- Monday, April 28, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was back to work hours after he cremated his mother Heeraben Modi who passed away at a hospital in Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat on Friday (30) at the age of 99.
Although he did not visit the eastern state of West Bengal to flag off an elite semi-high-speed train and inaugurate other projects and attend meetings, the prime minister virtually attended them. He even took out time to speak to the family of India cricketer Rishabh Pant who got seriously injured in a car accident the same day and was admitted in a hospital in Uttarakhand in north India.
While many were surprised to see the prime minister not retreating from his busy schedule despite the personal tragedy (Bengal chief minister and Modi critic Mamata Banerjee even advised him to take rest at the train-inauguration ceremony), it was not something new for Modi’s old colleagues.
Dilip Trivedi, general secretary of the Hindu right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad, for instance, said that when Modi lost his father Mulchand Modi in 1989, he did not pause and attended a meeting after the funeral, just as he did on Friday.
“There was an important meeting in Ahmedabad. We were informed that Narendra Modi’s father passed away and he went to Vadnagar. We thought he would not be able to come to the meeting. But Narendra Modi came in the afternoon for the meeting. We were surprised to see him for the meeting after his father’s demise,” Trivedi told news agency Asian News International.
Modi was then 39 and was an organising member of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat.
Trivedi also recalled talking to Modi after that meeting more than three decades ago and said the latter had told him that he needed to fulfil his responsibilities for the party as well.
“After the meeting was over, I asked Modi about him attending the meeting in such circumstances. He replied that he left for the meeting after the funeral. He said he need to fulfil his responsibilities for the party also. It was an inspirational moment for all the workers. We get to learn the dedication towards our responsibilities,” Trivedi said.
Modi went to meet his mother when she was in the hospital and was back to her after her demise. He was seen carrying Heeraben’s mortal remains to the crematorium where he performed the last rites along with other members of the family. Soon after, the prime minister was seen attending his official work.
