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PM Modi and his repeated displays of bipartisanship

Published By : Admin | July 25, 2022 | 11:35 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday address an event marking the 10th death anniversary of the late Harmohan Singh Yadav via video-conferencing.

The PM’s participation comes in recognition of the great contribution of the late leader for farmers, backward classes and other sections of society. Harmohan Singh Yadav was a towering figure and leader of the Yadav community. He remained active in politics for a long time.

His son, Sukhram Singh Yadav, was also a former Rajya Sabha MP.

This isn’t the first instance of PM Modi’s display of bipartisanship.

All about Harmohan Singh Yadav and a look at some such instances from the PM’s political journey:

HARMOHAN SINGH YADAV

Harmohan Singh Yadav was born on October 18, 1921 in ‘Meharban Singh Ka Purva’ village of Kanpur. He entered politics when he was 31. He became village ‘pradhan’ in 1952. He served in various capacities, including as MLC and MLA, in UP from 1970 to 1990. In 1991, he was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha for the first time and served as a member of several parliamentary committees. In 1997, he was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha for the second time. He also served as the national chairman of ‘Akhil Bhartiya Yadav Mahasabha’. 

Yadav had close relations with Chaudhary Charan Singh and Ram Manohar Lohia. He resisted Emergency and was also jailed while protesting for farmers’ rights.

Yadav was an important leader of the Samajwadi Party and had very close relations with Mulayam Singh Yadav. After the death of Chaudhary Charan Singh, he proposed to the Yadav Mahasabha that Mulayam Singh Yadav should become their leader now. This led to a tremendous rise in the stature of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

With the help of his son Sukhram Singh, he established many educational institutions in and around Kanpur. Harmohan Singh Yadav died on July 25, 2012.

1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS AND SHAURYA CHAKRA

Six years before the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Harmohan Singh Yadav and his family moved to a new place where a majority of the population was Sikh. Yadav had a good relationship with the Sikhs and would help them occasionally. During the riots, Yadav was at home with his son Sukhram. They had a rifle, carbine, and guns. When the infuriated mob approached their locality, they moved to the terrace and fired in the air, driving back the attackers. 

Local Sikhs went to Yadav’s house for shelter, and the Yadav family protected them from attack until the attackers dispersed or were arrested. For protecting the lives of the Sikhs, former Indian president Ramaswamy Venkataraman awarded Yadav the Shaurya Chakra in 1991, an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice.

PM AND THE YADAVS

Even though Mulayam Singh has been his political adversary, PM Modi has always maintained excellent relations with him. The PM has always wished him on his birthdays.

In February 2015, the PM went to Saifai in Uttar Pradesh to attend a wedding function of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s nephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Rajlakshmi.

Recently, the PM called Tejasvi Yadav and enquired about Lalu Prasad Yadav’s health when he was not well. When the PM went to Patna to inaugurate the centenary celebrations of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, the first thing he did was enquired about Lalu’s health on meeting Tejasvi Yadav.

M KARUNANIDHI

In November 2017, PM Modi went to meet then Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M Karunanidhi at his house in Chennai to enquire about his health. At that time, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government was in power in Tamil Nadu.

The bitterness between DMK and AIADMK is well-known, but the PM still rose above politics and went to his house.

H D DEVE GOWDA

The PM has had very good relations with former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. He has appreciated that PM Modi always replied to his tweets and requests. When he went to the Statue of Unity, PM Modi praised him on Twitter.

Deve Gowda had challenged Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that if the BJP came to power on its own, he would resign from Lok Sabha. After the celebrations were over, he sought an appointment with Modi.

When his car reached the portico of the Parliament, PM Modi himself came there to receive him.

“I have had knee pain since then, which is still continuing. Whatever kind of person he is, that day when my car came to the portico, Modi himself came, held me by my hand and took me inside. This was for a person who had opposed him (Modi) so much," Gowda said.

Deve Gowda said that his respect for PM Modi increased manifold when he turned down his offer to resign from the Lok Sabha, as the PM told him that things said in the election campaign must not be taken to heart and his experience is valuable for other parliamentarians.

