NaMo Temple is a website, namotemple.org, that calls itself "an online temple of gratitude" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is run by the people behind the proposed Modi temple in Patna, and it names Dr Rajan Singh, the proposer, as its founder. The site offers an online darshan and aarti, the text of the "Modi Chalisa", a merchandise shop and a donation section.
This page explains what the NaMo Temple site offers, who is named as running it, and how its account of the proposal compares with news reports. It is not a review of anyone's faith. We describe the site as we found it on 27 October 2026.
Key takeaways
- namotemple.org describes itself as "the online platform of the proposed Bhagwan Shri Narendra Modi Mandir, Patna". Its founder is listed as Dr Rajan Singh, with two cofounders, "Namaha" and Ritesh Rai.
- Public domain records show the address was registered on 29 September 2026. Most pages carry the date 14 October 2026.
- Visitors can offer virtual flowers, do an online aarti, break a virtual coconut and ring a bell. Aarti times are 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM, Patna time.
- Merchandise orders and donation details are handled over WhatsApp. Donations go to a bank account in the name of "Namaha Bharat Foundation". We could not verify that foundation's registration or tax status.
- The site presents the Board proposal as "passed". Most early reports agree it was approved, but one board member disputed that to Queerbeat, and Queerbeat said the minutes it saw do not mention a temple.
What is NaMo Temple?
The NaMo Temple home page says: "Until the Bhagwan Shri Narendra Modi Mandir rises in Patna, devotees can have darshan here, from anywhere in the world." In other words, it is an online stand-in for a temple that does not exist yet. The physical temple is still a proposal, as our report on the board's 29 July 2026 decision explains.
The site is in English, with headings and the hymn in Hindi. Its menu has sections on the temple proposal, the Chalisa, a "Seva Sankalp Diwas" for Mr Modi's birthday on 17 September, government schemes, Mr Modi's life story, press coverage, a blog, a "join" page, merchandise and donations.
A public lookup of the domain (through the RDAP registry service) shows namotemple.org was first registered on 29 September 2026. Its sitemap lists 22 pages, all last updated on 14 October 2026. So the site is only about a month old.
Who runs namotemple.org?
The home page has a "Founder and Cofounders" section, described as "the people behind the proposed Bhagwan Shri Narendra Modi Mandir". It lists three people.
| Name on the site | Role given on the site | What we could check |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Rajan Singh | Founder, namotemple.org. Proposer of the Mandir. "Hon'ble Member, Bihar State High Level DISHA Committee, Government of Bihar". | News outlets confirm she is a member of the Bihar State Transgender Welfare Board who proposed the temple. Some call her vice-president. We found no public record to confirm the DISHA committee role. |
| Namaha | Cofounder, namotemple.org and of the Mandir. | Only one name is given. Queerbeat reported that a speaker called "Namahjit from Namah foundation" was at the 20 August event. We cannot confirm whether this is the same person. |
| Ritesh Rai | Cofounder, namotemple.org and of the Mandir. | We found no other public information about this person in connection with the temple. |
| NitRit PR and Consulting | Named in the footer: "Developed by NitRit PR and Consulting". | We searched and found no public website or company record under this name. |
The site gives no postal address, email address or legal entity for NaMo Temple itself. Contact is through WhatsApp buttons. That is common for small Indian community projects, but it means readers have little to go on if they want to check who they are dealing with.
For background on the founder, see our profile of Rajan Singh and the Bihar transgender board.
Online darshan and aarti: how it works
The top of the home page shows a picture of a shrine. Visitors can:
- Offer flowers: tap the shrine to shower marigold petals.
- Do the aarti: press a diya (lamp) button and move an aarti plate around the image of Mr Modi three times.
- Break a coconut: place a coconut at the image's feet and tap to break it.
- Ring the bell: "Announce your arrival, as you would at any Mandir."
After the third round of aarti, the site makes a "darshan card" with the visitor's name, ready to share on WhatsApp. The page also shows a "Live Darshan Count" and "Live Aarti Count". We do not report those numbers, because we cannot tell how they are counted.
The listed aarti timings are 7:00 AM (morning aarti) and 7:00 PM (evening aarti). The site says the shrine "follows the time in Patna", with sunrise light in the morning and lamps at night. The join page offers WhatsApp reminders for both aartis.
