Atal Bihari Vajpayee Image Credit source: File Photo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached America. this trip India And America It is said to add more warmth to the relationships. Importantly, the prime minister Narendra Modi For the first time in his tenure, he has reached America on a state visit. Even before this, he has made several trips to America in the last 9 years, but they were only official and working trips.
India’s leaders have visited America many times since independence, in these visits some such incidents also took place which became interesting anecdotes. Today, we are telling you about some of those selected stories during PM Modi’s visit to America.
… When Atal Bihari Vajpayee reached the night club
An interesting incident happened during former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s first visit to America when he reached a night club. This claim has been made in the book based on the life of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It has been told that when he went to America in 1960, he befriended an IFS. Together they went to New York and visited museums, art galleries and nightclubs there. At that time Atal Bihari Vajpayee was part of the delegation selected by the then PM Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
According to the book Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right, during his stay in New York in 1960, Atal ji stayed with IFS officer Maharajkrishna Rasgotra. It has been told that at the same time Rasgotra had taken Atal Bihari Vajpayee to a night club. It has been claimed in the book that at that time Atal ji did not know what a night club actually was.
When Indira Gandhi refused to dance
An interesting story of America’s visit is also related to Indira Gandhi, very few people are aware of this fact. It is said that when Indira Gandhi went on her first US tour in 1966, a dinner party was organized in her honor there.
This incident is mentioned in the book Indira Gandhi A Personal and Political Biography, written by Inder Malhotra. It has been told that the then President Lyndon Johnson had organized a dinner in honor of Indira Gandhi at the White House. When the American President called Indira Gandhi on the dance floor, she flatly refused. According to the book, Indira Gandhi bluntly said that Indians would not like it at all if the Indian PM dances in the ballroom.
When Manmohan Singh took a jibe at the CEO of PepsiCo
In 2009, the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who went on the first state visit to America, had a pinch of the then US President Barack Obama regarding PepsiCo CEO. Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has mentioned this in her memoir ‘My Life in Full’. She narrated how in 2009 she arrived in Washington DC for a bike ride with two dozen top Indian and American businessmen. Here he found himself standing between the then PM of India Manmohan Singh and the then President of America, Barack Obama.
When Obama started introducing his team, he told that it is Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo. On this Manmohan Singh smiled and said that oh, but Indra Nooyi is from our side. Obama also smiled and said that no, he is from our side. Indra Nooyi herself describes this moment as unforgettable.
