Lucknow: A day after Prime Minister's surprise visit to Pakistan, Home Minister Rajnath Singh praised Narendra Modi's initiative and termed him as the harbinger of "Innovative Diplomacy" as he drew parallels between the PM and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Addressing a public meeting here, Rajnath Singh said, “We were surprised when we heard PM was going to Pakistan. I believe that PM is the harbinger of "Innovative Diplomacy".
"I think no one in the world had ever seen diplomacy like this," Singh added on PM Modi visiting Lahore, Pakistan.
The senior BJP leader further said that after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee it is Prime Minister Modi who has raised dignity of India infront of the world.
"In independent India, after Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji, if there is someone who has made the country proud and raised the dignity of the nation in front of the world it is Narendra Modi," he said, ANI reported.
In a surprise move which was termed as 'birthday diplomacy', Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Lahore on his way back from Kabul yesterday afternoon. The public announcement of his visit was made by a tweet the PM put out towards the end of his stay in Kabul.
People on the social media hailed the Prime Minister's move as a significant development in the relationship between the two South Asian neighbours, even though the Opposition criticised it saying that the cost of his meals would be paid by the country in terms of national security.
Prime Minister Modi landed at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport on Christmas day, where he was received by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
PM Modi's 150-minute visit to Pakistan was first by an Indian Prime Minister in 11 years.