GHULAM NABI AZAD

In February 2021, PM Modi gave an emotional speech during the farewell of Rajya Sabha opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. Speaking during the farewell, PM Modi got emotional as he recalled an episode when the two were chief ministers.

“I will never forget Ghulam Nabi Azad’s efforts and Shri Pranab Mukherjee’s efforts when people from Gujarat were stuck in Kashmir due to a terror attack. Ghulam Nabi ji was constantly following up, he sounded as concerned as if those stuck were his own family members,” an emotional PM Modi said.

“I won’t let you [Ghulam Nabi Azad] retire, will continue taking your advice. My doors are always open for you,” the PM added.

SONIA GANDHI

In August 2016, Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s roadshow in Varanasi was terminated midway after she reportedly fell sick. Gandhi cut short her visit and left for Delhi on her doctor’s advice.

PM Modi wished her speedy recovery. He also spoke to Priyanka Gandhi and Sheila Dikshit and enquired about Gandhi’s health. PM Modi offered to send a doctor to treat her and a plane to fly the Congress president back to Delhi. Similarly, during her Gujarat visit, when there was a snag in her chopper, the PM had enquired about her wellbeing.

NAVAL KISHORE SHARMA

Between 2004 and 2009, when the entire Central government was against then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, he maintained extremely cordial relations with then Governor Naval Kishore Sharma.

In July 2009, Modi got emotional during Sharma’s farewell. “He (the governor) taught me the beauty of democracy and, in a way, he indirectly guided me to run the state like a father guides a son. I’ll always remain his disciple. Panditji will retire from his post, but will always remain a father figure to me.” Sharma praised Modi and said he was ‘full of energy’.

When Naval Kishore Sharma passed away in October 2012, Modi especially visited Jaipur to pay his last respects.

PRANAB MUKHERJEE

PM Modi had very warm relations with ex-President Pranab Mukherjee. The PM wrote an emotional heartwarming letter to Pranab Mukherjee on his last day in office as President. Mukherjee shared the letter and said that he was extremely touched by the gesture. In his book, Mukherjee wrote he had cordial relations with PM Modi during his tenure.

On the passing away of Mukherjee, PM Modi wrote a letter and shared his very personal expressions of grief, pointing to the special relationship the two had forged over the years.

Both the leaders were from rival political parties, different regions and different backgrounds. Yet, at the top of the political hierarchy, the leaders displayed impeccable camaraderie and worked together in cohesion.

SHARAD PAWAR

PM Modi shares good relations with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, even though he has been his political opponent.

The PM has greatly valued and has always been willing to learn from Pawar’s knowledge and experience in the field of agriculture and cooperatives. He also went to his home turf Baramati twice.

PADMA AWARDS TO OPPOSITION LEADERS

A unique aspect of the Padma awards in recent years under the leadership of PM Modi has been that the government has not shied away from giving them to Opposition leaders to mark their contributions. Modi has often stated that keeping politics aside, the awards should recognise those who contributed to the great cause of India.

● Ghulam Nabi Azad, Padma Bhushan (2022): INC leader, former Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and former CM of Jammu and Kashmir

● Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Padma Bhushan (2022): CPM leader, former West Bengal chief minister

● Tarun Gogoi, Padma Bhushan (2021): INC leader, former chief minister of Assam for three terms

● Tarlochan Singh, Padma Bhushan (2021): Former MP from Rajya Sabha. Singh had served as press secretary to former President Giani Zail Singh

● Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Padma Bhushan (2020): PDP leader, former deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir in a Congress-PDP government

● S C Jamir, Padma Bhushan (2020): INC leader, four-time chief minister of Nagaland. He also served as a Governor and was a legislator in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

● Pranab Mukherjee, Bharat Ratna (2019): INC leader, former President of India, who served many key roles in the UPA government

● Bhabani Charan Patnaik, Padma Shri (2018): INC leader, three-term Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha. He was also an office-bearer of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee.

