Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay has recalled a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 when he described Modi as an “avatar of Vishnu”, saying he later became convinced that his words reflected his belief in the Indian leader’s style of governance and public service. Tobgay shared the recollection in a social media post on Wednesday, as PM Modi marks 25 years since he first took charge of a government. The Bhutanese prime minister said he met Modi in Delhi on July 27, 2019, at a time when he was neither prime minister nor a member of parliament. His party had lost Bhutan’s elections about 10 months earlier. “I told him he would always be my elder brother,” Tobgay wrote, explaining that Modi had treated him with the affection of an elder brother towards a younger sibling. He then made a more striking remark. “I saw him as an avatar of Vishnu,” Tobgay recalled telling Modi. He said that in the region, enlightened rulers have historically been regarded in such terms.