A note on terms. Darshan means seeing a deity, and aarti is a ritual of waving a lamp. In a temple, these happen before an idol that has been consecrated. No such consecration has taken place here. Our page on what prana pratishtha means explains that step.
The Chalisa page
The site publishes the full "Bhagwan Shri Narendra Modi Chalisa", a forty-verse Hindi hymn praising Mr Modi, on its home page and on a separate Chalisa page. A "read along" button lights up each verse in turn. The site does not name who wrote the hymn.
The hymn was first read in public at the Press Club of India in Delhi on 20 August 2026. We explain what each section of it says, and check the events it mentions, in Modi Chalisa meaning: what the 40 verses say. For the Delhi event itself, see our report on what happened at the Press Club.
The merchandise page
The merchandise page lists eleven items. They include a saffron khadi "Modi Kurta", a maroon "Modi Jacket", a Bihar cotton angocha, a hardbound Chalisa, a framed print of the temple, a brass pooja thali set, a tulsi japa mala, a mug, a tote bag, an agarbatti box and a 2027 calendar.
No prices are shown. The page works in three steps: pick items, add your name and address, then "Send the order on WhatsApp". It says: "Prices, delivery charges and timelines are shared there before payment." It also says product photos are "illustrative". We did not place an order, so we cannot say whether the items exist in stock, what they cost, or who sells them.
The donation section
The home page has a section headed "Donate to the Bhagwan Shri Narendra Modi Mandir". It says donations support "the daily online darshan and aarti, and carrying the proposal for the Bhagwan Shri Narendra Modi Mandir in Patna forward". Money is to be sent by NEFT, IMPS or RTGS to a current account in the name of "Namaha Bharat Foundation". Donors are asked to share their name and transaction reference on WhatsApp. The site adds that NaMo Temple "will never ask you to send money to any other account".
We are not printing the account details here. We also want to be clear about what we did and did not find:
- The donation section does not give a registration number, a PAN, or any statement about tax exemption for the foundation.
- We searched for "Namaha Bharat Foundation" and found no public listing under that exact name. That does not prove it is unregistered. Many small bodies have little online presence.
- The donation text does not say how much has been raised, how money will be used beyond the two aims quoted above, or whether accounts will be published.
- In August, a Patna lawyer asked the Prime Minister's Office to look into whether the PM's name and photo were being used "to obtain financial contributions", Queerbeat reported. That is a complaint, not a finding. We have seen no outcome.
How to check a trust, foundation or 80G status in India
If you are thinking of giving money to any religious or charitable cause, including this one, these checks take a few minutes. They apply to every organisation, not only this site.
- Ask what kind of body it is. A "foundation" in India is usually one of three things: a trust (registered with a local sub-registrar), a society (registered under the Societies Registration Act) or a Section 8 company (a not-for-profit company under the Companies Act, 2013). Ask for the registration number and the date.
- Check a company on the MCA site. If it says it is a Section 8 company, look it up by name or CIN (Corporate Identity Number) on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs master data search. It is free, and it shows the company's status, date of registration and registered address.
- Check tax approval with the Income Tax Department. Donations give a tax deduction only if the receiving body holds a valid approval, long known as Section 80G. The Income Tax Department keeps a public search of exempted institutions, where records list the PAN, registration number, section and date. Ask the body for its 80G number and check that it is current.
- Know the new law. From 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act and renumbered many sections, so a receipt may cite a new section number. The idea is the same: no valid approval, no deduction.
- Ask for a proper receipt. A registered body should be able to give a receipt with its name, PAN and registration number.
- For temple trusts in Bihar, check the state board. Public Hindu religious trusts in Bihar are expected to register with the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts. Our guide to the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950 explains how.
Official websites sometimes change their layout. If a link above does not open, search for "MCA company master data" or "Income Tax exempted institutions" on the official .gov.in sites. Never rely on a screenshot of a certificate sent over chat.
