For at least eight MPs cutting across party lines, it was a pleasant surprise on Friday afternoon when they received a call from the Prime Minister’s Office saying PM Narendra Modi wanted to meet them in Parliament. Amongst the MPs was Union Minister L Murugan, BJD Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Batra, senior Lok Sabha MP NK Prema Chandran, TDP MP Ram Mohan Naidu, BSP MP Ritesh Pandey, BJP’s Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal and BJP’s Nagaland S Phangnon Konyak.
When the MPs reached the PMO, they were asked to wait a short while, following which PM Modi joined them. To their surprise, the PM told them: “I want to take you out for a punishment!” The curious MPs found themselves being led by the Prime Minister to the canteen for MPs on the first floor of the Parliament building.
Soon, the MPs were sitting down to lunch with PM Modi, the bites punctuated by an hour of conversations, both political and personal.
Sources say among the first questions put to PM Modi by an MP was ‘what is your favourite dish’? And prompt came the PM’s reply – khichdi.
Asked how he managed his time and dealt with the work pressure even while travelling and working late hours, PM Modi is said to have replied: “I am used to working for long hours; sometimes, I don’t realise that I haven’t slept for an entire day.” The PM reportedly added that his experience as the Chief Minister of Gujarat comes in handy.
Among the more serious questions, an MP asked the Prime Minister about his unscheduled visit to the wedding of Nawaz Sharif’s daughter in Pakistan in 2015.
Recalling the lead-up to the surprise visit, the PM said he was in Parliament till 2pm that day and then left for a scheduled visit to Afghanistan. He said that on the way back from Afghanistan, he decided to stop over in Pakistan, but the SPG declined. He said he called up Sharif nonetheless, asking if the Pakistan premier was ready to receive him. Once the security arrangements on both sides received an all clear, the PM landed in Pakistan.
Some MPs also wanted to understand the handling of the Covid-19 crisis from the PM’s point of view. Sources say PM Modi told the lawmakers that his experience of managing the situation post the devastating 2001 earthquake in Bhuj, Gujarat came in handy. He added that he was also able to rely on that experience to advise the Nepal government post the April 2015 earthquake that struck the Himalayan nation.
One of the MPs told News18 that while there was no set format for the conversation with the PM, it was the lawmakers who were “setting the agenda”. “The Prime Minister was listening to us while we kept on asking question after question.”
Towards the end of the chat, an MP asked the Prime Minister how he unwinds and relaxes. “I do yoga without fail and keep my mind and body relaxed through various forms of exercise and meditation,” Modi is said to have replied.
“Look, I am eating food with you and I am completely relaxed. I am not a PM 24×7 or wherever I go. I am as much as a normal human being as each one of you.”
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