WASHINGTON : Keeping in mind the two people US President Barack Obama admired most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for him which included a ‘Gita by Gandhi’ in Khadi cover and audio-video clips from the 1959 India visit of Martin Luther King and meanwhile both US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have for the first time interacted digitally to come out with a joint editorial.
“The Prime Minister has brought several gifts. At the personal level, he has brought a special edition of Gita by Gandhi Ji. This is Gandhi Ji’s interpretation of Gita. The book was published many years ago,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
“The Prime Minister had specifically ordered a special edition of the book and copies of it were specially done up with a certain getup as Khadi on its cover…These were prepared in Delhi and were brought and were handed over to the President.
“Also, he has given some other personal gifts. He is aware that President Obama has great regard for Martin Luther King and there is a Gandhi link between President Obama, the King and the Prime Minister, so he (Modi) had looked up and asked All India Radio to provide a recording of Martin Luther King’s speech which he gave in India in 1959 when he visited India. In addition, there are some other memorabilia of Martin Luther King.
“There is a photograph of the King at the Rajghat, which the Prime Minister has framed and given to Obama. There is a small clip which goes back to 1959. The Photos Division was able to track back a video clip of Martin Luther King’s visit to India. All these were prepared by the Prime Minister’s Office in advance and presented to President Obama today,” he said.
“These were personal gifts. Official gifts would be presented tomorrow,” Akbaruddin said.
Prime Minister had paid special attention to President Obama’s interest and he brought these gifts which were his personal gifts to President Obama.
According to the sources, he has also got gifts for Obama’s two daughters — Sasha and Malia.
Martin Luther King was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson said both Prime Minister Modi and President Obama have written a joint editorial in a US newspaper to be published tomorrow.
Officials on both sides have been very secretive about the joint op-ed and have not even disclosed the name of the newspaper that will publish it.
Asked how the two leaders collaborated to write the joint editorial, he said both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Obama are great votaries of digital diplomacy and therefore, it is very easy to digitally interact and through electronic means and it (editorial) was only finalised just today after Prime Minister’s arrival here.
Asked if both the leaders were so active digitally why there was no exchange between the two on cyber space, he said “wait and watch”.
He also said that this was for the first time that an Indian leader has ventured on the path of a joint editorial. Prime Minister wrote an editorial in Wall Street Journal before he headed to the US for his first visit since taking power in May. (agencies)
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