india

Updated: Sep 25, 2019 17:02 IST

Countering the criticism of US President Donald Trump’s comment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the father of India, Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said those who do not believe so do not consider themselves Indians.

“People who live abroad are proud today of being Indian. This is happening due to the personality and personal outreach of Prime Minister Modi,” said the Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office.

When asked to comment on US President Trump’s statement that may be Prime Minister Modi is the father of India, Singh said that he has never heard anything like this from any American president for an Indian prime minister, reports PTI.

“If an impartial and bold statement comes from America and its President then I feel every Indian should feel proud regardless of his political affiliations with any party or ideology,” the minister said on the statement made during PM’s ongoing visit to the United States.

“This is the first time that an American president has used this kind of words of praise not for an Indian Prime Minister but for any other world leader and if someone is not proud of this, then maybe he does not consider himself Indian,” Singh said, reports PTI

Trump had made the comment after a meeting with PM Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. “I remember India before [before PM Modi rule], not intimately, but I remember India before, it was very torn, it was a lot fighting and he brought it all together. Like a father would bring it together. Maybe he is the father of India. We will call him the father of India. He brought things together, you don’t hear that anymore,” Donald Trump told journalists. Several Congress leaders responded by saying there is only one father of the nation.