New Delhi: For 10-year-old Avika, it was an “amazing” day as she along with her mother, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Poonam Mahajan, her father, brother and maternal grandmother, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence in the national capital.
The little girl, took efforts for two long days to prepare a handmade gift for the Prime Minister. The hand-painted card of a peacock is inspired by the bird that she had seen in the pictures of Modi at his Delhi home.
This card also had a special message for the Prime Minister as Avika refers PM Narendra Modi as ‘Ajoba’ (grandfather) and sought his blessings.
During the course of the meeting, PM Modi interacted with BJP MP Poonam’s kids, asking her son about his horse riding experience. PM Modi further joked with Avika about fights between both siblings.
“He eats away my food,” a shy Avika is said to have told PM Modi, to which he burst into laughter while reminding her to share chocolates with her brother Aadya.
But what impressed Avika the most was when PM Modi asked her the meaning of her name. While the family said that it meant ‘sunrise’, to everyone’s surprise, Modi said, “It meant the name of Goddess Ambaji in the Ambaji Temple in Gujarat.”
To this, Avika instantly said that she would visit the temple soon with her family.
The Mahajan family has a deep-rooted connection with the BJP. Poonam Mahajan’s late father Pramod Mahajan was one of BJP ‘s senior leaders who commanded respect across the political spectrum.
Poonam Mahajan is a two-time MP from Maharashtra. For Avika, who has only heard stories about her Baba (Pramod Mahajan), this was the first time she met a leader of the stature of Prime Minister Modi, who she often spoke to her mother about as her grandfather’s friend.
Avika told her mother after the meeting that PM Modi was the coolest person she has ever met. The 10-year-old asked the Prime Minister if she could take a photograph with him as one of her friends has a photograph with him but only a group one.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who enjoys an excellent rapport with kids of all ages immediately obliged for pictures not just with her but with everyone in her family.
The half-hour meeting saw the Mahajan Rao family reminiscing many memories.
