PM Modi touches 98-year-old man’s feet; who is Makhanlal Sarkar?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (May 9) took the blessings of a 98-year-old man by touching his feet at the swearing-in ceremony of the BJP’s first government in West Bengal.

At the Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata, Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the Chief Minister of Bengal and five ministers were also sworn in.

Also read: BJP govt in Bengal sparks Teesta hope and immigrant ‘push back’ concern in Dhaka

At the ceremony, Prime Minister Modi felicitated 98-year-old BJP veteran Makhanlal Sarkar, a resident of Siliguri and embraced him. Later, Modi touched his feet and again hugged him before interacting with him amid an applause from BJP leaders and the crowd.

Who is Makhanlal Sarkar?

Prime Minister Modi shared pictures of the same on his X (formerly Twitter) account and wrote, “During the swearing in ceremony in Kolkata, had the opportunity to meet Shri Makhanlal Sarkar Ji. A devout nationalist, he worked with Dr. Mookerjee and was even arrested in Jammu and Kashmir while accompanying him. He dedicated his life to our Party, expanding its base across West Bengal, inspiring people from all walks of life to join the Party.”

“We in the BJP are proud that we have such motivating figures who have worked among the people and strengthened our Party,” he added.

Sarkar was arrested in Kashmir in 1952 while accompanying Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee during the movement to hoist the Indian tricolour there, the BJP said.

Organisational coordinator

"Sarkar is one of the early grassroots figures associated with the nationalist movement in post-Independence India," the party said in a statement.

After the formation of the BJP in 1980, Sarkar became the organisational coordinator for the then West Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts in Left Front-ruled West Bengal.

"From 1981 onward, he served continuously for seven years as district president, an exceptional achievement at a time when BJP leaders generally could not remain in the same organisational position for more than two years," the statement said.