NaMo: PEOPLE’S PM, A POWERFUL LEADER!

The narrator brings to us the multidimensional and versatile aspects of PM Modi’s personality. From being a compassionate caretaker of the karyakartas, to being a talented photographer and a dynamic leader, PM Modi indeed is the greatest Prime Minister India has ever had! An acquaintance of mine was unwell and was about to undergo a kidney transplant. He was an employee with a company but his salary wasn’t enough to fund for his transplant. We then tried to find out what help we could have received from the PM and CM Relief fund. We approached Narendrabhai who was the CM at that time and also informed him that we had approached the PM. It was Dussehra that day and shastra pooja was being conducted at CM’s residence. Media was also present on the occasion and as a photographer, I was present at that event that day.

As I found an opportunity, I tried to convey my message to the CM that there is a needy person here who cannot afford a kidney transplant and that he needs the CM’s help at the earliest. Although the patient did not fall into the bracket of beneficiaries for the particular scheme, yet we request the CM to make this happen somehow to save his life. Here I would like to bring out the compassionate side of Modiji. Immediately, he called for his Secretary and said that he wants the file on his table the next day. Narendra bhai sanctioned the grant for the person’s treatment. A fund of Rs 175000 was released from the CM Relief Fund towards my acquaintance’s kidney transplant. The day Modiji signed the file, I received a call from him and he said to me in Gujarati “What you had requested for has been sanctioned. If you need anything else, let me know. The operation is going on right now at Nadiad Kidney Institute. So don’t worry!”

In fact the very first time I mentioned about my problem to him, he spoke with somebody at Nadiad Kidney Institute and told the relevant department to fix up a date for the transplant and to commence with the procedures. Later on, the patient, who is a relative asked me “Brother, who did you ask to call for my help after all? The hospital got a call from the CM office, my file was moved immediately and I got a date for the operation.” I wish to bring to the readers the truth about the deep bonds PM Modi shares with his karyakartas. He worries about them, lends an ear to those in a crisis and ensures their well-being. Not just this, Narendra bhai is a multifaceted personality. He has a knack for photography and he would tell me that he is passionate about it. He used to recall his yatra to Kailash Mansarovar and how in those days when such high-tech cameras were not available, he still possessed an extraordinary collection of pictures clicked by him during his trip. And, when I saw the photographs clicked by Narendra bhai, they were simply mind blowing. They were worth putting up in an exhibition! Not just this, he also possessed an eye for good photography and appreciated the nicely clicked pictures printed in the newspapers.

Once in the month of saawan, I clicked a picture of the Brahmins, pujaris and sadhus worshiping the shivling with all the gods and goddesses and I captured it in a frame outlined by a rudraksh mala. It was a front page photo. Narendra bhai was due to fly to America the next day in the morning. But he still called me up early in the morning at 7 o’clock and said “Congratulations! You are a good photographer. It is a wonderful photograph.” So this is how Narendra bhai would encourage talent and good work. It is in his nature to appreciate people and inspire them to rise higher.

Another event I remember is vividly is when Narendra bhai reached Surendranagar in Gujarat late in the night. Vijayabhai Rupani was the General Secretary then. Surendranagar was undergoing severe water crisis and Narendra bhai said that every time he would visit the state when he was the pracharak, people would ask how many days he would be staying there because water was a major problem in the town. People had to literally fetch water from nearby places in buckets and cans on a weekly basis. So if he would say that he is going to stay for three or four days, people would make arrangements for adequate water for that much time. Narendra bhai was fully aware of this grave problem and he promised that this problem would be addressed on a priority basis. The first step he took after assuming the position of the CM was to have new pumping stations set up that would lift Narmada canal water from the Saurashtra branch canal. In a bid to solve this problem, Narendra bhai launched a Rs 320 crore pipeline project and today there is no drinking water problem for the residents of Surendranagar.

Thus, being a true leader, he never forgot his experiences at the grassroots level. The issues and difficulties of people that he came across during his pracharak days remained etched in his memory. And during his CM tenure, he ensured that he addressed each and every problem he knew existed at the ground level. Narendra bhai’s approach as a leader is to treat even the smallest problems with immediacy and sort out issues bothering the people at lightning speed. To be continued...

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA AND SHWETA SHARMA