THE MODI COVENANT A Promise of Empathy

The narrators shed light on PM Modi’s nurturing and affectionate demeanour, revealing innate humanity within him. Regardless of his position, PM’s grounded nature shines through, with myriad other qualities he possesses and lots more...

The human side of PM Modi - Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister

That was my first budget speech as finance minister. It was a two-and-ahalf hour budget speech and I had no idea beforehand that it would be so long. I hadn’t had water before coming and during the session also I didn’t drink and as a result after sometime I was dehydrated.

People seated around me were wondering what was wrong with me and slowly I had to sit down without being able to read out the full budget piece. Four or five paragraphs were left to be finished when I urged the honourable speaker to consider it as read as I was unable to continue any further.

I hadn’t yet reached home when there was a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. He asked me, what have you done? Please take care of yourself, and then he kept the phone down. In a short time, he sent his personal doctor to take care of me. He told him, conduct all the necessary tests, check her up and ensure that she is alright.

And after that day, even today, he periodically asks about my well being and reminds me to take proper care of myself. He doesn’t have to. There are so many ministers who could do this. If you are going to take care of yourself you are going to serve, or else I am sorry. It is as simple as that. But no. The PM will make sure that you take care of yourself.

So, that care, that tenderness in him... He is seen as a tough, big and serious leader, but he has got that human element in his heart. That’s what I want to highlight.

How artist Chhagan Jadhav got global recognition due to Modi - Dr Rizwan Kadri, Historian

An artist named Chhaganlal Jadhav, who belonged to the scheduled caste and was associated with Mahatma Gandhi from the age of 12, had drawn live images of the Mahatma during his historic Dandi march. He drew pencil sketches of Gandhi ji at six different spots during his journey apart from other incidents of those days. Thus it became a pictorial document of the march as well as events surrounding Mahatma Gandhi.

When Acharya Swami ji presented the coffee table book to PM Modi in 2018, he immediately recognised Chhaganlal Jadhav’s work and cried in excitement, oh this is the drawing of Chhaganlal Jadhav. He then decided to hold an exhibition of the works of the artist. This was a unique pictorial document of the independence struggle which had no parallel in the country.

In the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi, the largest of its kind, the exhibition was put up that continued for around eight months. The artist of Ahmedabad from the SC community made the pictorial documentation from 1930-1948 and it was revealed to the world for the first time due to the innovation and effort of Narendra Modi.

On March 12, 2021, at Abhay Ghat, Sabarmati, near Ahmedabad’s Bapu Ashram, when the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav was to be held, on the PM’s directions the paintings and drawings were exhibited again. Chhaganlal Jadhav soon got global recognition due to these steps.

The leader who cares... - Jitender Singh Shunty, Former MLA and social worker, Delhi

During the time of the Covid pandemic, I used to get calls all through the day to perform the final rites. Everyone wanted to get it done early. My crematorium at Seemapuri started receiving dead bodies. I didn’t go home for around 21 days.

I lived on the fourth floor and residents of my building objected that I was at the crematorium the whole day and I would thus be carrying the infection back home, which could lead to its spread. One night, while performing the final rites around 2:30 AM, my driver told me that there was a call for me from the PMO. My hands were full at that time so I asked him to hold the phone close to my ear.

On the other side of the phone, there was a voice that told me, Shunty ji, I have been watching you on television for a long time. The whole country is with you. Keep on with the service you are doing. Take care of the unidentified abandoned bodies..I thanked him and when I asked who I was speaking to, the voice on the other side said, I am Narendra Modi speaking!

The Prime Minister of the country, calling up a common man like me at the dead of night to motivate and thank me for my service, shows how meticulous he is and how he worries about the whole nation. I have shared this on several platforms. For me, I got to learn that irrespective of the position one achieves, one must always be down to earth. This is a great learning of life I realised after Modi ji’s call that night.

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA