Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 65 on Thursday and greetings poured in from leaders within and outside the country, with the highlight being the message of President Pranab Mukherjee who lauded his "dynamism" and "out of box" thinking.
For Modi, it was like any other day as he went about attending to his official engagements without any celebration. Among them was a visit to 'Shauryanjali', a commemorative exhibition on the Golden Jubilee of India's triumph over Pakistan in the 1965 war at the Rajpath lawns in New Delhi.
He was greeted by leaders from across the political divide, including Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah.
Among the foreign leaders to greet him were Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Modi thanked them via Twitter.
His personal twitter account greeted those who accessed it with multi-colour balloons.
In his greetings, Mukherjee said the last year was an important period filled with significant achievements for the prime minister and the country.
"This special day comes as you complete more than fifteen months as the Prime Minister of our great nation. The last year has been an important period filled with significant achievements for you personally and our country.
"Your hard work, dynamism and out of the box thinking has received wide appreciation in the country and abroad," the President was quoted by his official spokesman Venu Rajamony as saying.
Mukherjee complimented Modi on his accomplishments and said, "May the Almighty bless you with good health, happiness
and many more years of dedicated service to the nation."
In his response, Modi tweeted, "Dear Rashtrapati ji, deeply humbled by your good wishes. Thank you very much. One learns so much from your wisdom & insight."
Rahul Gandhi set aside political differences and extended his greetings. "Best wishes to Prime Minister Narendra Modiji on his birthday," he tweeted.
Initiating the exchange of greetings between the two who have been having bitter exchanges over various issues, Modi had on June 19 taken to twitter to greet Rahul on his birthday. Rahul had been quick to thank him for the "best wishes".
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who had to face the party's wrath for praising Modi and was dropped from the list of spokespersons, also greeted the prime minister but underlined their disagreement in politics.
"Happy Birthday @narendramodi. May you continue to serve India w/energy & commitment. Will continue to disagree w/yr politics, but w/respect!," Tharoor said.
To this, Modi responded: "Thank you Dr Tharoor. And, what is our democracy without constructive criticism! Debate makes us stronger."
Kejriwal also tweeted: "Greetings to Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi ji on his birthday. My prayers for his health and long life."
Omar Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, tweeted: "Happy birthday @narendramodi ji. May God grant you a long life in the service of the nation. #HappyBdayPM."
In response to greetings by the Chinese President, Modi tweeted, "Thank you President Xi Jinping for your wishes."
To Russian PM, he said, "Dear @MedvedevRussiaE, thank you for your wishes."
Responding to greetings by the German leader, Modi said, "My gratitude to Chancellor Angela Merkel for her kind wishes."
BJP President Amit Shah said on the micro blogging website he prays to God for his "long life and good health".
Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 65 on Thursday. Photograph: Ajay Verma/ Reuters
