London: Pictures of London’s first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan visiting city’s famous Shri Swaminarayan temple in Neasden, have gone viral on social media.
A few days before he was elected as London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan pay a visit to the temple, interacted with people and also participated in some of the rituals, as reported by NDTV.
He can be seen in the pictures where a Hindu priest is seen tying a string around his wrist.
In one of his posts on his Facebook page on May 03, Sadiq Khan said, “Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden is one of my favourite places in London.”
“The temple is an incredible testament to the dedication of the local community, who worked so hard to build the biggest Hindu Temple outside of India.
“As Mayor, I will stand up for London’s Indian community, and strengthen London’s friendship with India. I look forward to leading a trade delegation to India at the earliest opportunity,” his Facebook post said.
Son of a Pakistani bus driver, Mr Khan grew up to become a human rights lawyer, an MP and later transport minister in the Gordon Brown government.
“My life story will be familiar to many Londoners of Indian origin. My parents moved here to build a better life for their family in the 1970’s. They instilled a real work ethic in us kids, and huge respect for education, entrepreneurship and community,” his post read.
Mr. Khan had said he looked forward to his next visit to Shri Swaminarayan Mandir as Mayor of London.
“I look forward to my next visit to Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, hopefully, as Mayor of London,” he added.