Gandhinagar, May 23 – Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, congratulating him on the BJP’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections, party sources said Thursday. They said Gandhi wrote to Modi Tuesday.
Sonia Gandhi and her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi had not mentioned Modi by name when they addressed the media after the results came out May 16. Sonia Gandhi then congratulated “the new government” while taking responsibility for the party’s poor performance.
BJP leaders had taken exception to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi not congratulating Modi soon after the election results came out, saying that he had been felicitated by several world leaders.
Earlier in the day, PM-designate Narendra Modi left Gandhinagar for Delhi after an emotional farewell from his 90-year-old mother. She blessed her son and gifted him Rs.101. Heeraba offered her son sweets as he set off for Delhi to take oath as the country’s new prime minister on May 26.
“Met my Mother before leaving for Delhi,” tweeted Modi, who resigned as the Gujarat chief minister on Wednesday. In a series of tweets, he also expressed gratitude for his security staffers, who, he said, always prayed for his well-being.
“As I was leaving for Delhi I got to know something from my personal staff. It was a pleasant surprise that was extremely touching. Driver & security staff set up a small Temple of Ramcharitmanas in my Govt. car where for over 12 years they prayed for my security daily.
Several security personnel prayed in this Temple daily for years! I don’t know how many such people’s good wishes have come to me. Security staff did a phenomenal job in their duty but the feeling with which they prayed for my well-being is something I wont ever forget.
I don’t have any words to express my gratitude to them. I bow to them & salute them from the bottom of my heart,” he said. Modi takes over as the new PM on Monday.
-INDIA TODAY
