Ahmedabad, Aug 11, 2022, IANS

Ahmedabad, Aug 10 (IANS) Qamar Mohsin Shaikh, who is a Pakistan-origin woman and currently lives in India after her marriage, has made headlines after she sent Prime Minister Narendra Modi a sacred thread -- 'rakhi' on Raksha Bandhan this year.

She first met Modi nearly 27 years ago in Delhi when the latter asked her "Kaisi ho behen"?

This gesture touched Qamar and she decided to tie a rakhi on him. Since then every year she has been tying a rakhi on the Prime Minister's wrist.

The Pakistani woman told IANS that she and her husband were the guests of BJP senior leader and MP, Dilip Sanghani. Sanghani being an MP had a government house. At that time Narendra Modi was in New Delhi and was staying at Sanghani's residence.

She remembers, "One evening after his work Modi returned home, when we were introduced to each other. Modi in a polite tone inquired, "How are you sister?" This had touched me a lot, within a few days Raksha Bandhan was approaching. I knew that on this auspicious day a sister ties a rakhi to her brother, so I also bought a rakhi and tied it on the Prime Minister. Since then this brother and sister bond has grown stronger with every passing year."

Since the last two years due to Covid-19, she was not able to visit Delhi and personally tie the rakhi, but this year she made a request for an appointment and if Covid-19 does not play spoilsport, she is hopeful of being in Delhi on Thursday to tie the rakhi.

If that does not happen, she will have a video chat with her brother Prime Minister Modi.