- Thursday, May 09, 2024
Ramaphosa, who was leading Modi onto the stage, also did the same seeing the Indian PM.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday (23) applauded on social media after he carefully picked an Indian Tricolour found lying on the stage ahead of a group photograph on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In a video which was shared widely on social media, the Indian leader was seen stepping on the stage with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa when he noticed the flag on the ground as a marker to denote positions where the leaders of the five-nation grouping would stand for the photographs. He picked it up himself to ensure that no one stepped on it and put it in his pocket.
#WATCH | Johannesburg, South Africa | PM Narendra Modi notices Indian Tricolour on the ground (to denote standing position) during the group photo at BRICS, makes sure to not step on it, picks it up and keeps it with him. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa follows suit. pic.twitter.com/vf5pAkgPQo
— ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2023
Ramaphosa, who was leading Modi onto the stage, was less watchful and after seeing Modi picking up his country’s flag, he also did the same. An official came up to take the flags but while the South African president gave him his, Modi was seen patting his coat’s pocket and saying something to the host leader with a smile.
Later, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov joined the duo. Russian president Vladimir Putin skipped the summit amid an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Netizens were impressed with Modi’s gesture. Here are some reactions that came up on X, formerly Twitter:
This is not some scripted event as Rahul Gandhi does
This happened at BRICS meeting in Johannesburg
Modi noticed a Indian Tricolour on ground during group photo
He made sure to not step on it, picked and put into pocket
When u have India in ur heart, it happens automatically pic.twitter.com/1Ik2zOexUm
— STAR Boy (@Starboy2079) August 23, 2023
At #BRICS Flag was kept for notification of which head of states stands where – and that was Flag picked up and kept in pocket… by PM Modi . Respect for Indian Flag is in roots and blood of every Indian irrespective of any political line chosen or politico representation!!! pic.twitter.com/inyD7dRS4b
— Urvashi.Khona (@urvashikhona) August 23, 2023
At the #BRICSSummit2023 , Prime minister Narendra Modi ji ensured that he did not stand on the Indian flag. South African President Ramaphosa followed suit.
This is what leadership looks like.
This is what respect for the nation looks like🇮🇳. #India #SouthAfrica #BRICS pic.twitter.com/573RfRJH3A— Ravi Shankar shaw🇮🇳 (@RDancer09) August 23, 2023
