Home Minister Amit Shah shared a special anecdote to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 75th birthday. He spoke about PM Modi's lifelong commitment to caring for party workers before himself.
Sharing a video on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Shah, one of the Prime Minister's closest aides, said the lesson has stayed with him ever since.
Amit Shah recalled travelling with PM Modi from Ahmedabad to Rajkot, late one evening, many years ago. “It was already around 8:30 pm and Modi ji usually eats dinner at a party worker's home,” he said.
During this journey, however, PM Modi suggested stopping at Suryanagar, where a BJP worker ran a roadside dhaba (food stall). “He stopped the car there and we all sat down to eat,” Shah recounted.
The Home Minister admitted he initially thought the stop meant dinner for everyone. “I thought to myself, ‘Good, he is hungry too. Now, we will also get to eat,'” he said with a smile. But while Mr Shah enjoyed a full meal, PM Modi quietly ate only some fruit and a few wafers.
“Later that night, I remembered he hadn't eaten much,” Mr Shah continued. “I found out the car was waiting for our other karyakartas (party workers).”
According to Amit Shah, PM Modi chose to delay his own meal until all the workers accompanying them had eaten.
Reflecting on the incident, the Home Minister said it was more than a simple act of courtesy, it was a “sensitive lesson that, in an organisation, one must care for the workers before oneself.”
Mr Shah added, “His [Narendra Modi] teaching has now become an inseparable part of my life. Trust, a sense of belonging, and dedication, these are the souls of an organisation and the greatest lesson from Modi ji.”
Mr Shah said the episode has shaped his own approach to leadership. “When I recall this incident, I too start thinking like a manager, whether someone has eaten or not. Even when I am having a meal at someone's home and he is standing nearby, that concern automatically becomes a part of my work,” he said.