How the site's claims compare with news reports
The site is a supporter's site, and it is open about that. It also gets several basic facts right. Its long explainer on the Patna temple says plainly that "a Board resolution is the start of a proposal, not a sanctioned project", and it reports that the Press Club "had not organised the event". But on some points it gives only one side. This table sets the site's statements next to what reporters found.
| Topic | What namotemple.org says | What news reports say |
|---|---|---|
| Board decision | Status: "Proposal passed by the Bihar State Kinnar Kalyan Board, July 2026". One explainer says it was approved "unanimously". | PTI, Free Press Journal and Drishti IAS reported approval on 29 July 2026. Queerbeat later quoted board member Anupriya Singh calling the temple Rajan Singh's "personal agenda", and said the 29 July minutes it saw do not mention a temple. |
| Meeting date | Most pages say 29 July 2026. One blog post says 31 July 2026. | Reports give 29 July 2026. Drishti IAS published its note on 31 July. |
| Cost, land and statue | A proposed outlay of Rs 112 crore, about 5 acres of land and a life-size gold statue. | These figures come from Rajan Singh's own statements. We found no government sanction. See our Rs 112 crore fact check. |
| 20 August in Delhi | "The Mandir plan was shared with the national press in Delhi, where the Bhagwan Shri Narendra Modi Chalisa was recited." | The Press Club said the hall was booked for a press conference, the terms were broken, and it stopped the event. The site's news page lists a Daily Pioneer story as "Modi Chalisa recited in Delhi", while the paper's own headline adds that the club "says hall booking terms violated". |
| Transgender rights law | The 2019 Act "gave transgender persons the right to self identify". | That was the 2019 position. A 2026 amendment, passed in March, makes a District Magistrate consider a medical board's advice before issuing a certificate. Critics say it weakens self-identification. The site's law explainer does not mention it. See our page on the 2026 amendment. |
| Government response | Says the site "keeps a public record" of the proposal's progress. | We found no statement from the Bihar government, the Prime Minister's Office or the BJP on the temple, up to 27 October 2026. |
One more difference is in wording. The site calls Mr Modi "Bhagwan" (God) on almost every page. News outlets use his official title. That is a matter of belief for the site's founders, and we note it only so readers know the site is devotional, not a neutral news source.
What we do not know
As of 27 October 2026, we could not confirm the following.
- Whether "Namaha Bharat Foundation" is a registered trust, society or Section 8 company, and whether it has 80G approval.
- Who the cofounders "Namaha" and Ritesh Rai are, beyond their names on the site.
- Whether NitRit PR and Consulting is a registered business.
- Whether Rajan Singh sits on a state DISHA committee, as the site says.
- How much money, if any, has been donated, and how it has been used.
If the site's owners publish registration and tax details, we will add them here. You can follow the wider story on our Patna proposal topic page and our timeline.
Common questions
What is namotemple.org?
It is the website of the people proposing a Modi temple in Patna. It calls itself an online temple and offers a virtual darshan, an online aarti, the Modi Chalisa, merchandise and a donation section. Its founder is listed as Dr Rajan Singh.
What are the NaMo Temple aarti timings?
The site lists a morning aarti at 7:00 AM and an evening aarti at 7:00 PM, Patna time. Visitors can do the online aarti at any time.
Is it safe to donate to NaMo Temple?
We cannot say. The site names Namaha Bharat Foundation as the account holder but gives no registration number or tax details, and we could not verify the foundation. Check any organisation's registration and 80G status on official government sites before you give.
Is namotemple.org an official government website?
No. It is a private website run by the temple's proposers. It is not run by the Bihar government, the Transgender Welfare Board or the Prime Minister's Office.
Sources
- NaMo Temple home page: darshan, aarti timings, founders and donation section, accessed 27 October 2026
- NaMo Temple: Modi Mandir merchandise, accessed 27 October 2026
- NaMo Temple: Join the Modi Mandir family, accessed 27 October 2026
- NaMo Temple: Modi Mandir Patna, everything we know, accessed 27 October 2026
- NaMo Temple: In the News, accessed 27 October 2026
- NaMo Temple sitemap, accessed 27 October 2026
- Queerbeat: A Bihar transgender welfare board member hosts a Modi Chalisa at the Press Club of India, 21 August 2026
- Daily Pioneer: Modi Chalisa recited at Press Club of India, PCI says hall booking terms violated, 20 August 2026
- The Week: Modi Chalisa organised at Delhi's Press Club sparks backlash, 20 August 2026
Last checked on 27 October 2026. We describe the site as it appeared on that date, and it may change. Spotted a mistake? Tell us through our contact page.