● Sharad Pawar, Padma Vibhushan (2017): NCP leader, former Maharashtra chief minister and Union Defence Minister

● P A Sangma, Padma Vibhushan (2017): NCP leader, former Lok Sabha Speaker

● Tokheho Sema, Padma Shri (2016): INC leader, one of the senior-most Nagaland politicians and former leader of the Congress legislature party in the Assembly.

Disclaimer:

It is part of an endeavour to collect stories which narrate or recount people’s anecdotes/opinion/analysis on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi & his impact on lives of people.

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Narendra Modi is a leader beyond ceremony
February 28, 2026

Force of habit, maybe. Or just the low-grade anxiety that comes with handing something to the prime minister of 1.4 billion people and hoping it works. I scribbled a quick line on the corner of my notepad, confirmed the ink was flowing, and handed it over.

He took it without looking at the pen. He was looking at me.

That was the first thing I noticed about Narendra Modi up close. The eye contact. Steady, unhurried, the kind that makes you feel like the meeting isn’t scheduled. He greeted me standing, which I hadn’t expected, and when he shook my hand, the grip was firm, and it lasted a beat longer than these things usually do. Just deliberate. Like he wanted you to know he meant it.

He apologized for the wait. The Israeli security detail outside his King David suite had put me through more checks than I care to describe. At one point, I was fairly certain I was going to be turned away despite holding a personal invitation from the man himself, which would have made for an interesting column but a frustrating afternoon.

Modi had heard about the delay and said sorry before anything else. I told him it was the Israeli side causing the trouble, not his team. He smiled. The room loosened slightly.

Then he picked up the special front page we had published for his visit, looked at it for a moment, and wrote in Hindi, standing, without sitting down or making any ceremony out of it. Two lines: “Humanity will remain supreme. Democracy will remain eternal.”

He signed his name and dated it February 26, 2026. The whole thing took maybe 45 seconds. He handed the page back with both hands.

I’ve interviewed a lot of people while in this job. Politicians, presidents, religious leaders, celebrities. There is a type of public figure who has spent so many years being watched that everything they do has become a kind of performance. The handshake, the pause, the practiced sincerity. Modi wasn’t that. Whatever he was doing in that suite, he was just there, fully, in a way that is rarer than it sounds.

Through a translator, you could still hear the rhythm of how he thinks. Complete thoughts. Real pauses, not to buy time, but because he’s actually considering what you said.

At one point, I told him his Knesset speech – delivered the day before, the first ever by an Indian prime minister to Israel’s parliament – felt historic. He received it simply, without deflecting or inflating it, and then said something that stayed with me: “Our nations and religions are a lot more similar than what people think.”

He had spent the previous day making exactly that case. Not as a diplomatic courtesy. As a philosophical argument.

Most leaders who come to Jerusalem talk about security, trade, and technology. Modi did that, too, and then he went somewhere else entirely. He gave what I can only describe as a civilizational speech, one that asked a genuinely interesting question: What happens when two of the world’s oldest living cultures finally look at each other carefully and recognize something familiar?

Tikkun Olam and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

HIS ANSWER was built on a comparison that sounds simple until you think about it. He placed Tikkun Olam (the Jewish concept of repairing and healing the world) next to Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the ancient Sanskrit declaration that the world is one family). He compared Halacha (Jewish law as the living framework for daily ethical conduct) to dharma (the Hindu concept of moral order and personal duty).

What he was pointing at is that both civilizations solved the same problem in remarkably similar ways. How do you build a society where ethics isn’t a sermon delivered on a holy day but a practice embedded in the texture of ordinary life? Both Judaism and Hinduism answered: Through law, through duty, through the 10,000 small decisions that make up a day.

This is not a coincidence that gets discovered at diplomatic summits. It is a structural similarity, centuries deep.

For a reader of hassidic thought, this lands with particular force. Hassidism (Hassidut, or hassidic teaching and philosophy) calls this avodah (literally “work,” meaning inner spiritual intention expressed through practical deeds).

