Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday shared a personal account of a student from Arunachal Pradesh who had recently visited the national capital and spent a day in the Parliament and prime minister’s official residence. Prime Minister Modi also lauded Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla for taking such an initiative which gave him the opportunity to meet bright youngsters.
“You will enjoy reading this very personal account of Lopoli Melo from Arunachal Pradesh. I would like to laud Speaker Om Birla Ji for taking the lead for such an initiative which also gave me the opportunity to meet bright youngsters,” he said in a tweet and posted a link.
Lopoli Melo, a student of history at Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), Arunachal Pradesh, has written a detailed account of her experience of visiting the Parliament and Prime Minister’s Office, published in an article titled ‘A day in the Parliament and PMO’.
Melo was in Delhi, which she found welcoming, to represent her university and the state in the higher education institute (HEI) division in the Parliament for ‘Parakram Diwas’. In her traditional Idu Mishmi attire, Melo, along with other students, arrived at the Parliament on January 23 where they had their breakfast in the canteen and then escorted out to the garden for a photo session.
Later in Parliament’s central hall, Melo spotted external affairs minister S Jaishankar and “gasped in disbelief”.
“I could not hold back my excitement. Me and my friends started giggling out of happiness, hoping he would look towards us. And so he did, and gave us a good namaste, and with huge grins we did the same,” she wrote in Arunachal Times, adding that other cabinet ministers also “began to appear”.
She recalled the “whole new excitement” among the crowd as the prime minister walked towards them.
“My only thought was, Will I be able to talk to him? Or shake his hand?’ and I did not realise that I had already extended my hands towards him, and he shook my hands. They were so soft!” she added.
In the evening, they were called in for a high tea at PM’s residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi.
The students had a photo session with Prime Minister Modi and sat down for the interaction.
“It was a very casual interaction. There was an atmosphere of ease. He talked to us, cracked jokes, gave advice and stressed on being observant and to be aware of the moment and read more,” she added.
