PM Modi turns 74; Prez, V-P, leaders extend wishes

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 74 on Tuesday, with President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and other dignitaries and politicians extending their best wishes to him. Modi spent most of his day in Odisha during which he launched the state government’s flagship women-centric initiative, Subhadra Yojana, besides railway and national highway projects.

Speaking at an event in Bhubaneswar, Modi recalled how he used to visit his mother on his birthday and take her blessings.“Before coming here, I went to the home of an Adivasi family to attend their Grih Pravesh event...My sister in that family gave me khiri to eat. And when I was eating that Khiri, it was obvious for me to remember my mother. When my mother was alive, I always used to visit her on my birthday to seek her blessings. My mother used to feed me ‘Gud’ by hand. She is not there anymore but my Adivasi mother fed me kheer.”