The Baal Shem Tov, the 18th-century founder of Hassidut, taught that the divine is found not in retreat from the world but in full engagement with it, in the marketplace, at the table, in the way you treat the person standing in front of you. Modi, without using that language, was honoring exactly that tradition and pointing out that India built its civilization on the same foundation.

He connected Hanukkah and Diwali (the Hindu festival of lights, celebrating the victory of light over darkness), and the pairing is more than poetic.

Both festivals reject the passive response to darkness. In the Hanukkah story, the rabbis made a specific decision: The mitzvah (religious commandment) is not to light a large fire but to add one small candle each night, incrementally, publicly, stubbornly. That is a philosophy of historical action. Darkness is not defeated all at once. It is pushed back by accumulated small acts of light.

Diwali carries the same logic, rows of diyas (small clay oil lamps) lit across millions of homes, each one a separate act that adds to a larger illumination.

He paired Purim with Holi (the Hindu spring festival, marking the triumph of good over evil), and here, too, the intellectual connection runs even deeper. Both holidays are built on the experience of hiddenness suddenly reversed.

In the Purim story, God’s name never appears in the Book of Esther. The miracle is concealed inside what looks like ordinary palace politics and human decision-making. Hassidic thought reads this as the deepest kind of truth: that providence (hashgacha pratit, divine guidance in the details of individual lives) often looks, from the outside, like coincidence or history. You only see the pattern when you’re willing to look for it.

Modi’s insistence on ancient connections between India and Israel, on trade routes and shared texts, and a Persian queen named Esther, whose Hebrew name connects to the Hebrew word for “hidden,” carries the same idea. Some relationships are written into history long before the diplomats arrive to formalize them.

HE SPOKE about terrorism plainly, without softening the language. He linked the October 7 massacre to the Mumbai attacks, India’s own wound, still felt. He said no cause justifies the murder of civilians. He said terrorism anywhere threatens peace everywhere. He said it the way people say things they’ve believed for a long time and have stopped needing to rehearse.

Then he did something that moved the room more than any of the formal declarations. He singled out the Indian workers and caregivers who were in Israel on October 7, 2023. People who stayed. Who helped. Who didn’t run. He quoted the Talmud: Whoever saves one life saves an entire world.

In hassidic terms, this was the speech’s most important moment. Hassidut puts enormous weight on the deed that looks small but carries cosmic significance, the nitzotz (spark of holiness) hidden inside the ordinary act, waiting to be elevated by the person who chooses to do it anyway.

He took foreign workers in a war zone and made them the moral center of the relationship between two nations. That is not rhetoric. That is a worldview that knows where to look for what matters.

He also said something that Israel’s friends don’t always say out loud. Jewish communities lived in India for centuries, he told the Knesset, without persecution, without fear, without having to hide who they were. They preserved their faith and participated fully in society. He called it a source of pride for India.

He was right to call it that, and he was right to say it in Jerusalem in 2026, when the question of where in the world Jewish life can be lived openly has rarely felt more urgent.

Back in the suite, the conversation was warm. He has the quality of making a scheduled meeting feel like an actual conversation. When I told him the Knesset speech felt historic, he returned to the same idea he’d opened with: that the two civilizations are more similar than most people realize. He said it like someone reporting back from a conclusion he’d reached a long time ago and finally found the right room to say it in.

Our Wednesday cover had already been moving fast across social media before I walked into that suite. Modi reposted it to his enormous following on X/Twitter. Indian media picked it up. A front page can travel like that now, faster than anything you write underneath it.

The two handwritten lines are something else. They sit on paper, in a hotel room in Jerusalem, written standing up by a man who didn’t need to write anything and chose to write that. Humanity first. Democracy is permanent. One Hanukkah candle, one diya, same dark night, same instinct to keep adding light to it one careful flame at a time.

I tested the pen before I gave it to him.

Turns out he didn’t need my help.

(Mr. Zvika Klein is the Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief. The views expressed are personal.)

Source: The Jerusalem Post