45 years after split, PM’s wife gets guards
Print Edition
INDIA is preparing to give top-level security to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wife deep in a village in their native state, a move that threatens to upend the quiet life she has lived since the couple separated as teenagers about 45 years ago.
Jashodaben Modi, 62, a retired primary school teacher, has been thrown into the spotlight since Modi, after years of silence, disclosed his marriage in an election filing last month.
She has gone on pilgrimages in the Himalayas twice in recent weeks to avoid reporters swarming to her windowless rooms in the house she shares with her brother’s family in Gujarat state’s Brahmanvada village.
Modi, 63, was sworn in as India’s 15th prime minister yesterday, and the Special Protection Group (SPG) will now take over his security.
“The SPG has made general inquiries regarding Jashodaben. The lead agency will be the state police and the SPG will have to depend on them,” a source in the Gujarat police said.
Modi is one of India’s most guarded politicians. Earlier this year there were warnings that the Indian Mujahideen were plotting to target him at an election rally.
Jashodaben’s family said they were not aware of any plans to mount security for her. “She lives a life immersed in prayers, she doesn’t need any of this,” said her brother, Ashok Modi, who runs a small shop.
“What she would like is to get back to her husband as every woman in our society wants. But that won’t happen,” he said. Modi is a common name in Gujarat.
Another brother, Kamlesh, said he was pleased Modi had owned up to the marriage.
Prime Minister Modi has never spoken about his wife, but friends and family say the couple were married off while in their teens. Modi left home soon after, drawn into the ascetic life of the Hindu nationalist volunteer group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
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