons.
Birla was welcomed by the swamis of the Mandir and toured the temple, observing its spiritual and cultural traditions. Discussions included BAPS’s activities in India, and Europe, and the construction of a new temple in Paris.
Birla had previously led a delegation to the BAPS Hindu Mandir site in Abu Dhabi in 2022 and met Mahant Swami Maharaj in New Delhi later that year.
Sanjay Kara, a trustee for BAPS in the UK, expressed gratitude for the visit, noting its importance in strengthening ties between the UK and India.
Stills from Andaz Apna Apna
Stills from Andaz Apna Apna
Vinay Kumar Sinha
Pope Francis greets Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit near Bari, Italy, in June last year, as Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and then British prime minister Rishi Sunak look on
