‘Can’t believe Vijaybhai is no more’: PM Modi on Vijay Rupani’s demise; ex-Gujarat CM died in Ahmedabad air crash | India News
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the family of Vijay Rupani, the former Gujarat chief minister who died in the Ahmedabad air crash.Also Read | Air India crash: Gujarat ex-CM Vijay Rupani believed 1206 his lucky numberThe prime minister said he is not “ready to accept” that his fellow BJP leader, “Vijaybhai”, is no more.“I met Vijaybhai Rupani’s family and offered my condolences. I am not ready to accept that Vijaybhai is no more. I had been associated with him for years. We worked shoulder to shoulder in many challenging times,” PM Modi wrote on X.He recalled that Rupani was of simple and gentle nature, hardworking and committed to the ideology of the party, and became chief minister of Gujarat while fulfilling various responsibilities in the party’s organization.The deceased former CM, noted PM Modi, struck a unique chord in every role assigned to him, whether it was in the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, or as Rajya Sabha MP, as the state BJP president, and as a cabinet minister.“I had the opportunity to work closely with Vijaybhai when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. He took many steps to further the development journey of Gujarat, of which ‘Ease of Living’ is a notable one. The meetings and discussions with him will always be remembered,” the prime minister, himself a former chief minister of Gujarat, his home state, added.Also Read | Vijay Rupani dies in Air India plane crash: From Emergency protests to Gujarat CM chair – A calm leader who rose to powerRupani was travelling to London in the ill-fated Air India flight, which crashed minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. The aircraft had 242 people on board, including 230 passengers, two pilots, and 10 cabin crew. There was only one survivor, a British passenger of Indian origin.
