AHMEDABAD: “A glorious century rests at the feet of God. In Maa, I have always felt that trinity, which contains the journey of an ascetic, the symbol of a selfless Karmayogi and a life committed to values,” tweeted Prime Minster Narendra Modi, when his mother Heeraben passed away on December 30 at the age of 100.
Modi, who had met her at the Ahmedabad hospital where she was convalescing only two days ago, rushed in to perform the last rites, but left immediately afterwards to attend his other prescheduled assignments.
As world dignitaries, including Japan PM Kishida Fumio and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, shared their condolences, the Indian PM was back to work, inaugurating several development projects in West Bengal through video-conferencing the same day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led by example as the last rites of his mother Heeraben were held with utmost simplicity. Not a penny was spent officially. There were no VIP congregations, no queues of mourners or cavalcades of guests. The PM kept it simple and shared his grief with every citizen by recollecting how his mother had worked hard to bring up her family.
Barely hours after performing the last rites of his mother, the Prime Minister returned to performing his duties. He virtually attended two back-to-back meetings – flagging off the new Vande Bharat Express train and chairing the meeting of the National Ganga Council.
To perform the last rites of his mother was his foremost duty and he did so without involving any official machinery. After performing his duty, he went back to work and ensured that he discharged his official duties with utmost sincerity