Giant laddu, special racquet: Gifts pour in on PM, Modi’s birthday

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Sept 17: A Union minister unveiled a 365-kg ladoo while school children in Uttar Pradesh sent a 65-metre cloth to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday, which was marked by a torrent of greetings and wishes on social media.
 
Tourism and culture minister, who presented the massive ladoo, suggested that the best way to celebrate the occasion would be to declare it a “cleanliness day”.
 
"A clean India would not only attract more tourists but also make it free of several diseases. There can’t be a better way of celebrating Modiji’s birthday than declaring it as ’Swacchta Diwas,” Sharma said at an event organised by Sulabh International to mark Modi’s birthday.

 

Modi had launched the Swachch Bharat mission last year to involve people in a movement for a clean and hygienic India.
 
Kumar said the world is looking at India and hoping for its guidance under Modi. “I am at pains when international tourists coming to India take with them photographs of garbage dumps (rather) than its rich culture, knowledge and science," he said.
 
At Mahoba district in Uttar Pradesh, more than 10,000 schoolchildren sent a 65-metre cloth with wishes to the Prime Minister on his 65th birthday. They also demanded the setting up of an AIIMS-like health facilities a "return gift".
 
“Children sent their wishes to the PM with an expectation of (approval of) an AIIMS as a return gift to the residents of this district, which lacks basic health facilities," said Tara Patkar, coordinator of the campaign.
 
Residents of Mahoba have adopted novel ways to draw Modi’s attention to their demand. They have sent him more than 200,000 letters in 18 languages and “selfies with patients”. The sick in Mahoba have to be sent to Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra and neighbouring Madhya Pradesh for treatment.

President Pranab Mukherjee was among those who greeted Modi on his birthday, saying the Prime Minister’s dynamism had been widely appreciated abroad. “This special day comes as you complete more than 15 months as the Prime Minister…Your hard work, dynamism and out-of-the-box thinking has received wide appreciation in the country and abroad," he said.
 
Star shuttler Saina Nehwal, who gifted the Prime Minister one of her racquets on the eve of his birthday, said she was impressed with Modi’s knowledge of sports. “The meeting lasted for about half an hour and I was surprised that he knew about my family and my game so comprehensively as if he was a family member," she said.
 
“I wished him all the best ahead of his 65th birthday (and) presented him my racquet with which I played the World Championship final. He was kind enough to receive it and told me that he will put it as a precious item in the list of gifts given to the Prime Minister," she added.