April 20, 2024 17:29 (IST)
Follow us:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 64
New Delhi, Sept 17 (IBNS): India's 15th Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman Narendra Modi turned 64 years on Wednesday.
While, lavish birthday celebrations are must for almost all politicians, the Prime Minister on Sunday urged people not to celebrate his special day and instead help flood victims in Jammu and Kashmir.
"My humble request- do not celebrate my birthday. Instead, dedicate yourselves towards relief work in J&K through your time & resources," Modi tweeted.
"The need of the hour is to stand shoulder to shoulder with our sisters and brothers of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
The BJP workers across the country had earlier lined up huge celebrations to mark the birthday of their leader.
However, Modi's tweets are expected to have a sobering effect on the party workers who otherwise wanted to make it a grand day especially after the historic win of the BJP led by the Prime Minister himself in the 15th Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.
On his birthday, Modi is also set to receive Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will be visiting Gujarat's Ahmedabad city.
"On 17th, President Xi Jinping will be in Guj. We look forward to extending a warm welcome to him but there will be no birthday celebrations," Modi had said.
The PM is scheduled to host a private dinner for the visiting dignitary after his arrival in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Apart form this, like every year, Modi, who reached Gujarat on Tuesday, met his mother Hira Ba in Gandhinagar on Wednesday morning to seek her blessings.
Born on Sept 17, 1950, Modi was the third of the sixth children of Damodardas Modi and Hiraba Modi.
Modi started off his life as a humble tea seller at Vadnagar station.
He formally joined the RSS in early 1970s and was underground during the Emergency in India declared by Indira Gandhi in 1975.
It was in 1987 that Modi had first joined BJP. When in 1995 the BJP won a majority in Gujarat, began a new journey for Modi. He was the key strategist for the BJP in the 1995 and 1998 campaigns in the state.
He shot into limelight in 2001 when Keshubhai Patel exited as Gujarat chief minister after a devastating earthquake. As Modi stepped into the shoes of Keshubhai, there was no looking back.
He served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat state from 2001 to 2014.
But then came the 2002 riots after the burning down of Hindu kar sevaks (religious volunteers) in a train in Godhra in Gujarat. What followed was unprecedented rioting in Gujarat in which Muslims were killed. It is said about 1000 people and mostly from the minority community lost their lives in the riots when Modi had allegedly not acted enough to save them. Then BJP prime minister at the centre, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had reminded Modi that he should do his "Rajdharma".
However, aided by his tea seller background, which he projected during the campaigning for the 2014 general elections, and also his "Gujarat developmental model", Modi scripted history in India and it was for his arduous skill, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) managed to emerge as the single largest party in the democratic set up of India.
With a landslide election victory in 2014 polls that earned him the most resounding majority in three decades, Modi began a new journey as the Prime Minister of India.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
Doordarshan unveils new saffron-coloured DD News logo, ex-CEO Jawhar Sircar slams move Sat, Apr 20 2024
Love jihad is spreading: Karnataka Congress corporator, whose daughter was killed, contradicts Siddaramaiah's claims Sat, Apr 20 2024
Karnataka Congress corporator's daughter killed; CM Siddaramaiah cites 'personal reasons' Sat, Apr 20 2024
Indian-origin man Banmeet Singh sentenced to five years in prison in US for selling controlled substances on dark web marketplaces Sat, Apr 20 2024
'Had mangoes only three thrice, sweets 6 times in jail': Arvind Kejriwal counters ED claims in court Sat, Apr 20 2024
'Great response, people voting for NDA in record numbers': PM Modi on first phase turnout Fri, Apr 19 2024
'Opposition got donations through bonds, is that extortion as well?' Amit Shah slams Rahul Gandhi Fri, Apr 19 2024
Millions of Indians vote in the biggest phase of Lok Sabha polls, 60.03 pct turnout recorded Fri, Apr 19 2024