Delhi: US president Barack Obama has written about Narendra Modi in TIME magazine, talking about his rise in politics from a tea seller to India's Prime Minister.
Obama has also lauded Modi's vision of taking India on the path of growth and plans to elevate millions from clutches of poverty among other things.
Following is the text published in the magazine:
As a boy, Narendra Modi helped his father sell tea to support their family. Today, he’s the leader of the world’s largest democracy, and his life story - from poverty to Prime Minister—reflects the dynamism and potential of India’s rise.
Determined to help more Indians follow in his path, he’s laid out an ambitious vision to reduce extreme poverty, improve education, empower women and girls and unleash India’s true economic potential while confronting climate change. Like India, he transcends the ancient and the modern - a devotee of yoga who connects with Indian citizens on Twitter and imagines a 'digital India'.
When he came to Washington, Narendra and I visited the memorial to Dr Martin Luther King Jr, we reflected on the teachings of King and Gandhi and how the diversity of backgrounds and faiths in our countries is a strength we have to protect. Prime Minister Modi recognizes that more than 1 billion Indians living and succeeding together can be an inspiring model for the world.
PM Modi was recently voted among the 100 most influential people in the world in an online poll by readers of Time magazine.
On his part, PM Modi thanked the US President for 'touching and inspiring' words and tweeted about Obama's write-up in the magazine.
Syed Akbaruddin, official spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, too tweeted about it saying: "A leader writes about another. President Barack Obama writes about PM Modi."
Modi stormed to power in May 2014 after leading BJP to majority in the General Elections with 282 seats on its own.
The BJP-led NDA won 335 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Modi had led the campaign from the front launching a blistering attack on ten years of Congress-led UPA government rule.
The Congress managed to win only 44 seats in the Lower House, ending with worst ever figures in General Elections.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener, Arvind Kejriwal, is also in the list of 100.
Barack Obama is himself on the list.
Others who made it to the list of 100 was Russian President Vladimir Putin, pop stars Lady Gaga and Rihanna, US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, Pope Francis, US First Lady Michelle Obama, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Meanwhile, the official list of the 100 most influential people in the world will be announced later this week.
The TIME magazine had asked readers to cast their vote online for people from politics, entertainment, business, technology, science, religion and other fields who "changed the world this past year, for better or worse," as per PTI.
Modi however garnered just 0.6 per cent of the votes cast, with only 34 percent of the people voting in his favour and 66 per cent against.
Kejriwal got 0.5 per cent, with 71 per cent voters saying he should not be in the list.
More than half of the votes 57.38 per cent were cast within the US. Canada and the UK followed with 5.54 percent and 4.55 percent respectively.
(With Agency inputs)
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