BJP MP Neeraj Shekhar, son of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, lauded PM Narendra Modi on Thursday as a "true statesman above party lines" after he inaugurated a museum which pays tributes to all his predecessors.
Neeraj Shekhar recalled decades-old association of Modi with Chandra Shekhar, a towering socialist leader of his era and a critic of the BJP, and regretted that governments came and went, including of those whom his father worked closely with, but not much effort was made to showcase his contributions to the nation.
Sadly, prime minister meant only ones from a dynasty, he said in a swipe at the Nehru-Gandhi family of the Congress.
"Some years ago, PM Narendra Modi was kind enough to release a book on my father. Today, when my family and I went to PM Museum we were overcome by a sense of pride and emotion. At least there is some leader who thinks about the bigger picture, a true statesman above party lines," he said.
Neeraj Shekhar had quit the Samajwadi Party to join the BJP in 2019. His father had passed away in 2007, following which he joined electoral politics.
Modi and Chandra Shekhar came from different generations and parties, and, yet, shared a very close bond, he tweeted.
"This is exactly what democracy is about. My father knew PM Modi for many years and was always appreciative of his developmental work and eye for detail," he said.
He noted that Modi met his father for the first time after the Emergency when the BJP leader was still "learning" the ropes of politics and political movements. He had been assigned a duty to be with my father in Gujarat, Neeraj Shekhar said.
"In the mid-2000s, when my father was not in the best health and was out of active politics, he expressed a desire to meet CM Modi. Very promptly, CM Modi said he will come to meet my father in Delhi and in his very next visit he came to meet my father," he said, referring to time when Modi was Gujarat chief minister.
When they met, the two leaders discussed the anti-Emergency movement, the direction of Indian politics in the 1980s and 1990s and also about the work he was doing in Gujarat as the chief minister, Neeraj Shekhar said, adding his father was impressed by Modi's sincerity and tenacity.
Modi on Thursday inaugurated the 'Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya' (prime ministers' museum), which is a tribute to every prime minister in the country since Independence.
The museum tells the story of India after Independence through the lives and contributions of its prime ministers.
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