Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Feb 8 (IANS): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived here Friday to pray at a temple site where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment, on the first day of a two-day trip to India.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar received him at the Gaya international airport, an official said.
"Rajapaksa and his delegation flew in to offer prayers at the Mahabodhi temple," a police official told IANS in Gaya, about 100 km from Patna.
He immediately left for the temple, where he is likely to spend an hour.
Security was tight in and around Bodh Gaya in view of the CPI-ML's threat to stage a protest against Rajapaksa.
Bodh Gaya's 1,500-year-old Mahabodhi Temple is considered the holiest Buddhist shrine. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.