AP PHOTOS: India’s Modi shows media savvy in his first year
May 25, 2015, 7:24 PM
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014 file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, sweeps a road with a broom along with civic workers in New Delhi, India. As India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi wraps up his first year on the job, one thing is clear, the prime minister understands the power of a good photograph. Sweeping the streets of the Indian capital with a broom to highlight his national cleanliness campaign. There's a talked about photograph documenting every major moment of his year as prime minister. (Press Trust of India source via AP, File)
(Press Trust of India source via AP, File)
NEW DELHI (AP) — As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wraps up his first year on the job, one thing is clear: He understands the power of a good photo.
A selfie with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Enveloping President Barack Obama in a tight bear hug minutes after he landed in New Delhi. Sweeping the streets of the Indian capital with a broom to highlight his national cleanliness campaign. There’s a talked-about photograph documenting just about every major moment of his first year as prime minister.
Modi’s sartorial choices, meanwhile, are as well documented as his forays into international diplomacy. The flowing, colorful traditional turban he wore to make his first speech to mark India’s Independence Day got as much attention as the fact that he decided to make the speech without the bulletproof enclosure that usually surrounds Indian prime ministers.
The pinstripes on the dark suit he wore as he sipped tea with Obama in New Delhi turned out to be his own name printed in tiny letters. The suit was estimated to have cost more than 1 million rupees ($16,000), but Modi sidestepped the negative publicity by auctioning the suit for a whopping $700,000 to raise money to clean the highly polluted Ganges river.
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