In a first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today turned a teacher interacting with lakhs of school children across the country through video conferencing, laying emphasis on girls' education, cleanliness and the need to protect environment while describing himself as a "task master".
Choosing the occasion of Teachers' Day, the birth anniversary of late philosopher-statesman S Radhakrishnan, he gave a pep talk to the students as well as teachers, stressing on building respect for the profession of teaching, character building and skill development.
For the 90-minute interaction arrangements were made in lakhs of schools across the country even though governments in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu did not show much enthusiasm.
The event also brought out the lighter side of Modi who confessed to being mischievous in his childhood and regretted that childhood was being lost in the current age.
During the interaction with a gathering of children, telecast live across the country, he narrated anecdotes and faced questions from the floor as well as from six cities from Leh to Thiruvananthapuram through video conferencing.
"Your style conveys an image that you are a head master. Are you tough like a head master or are you sweet," asked a girl student from Delhi.
"I am a task master. I do a lot of hard work and extract hard work from others. I told officers in my first interaction that if you work for 11 hours, I am ready to work for 12 hours, if you work for 12 hours, I am ready to work for 13 hours," Modi said.
His gentle query to the girl whether she was accompanied by her head master evoked laughter in the audience that had a good sprinkling of teachers.
A boy from Manipur asked how to he can become the Prime Minister. In response, Modi said he hailed from a humble family and never thought of reaching the top.
"That is the beauty of our democracy and our Constitution-makers. Anybody can become the Prime Minister if you win the confidence and love of the people," he told the questioner.
"Start preparing for 2024, Till then I have no threat," he said, adding "I hope you will call me for your swearing-in", in remarks that again sent the audience into peals of laughter.
