Featured

Craze Or Conspiracy? PM Modi’s Hug With The Pope Kicks Up A Storm

By
OB Bureau

New Delhi: Narendra Modi greeted Pope Francis with a warm hug when he visited the Vatican on Saturday. Nothing unusual for the Indian Prime Minister, who has often been seen embracing global leaders over the years.

But his hug with the Pope has kicked up a storm back home.

Bollywood personality, journalist and poet Pritish Nandy advised Modi to do a similar gesture with Muslim and Sikh spiritual leaders.

“It’s heartwarming to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi embracing the Pope in the Vatican today. Would love to see him do the same with Muslim and Sikh spiritual leaders. It may help to tame the belligerent bhakts embarrassing India,” Nandy had tweeted along with a picture of Modi and Pope Francis.

It drew contrasting reactions, with some backing Nandy and others questioning his wisdom.

Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi reacted sharply, asking Nandy whether it is a craze to bash the Prime Minister or if there is a conspiracy to bash India.

“Brother, is this a craze of Modi-bashing? Or, a conspiracy of India-bashing?” the minister of Minority Affairs wrote on Twitter.

India’s Christian community was happy that Modi met the Pope and looked forward to the latter’s visit to India.

“This has a historical importance,” Cleemis said about Saturday’s meeting. “The meeting should not be seen merely as one between two country heads; rather, it was the head of the largest democracy and an ancient culture meeting the head of a large religious community,” The Sunday Express quioted Major Archbishop Baselios Cardinal Cleemis as saying.

Cleemis, who headed the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), had requested Modi to invite the Pope to India in 2014.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

‘Nehru Archive’ To Be Launched Next Year; Check Details

New Delhi: On Jawaharlal Nehru’s 135th birth anniversary, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF) announced…

November 14, 2024

Mercury To Fall By 2-4°C In Odisha From Saturday As Winter Approaches

Bhubaneswar: With temperature gradually starting to fall in some parts of Odisha, cold wave conditions…

November 14, 2024

Vivo India Case: Chinese Man Gets Bail; Court Says ‘Duty-Bound To Protect Rights Of Foreigners Too’’

New Delhi: A Chinese man has been granted bail by a Delhi court 13 months…

November 14, 2024

BSE Releases Schedule Of Matric Examinations For 2025 In Odisha; Details Here

Bhubaneswar: The Board of Secondary Education at Cuttack in Odisha on Thursday announced the schedule…

November 14, 2024

Central University Of Odisha To Study Indigenous Varieties Of Crops For Conservation

Koraput: The Central University of Odisha (CUO) has opened a germplasm plot at its Landiguda…

November 14, 2024

Union Minister Flags Off Battery-Run Vehicles At Puri Jagannath Temple In Odisha

Puri: Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi flagged-off ten battery-operated vehicles for…

November 14, 2024

Odisha CM Announces Hostel Fee Waiver For School Students

Bhubaneswar: Affirming his government’s resolve to ensure a bright future for children by imparting quality…

November 14, 2024

ED Conducts Fresh Searches On At Least 20 Places Linked To ‘Lottery King’ Santiago Martin

Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted fresh raids in multiple states in connection with…

November 14, 2024