On Monday, May 22, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut reacted to Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister James Marape touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet. Sanjay Raut tried to mock PNG and said that it is full of black magic and that people there practice a lot of black magic tactics.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) needs to understand the history of the country Papua New Guinea. They thought some big magician had come from India and he would teach them magic, so they greeted him that way,” Raut said as he claimed that the BJP was hyping the matter unnecessarily.
The Uddhav Sena representative continued by saying that since PM Modi is an elderly person, people should respect him and touch his feet. However, he asserted that the BJP is unduly exaggerating the situation. Raut’s statement came during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the island country.
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, bowed down and touched PM Modi’s feet to seek his blessings as he landed on Sunday, May 21.
In the video statement, Raut added that even earlier, Prime Ministers from India namely, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shashtri, and Indira Gandhi were shown the same respect, and even their feet were touched by leaders from other countries to seek their blessings. Notably, this is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Papua New Guinea.
“It is good if anyone touches PM Modi’s feet as he is an elderly person. We also bend and do namaskar when we meet him. However, the way BJP is campaigning about it is not good. When our leaders like Pandit Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Indira Gandhi used to go out of the country, people would touch their feet too,” Sanjay Raut added.
The visit by PM Modi is the first by an Indian prime minister to Papua New Guinea. His trip came while China is trying to increase its diplomatic and military might in the Indo-Pacific region.
Notably, Papua New Guinea awarded the Prime Minister the Companion of the Order of Logohu for promoting the unification of the Pacific Island nations and leading the “Global South” cause. This award has been given to a very small number of non-Papua New Guinean citizens.
The Indian Prime Minister met with James Marape, his counterpart from Papua New Guinea, earlier in the day to discuss and assess their bilateral ties. In addition, the two leaders talked about ways to increase collaboration in fields including business, technology, healthcare, and climate change.
PM Modi also reaffirmed India’s commitment to upholding and respecting the goals and preferences of the Pacific Island countries. Additionally, he met separately with the island nation’s Governor-General, Bob Dadae, to discuss ways to further solidify the two countries collaboration in a variety of industries.
