When PM Modi Fulfilled A Special Request From 101-Year-Old IFS Officer’s Kin In Kuwait

Last Updated:December 21, 2024, 16:33 IST

Mangal Sain Handa served in multiple countries like Iraq, Kuwait, China, Argentina, UK and Cambodia in his long career as an Indian Foreign Service Officer and was seen laughing and clapping as he met the prime minister

PM Modi met Mangal Sain Handa in Kuwait.

It was an emotional moment for 101-year-old IFS officer Mangal Sain Handa as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met him in Kuwait after a request from his family. The prime minister had responded to the family over social media earlier on Saturday, promising to meet the former officer.

Handa has served in multiple countries like Iraq, Kuwait, China, Argentina, UK and Cambodia in his long career as an Indian Foreign Service Officer. His grand-daughter, Shreya Juneja, reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office with a request that Handa wished to meet the PM during Modi’s interaction with the Indian diaspora in Kuwait on Saturday. “He is a great admirer of yours," Juneja said, tagging the PM and the Indian Foreign Minister’s office.

Within hours of the post on Friday, the PM replied to her on X, saying he would meet Handa in Kuwait and looked forward to it. Juneja then thanked the PM for the response and said: “You’ve won our hearts once again…Mangal Sain Handa is overjoyed, and his smile means the world to us. We’re deeply grateful for this kind gesture." This showed PM’s connect with the common man over social media, which he has exhibited many a time.

The visuals from the Indian diaspora event showed PM warmly meeting Handa and having an interaction with him, while shaking his hand. Handa was seen enthusiastically clapping and meeting the prime minister with a smile.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Pradeep Handa, son of the former IFS officer, said: “It was a big moment for us. My father keeps talking about Indian politics and PM Modi is his idol. The embassy conveyed to us that the PM would be meeting him. The prime minister enquired about his health and asked him who the foreign secretary was during his tenure."

It is moments like these that show Modi’s usage of social media to reach out to common people and develop a bond with them. Among the most followed leaders in the world on social media, the PM has over 104.2 million followers on the platform X and has responded to common people many a time on the platform.

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News world When PM Modi Fulfilled A Special Request From 101-Year-Old IFS Officer’s Kin In Kuwait