SRINAGAR: A jeweller from Jammu affiliated with BJP has crafted a 3-kg lotus flower — the symbol of the party — in pure silver as a gift for Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi on assuming office for the third term on Sunday.
Rinku Chauhan, a resident of Muthi village on the outskirts of Jammu, said the idea to present the unique gift to Modi came to his mind after the BJP government fulfilled its promise of revoking Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and constructed Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya.
“It took me 15 to 20 days to prepare this gift for our beloved prime minister. I have personally crafted the Lotus flower in silver and am waiting to present it to him,” Chauhan, spokesperson of the party’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), told PTI at his residence.
He was expelled by the party in 2018 for supporting an independent candidate — his wife — against the party’s official candidate in Urban Local bodies elections. However, his expulsion was revoked within a few weeks.
Chauhan, who is affiliated with BJP for the past nearly two decades, said he was confident of Modi’s return for the third term, given his good work and popularity across the country.
“The abrogation of Article 370 ended stone-pelting and helped in restoring peace in Kashmir. The construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was pending for the last 500 years,” he said.
Displaying the well-framed gift, he said he used all his experience and “my soul rests in it. I hope Modi will like this gift as he is like a god to me.”
His wife Anjali Chauhan said they are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister to hand over this gift to him.
Meanwhile, a group of Yoga enthusiasts performed their routine morning exercise at Mubarak Mandi in the old city with special prayers for Modi for the successful tenure of next five years.
The participants were seen carrying ‘Modi masks’ and also chanted slogans like ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, expressing happiness over BJP returning to power for the third term.
“Nobody can replace Modi and I am happy he will be back as Prime Minister of the country. We voted for Modi,” Sonia Tandon told PTI.
BJP candidates Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore retained their Udhampur and Jammu Lok Sabha seats for the third time in a row, defeating rival Congress candidates by over one lakh margin each.
“This is a great day for the country as Modi is assuming power once again with the support of the people,” remarked Poonam Sachdev.
Pooja Kapoor expressed hope that the Modi led government will come up with new welfare schemes for the public and work towards making India more famous at the world stage.
