A 365-kg laddu and greetings and praise from leaders from within and outside the country marked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 65th birthday on Thursday even as his personal twitter account greeted those who accessed it with multi-colour balloons.
For Modi though, it was like any other day as he went about attending to his official engagements without any celebration. Among them was a visit to ‘Shauryanjali’, a commemorative exhibition on the Golden Jubilee of India’s triumph over Pakistan in the 1965 war at the Rajpath lawns here.
“This special day comes as you complete more than fifteen months as the Prime Minister of our great nation. The last year has been an important period filled with significant achievements for you personally and our country. Your hard work, dynamism and out of the box thinking has received wide appreciation in the country and abroad,” President Pranab Mukherjee was quoted by his official spokesman Venu Rajamony as saying.
Mukherjee complimented Modi on his accomplishments and said, “May the Almighty bless you with good health, happiness and many more years of dedicated service to the nation.” In his response, Modi tweeted, “Dear Rashtrapati ji, deeply humbled by your good wishes. Thank you very much. One learns so much from your wisdom & insight.”
Modi was greeted by leaders from across the political divide, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah.
Among the foreign leaders to greet him were Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Modi thanked them via Twitter.
BJP President Amit Shah said on the microblogging website he prays to God for his “long life and good health”. Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma unveiled a 365 kg ‘ladoo’ to celebrate Modi’s 65th birthday here and said there can’t be a better way of celebrating it than declaring the occasion as ‘Swachhta Diwas’ (Cleanliness Day).