Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 7: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde may have come to the national capital on official duty, but it was a unique request from his five-year-old grandson Rudransh that brought smiles during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
Accompanied by his wife Lata Shinde, MP son Dr Shrikant Shinde, and daughter-in-law Vrushali Shinde, the Shinde family met the Prime Minister at Lok Kalyan Marg. However, the Prime Minister’s first question was not about politics or governance — it was about young Rudransh.
“Rudransh was at home playing,” Mr Shinde informed the PM. “But he has a demand. He told me to get fighter planes and toys from Modi Baba,” he added, drawing hearty laughter from the Prime Minister.
Later speaking to reporters, Mr Shinde humorously said that his grandson’s wish was indeed a “good demand,” especially with elections looming large in Maharashtra. “Fighter planes can be used for our fighting too,” he quipped, subtly referring to the heated political battles ahead of the state’s civic elections.
Interestingly, as Mr Shinde visited Delhi to meet the Prime Minister, his political rival and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray was also in the capital along with his family to attend the INDIA bloc dinner meet.
Taking a dig, Mr Shinde remarked, “He (Uddhav) has gone to 10 Janpath, we are going to Lok Kalyan Marg, as per Bala Saheb Thackeray’s teachings.”
Adding a spiritual touch to his visit, Mr Shinde presented an image of Lord Shankar to PM Modi as a symbolic gesture of gratitude for the successful Operation Mahadev, an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir that led to the neutralisation of a terrorist involved in the Pahalgam massacre.
When asked about the speculated Operation Tiger, believed to be aimed at destabilising the Uddhav faction, Mr Shinde firmly said, “We are talking about Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev, not Operation Tiger.”
With humour, symbolism, and subtle political jabs, Eknath Shinde’s Delhi visit was anything but ordinary — and thanks to Rudransh, it was a little more memorable.