Modi walks in the wild with Bear Grylls

Agencies
August 13, 2019

New Delhi, Aug 13: Walking through the wild and taking a ride on a cold river in a makeshift boat were some of the things that Prime Minister Narendra Modi put up with as he teamed up with survivalist Bear Grylls to promote a cause close to his heart-protecting nature.

On Discovery channel's, "Man Vs Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi", he braved the rain and cold in the jungles of Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, and as the host put it, the PM was a "great sport".

"You are the most important man in India and my job is to keep you alive," Grylls joked.

During the conversation, Modi said fulfilling people's dreams gave him happiness and his focus is on development. "My position never goes to my head," he said, in reply to a question.

Grylls, who has had celebrity guests, including former American President Barack Obama, on his show earlier asked Modi about his childhood, dreams as the prime minister, whether he feared anything in life and if he ever felt nervous before a political rally.

Modi said he never had a good answer about “nervousness” as it was not a part of his temperament.

"My problem is that I have never experienced such fears. I am unable to explain it to people what nervousness is and how to deal with it because my in-built temperament is very positive. I see positivity in everything. And because of that reason, I am never disappointed."

Grylls said this was a strong message for the young.

“If I have to tell anything to the young generation, then I will say we should not think of our life in pieces. If we think of our life as a whole then there will be ups and downs. If you are going down, don't think about it because the way up starts from there,” he said.

When they came to the river during the five-mile walk, Grylls made Modi sit in a makeshift boat while he himself pushed it along, half submerged in water

At the end of the ride, they shared a hot drink laced with curry leaves.

"You must be the first prime minster ever in history to cross a river on a coracle like this,” the host quipped.

But Grylls, known for his death-defying feats and an irreverent style, spared the prime minister of what some of his guests go through.

Modi’s talked about living with love for nature and not exploiting it for one’s own ends but leaving it for the future generations.

He said India’s message to the world is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or the whole world is one family.

The show attracted some controversy months before its broadcast on Monday night. The Congress alleged the prime minister was busy shooting the show the day the Pulwama terror attack took place in Kashmir.

When Grylls asked whether he had ever dreamt of becoming prime minister, Modi said his focus has always been the development of the nation.

"I was the chief minister of a state first. I worked as a chief minister for 13 years, which was a new journey for me. Then my country decided I needed to do this job. So I have been doing this for the last five years.

"But the focus has been always been on one thing and that is development. And I am satisfied with that job. Today, if I consider this time as a vacation, then I must say I am taking a vacation for the first time in 18 years," Modi said.

On becoming the country's prime minister, Grylls asked whether he ever pinched himself.

"It never occurs to me who I am. I am above all this. When I was a chief minister and even now as the prime minister, I only think of my work, my responsibilities. My position never goes to my head," he added.

Recalling his childhood years, Modi said though there was poverty, his family was always connected with nature.

So much so that his father, despite there being no money, would buy 20-30 postcards and send it to relatives to inform them about the first rains in their village, he said.

At one point, Grylls, who made a makeshift spear, warned him about tigers in the area that they were walking through. Modi said, "God takes care of everything".

He said his beliefs did not allow him to kill anyone but he would hold the spear for the host.

"You should never be afraid of nature because when we think that we are in conflict with nature is when the problem starts," he said.

Asked whether he was a good student, the prime minister laughed and said, "I can't say that I was a good student."

He said that despite poverty, he liked to keep a neat appearance at school, ironing his uniform with coal embers in a copper bowl.

Modi said he left home when he was in his teens and spent his time in the Himalayas.

"I wanted to make a decision about my life. But before that I wanted to understand the world. I wanted to see the spiritual world. For that, I went to the Himalayas. I love nature. I met people in the Himalayas, stayed with them. It was a wonderful experience and I spent a long time there."

Prompted by Grylls, Modi talked about the time he sold tea at a railway station as a child, and when he brought home a baby crocodile from the pond where he had gone to bathe.

“My mother said to me this is wrong. You cannot do this. You should not do this, put it back. I went and put it back," the prime minister said.

Comments

H
 - 
Wednesday, 14 Aug 2019

Someone please tell him his protocol... There is something called maturity 

 

All stunts for for what.... For whom? 

 

 

 

 

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News Network
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: Blaming the BJP for the political drama in Rajasthan, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday asked Sachin Pilot not to leave the grand old party.

In an interview to news agency, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said Pilot should not follow Jyotiraditya Scindia into the BJP, as he has bright future in Congress.

His remarks follow Pilot's open rebellion against the Ashok Gehlot government, which has been on shaky ground with at least 18 legislators backing the rebel leader.

Pilot was sacked as Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the state Congress chief recently and the Congress has accused the BJP of making efforts to topple the Gehlot-led government by indulging in horse-trading.

"The BJP is behind the crisis in Rajasthan," Singh said.

