INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (19) became emotional while speaking about a big housing society project that was recently completed in the western state of Maharashtra.
Speaking about the project, he said he saw it and thought he wished he too had a chance to live in such a house in his childhood.
Modi was in Solapur in Maharashtra where he dedicated 90,000 houses completed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban and 15,000 houses of Ray Nagar Housing Society under the PMAY. He called the project as "the country's largest society built under PM Awas Yojana".
Read: Why PM Modi is sleeping on floor ahead of Ram temple consecration ceremony
As he spoke about the housing project, the PM's voice choked with emotion. "When I see these things, I feel so pleased. When thousands of such families get their dream fulfilled and they bless us, it becomes my biggest asset," he said.
Modi comes from a humble background and his late mother used to wash utensils at others' houses for extra income to run the household. His father sold tea at a railway station and he used to lend him a hand.
Read: Mary Millben praises Modi again, calls him 'best leader' for India & its ties with US
The Solapur project's beneficiaries comprise people such as handloom workers, vendors, drivers, power-loom workers, rag pickers and others.
Modi will preside over the inauguration of the Ram temple in the northern Indian holy town of Ayodhya on Monday (22). He said at a gathering in Solapur that his government is inspired by Lord Ram's principles of governance with honesty and urged people to celebrate the occasion by lighting "Ram Jyoti" on the day of the consecration ceremony at the temple.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images