Earlier this week, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad retired from the Rajya Sabha after over 40 years of parliamentary service, and many in the House, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, bade him a teary farewell.
PM Modi, in his speech in the Rajya Sabha, had recounted a terror attack on some Gujarati pilgrims in 2005 in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and how the then chief minister of the state was the first one to call him about the incident.
With tears rolling down his cheeks, Modi said Azad had cried on the call while informing him about the horrific attack.
Azad later went to the airport when the bodies were sent back and kept in touch till the plane landed in Gujarat, he added.
During a News18 interview, the senior Congress leader brough up the prime minister's emotional anecdote and said, "They were very good words spoken by the honourable Prime Minister for me. I am thankful to him for that. The emotional part was for a different reason."
Azad retold the incident, "It was about a terror attack when many Gujaratis were killed in J&K and the way I was weeping then. That is what had moved Modiji then also. He must have felt that I don’t differentiate between the people of Gujarat or people of Kashmir. I felt similar pain for them all. I think he recalled that and became emotional. I equally became emotional. I remember when I went to see off the Gujarati brothers and sisters, especially children were crying and asking where their father was. There I had broken down. And the Gujarati media showed it for days together and naturally Modi as CM saw this."
During his speech bidding farewell to the senior Congress leader, PM Modi had said it would be difficult for anyone to fill the shoes of Azad as he cared not only about his political affiliation but also about the country and the House.
"I worry that after Azad, whosoever will take over from him will have to fill very big boots because he cared not only about his party but about the country as well as the House. This is not a small thing, this a big thing."
"Power comes and goes but (only a few know) how to digest it...therefore like a friend, I respect him on the basis of the things he has done over these years," Modi said while wiping his tears and saluting Azad.
Reminiscing about their long association, Modi said that as chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat, both of them kept in touch with each other.
Modi said he believes that Azad's concern for his country won't let him sit and whatever responsibilities he takes in the future would be beneficial for the nation.
"At a personal level, I would request him to not believe that he is not in the House. My door is always open for all of you. I will always expect and value your inputs," he said.
"I will not let you become weak," the prime minister told Azad as he closed his comments.
Leader after leader had praised Azad with Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu describing him as a role model who will be missed by him the most.