The Congress veteran said he tried to call Pilot but his calls and text messages went unanswered.

"Age is on your side. Ashok (Gehlot) may have offended you, but all such issues are best resolved amicably. Dont make the mistake that Scindia made. BJP is unreliable. Nobody who joined it from any other party has succeeded there," Singh said.

He said this is the first time that Pilot hasn't responded to him.

"Sachin is like my son. He respects me and I also like him. I called him three-four times and also texted him. He didn't revert. He used to respond immediately earlier," he said.

"It is good to be ambitious. How can one move forward without having ambitions, but along with ambition, one must also have commitment to your organisation, ideology and the nation," Singh said.

For latest updates on the Rajathan Political Crisis, click here

"I heard that he (Pilot) may form a new party. But what is the need for it. Has Congress not given him anything? He was made an MP at 26, a Union minister at 32, the state Congress president at 34 and deputy chief minister at 38. What else does he want? Time is on his side," Singh said.

If Pilot had any issue, then as the state party unit president, he should have called a meeting and discussed the matter, he said. Pilot could have involved Congress national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande in talks with Gehlot to resolve differences, he added.

"If you have faith in your legislators, why have you have confined 18-19 of them in ITC Grand hotel at Manesar in Haryana," Singh said.

This is the same hotel where the BJP kept MLAs from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (during political dramas in those states), he said.

Pilot should forget whatever has happened, come back and sit across the table to discuss how Congress could be strengthened, he said

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News Network
January 30,2020

Mumbai, Jan 30: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Dr Kafeel Khan from Mumbai airport for allegedly making inflammatory statements at AMU during protests against the Citizenship Amendments Act (CAA) last month, officials said.

Khan was arrested on Wednesday night with assistance from Mumbai Police at the airport when he arrived in the city to attend anti-CAA protests, an official said.

"Officials of the UP STF arrested Dr Kafeel Khan in a case which was registered at Civil Lines Police Station under section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) of IPC. Our police team helped our UP counterparts on their request," said an official from Mumbai Police.

He claimed that Khan had made inflammatory statements on December 12 last year during the protest near Bab e Syed Gate outside the Aligarh Muslim University in front of more than 600 students.

The official also alleged that the Gorakhpur doctor had made objectionable comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The FIR against Khan mentions that Swaraj India's president Yogendra Yadav was also present during the speech at AMU.

Following the arrest in the case, Khan was taken to the Sahar Police Station and after completing formalities he will be taken to UP on transit remand, the official said.

Khan, a paediatrician, had come to the limelight in 2017 when a controversy broke out after the death of over 60 children in less than a week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, UP.

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 8: Arvind Kejriwal is set to return as Delhi chief minister and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will virtually sweep the assembly elections, exit polls predicted Saturday.

As polling came to a close at 6 pm, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) projecting a voter turnout at 60.24% (as of 9:50 pm), a poll of polls covering 10 exit polls gave 52 seats to AAP, 17 to the Bharatiya Janata Party and one to the Indian National Congress.

The polls, which are sample surveys conducted among voters exiting polling booths, signalled that the Delhi voter responded to AAP’s campaign that focused on “kaam”, or getting work done.

Kejriwal, a former civil servant and activist who stormed into electoral politics with an anti-corruption campaign in 2013, led a campaign focusing on the development work his government did in Delhi, especially in education and healthcare, as well as sops such as lower electricity bills and free bus rides for women.

The exit polls gave AAP between 47 and 68 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

They predicted an absolute rout for Congress, which ruled Delhi for three terms between 1998 and 2013. The maximum seats to AAP were given by India Today TV-Axis exit poll, which predicted 59-68 seats for the party, while giving 2-11 for the BJP and none to the Congress.

If these figures hold, the results will come as a disappointment for the BJP, which had hoped its sweep in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 would reflect in the assembly polls.

Delhi’s voter turnout saw a sharp fall over the 2015 elections. According to the Election Commission of India, voter turnout till 9 pm was projected at 60.24% — lower than 67.12% in 2015.

Traditionally, a lower voter turnout is read as a vote for the incumbent.

The voter turnout in Delhi has been similar during the Congress regime under Sheila Dikshit, when she won consecutive terms. In 2003, when Delhi voted a second time for the Dikshit government, the voter turnout was 53.42%, and a comparable 57.58% was the turnout in 2008.

Later, in two consecutive elections — 2013 and 2015 — voters turned out in big numbers to vote Dikshit out of power. In 2013, 65.63% of Delhi turned out and the percentage increased further to 67.12% in 2015.

Across constituencies, Matia Mahal in Central Delhi registered the highest voter turnout of 68.36%, whereas Bawana assembly constituency in North district saw the lowest turnout at 41.95%. Among districts, North East district registered the highest (62.75%) voter turnout, while the lowest turnout was recorded in South East district (54.15%), according to the ECI app.

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