World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his re-election as Prime Minister of India in the Lok Sabha elections. In response, the Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to his friend “Tulsi Bhai”.
“Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on your re-election. I look forward to continued close collaboration between WHO and India for #HealthForAll,” the WHO Director-General said in a post on X.
“Thank you my friend Tulsi Bai! India’s collaboration with WHO advances our ‘One Planet, One Health’ vision. India’s first WHO World Centre for Traditional Medicine will further contribute to our collective efforts towards #HealthForAll,” the PM replied to the message.
Thank you friend Tulsi Bai! India-WHO collaboration advances our vision of “One Planet, One Health”. The first WHO World Centre for Traditional Medicine in India will further strengthen our joint efforts. #HealthForAll. https://t.co/kJihsbm63F
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 6, 2024
The name “Tusri Bai” comes from an interaction between the Prime Minister and the WHO Director-General at the three-day Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit, held in Gujarat in 2022.
During the summit, the WHO Director-General requested that a Gujarati name be chosen as he was “fully immersed in Gujarati identity”.
“WHO Director-General Tedros is a good friend of mine. He always said that my Indian teachers taught me and it is because of them that I am here. Today he said to me, ‘I have become a total Gujarati. Have you decided on a name for me?’ So, as a Gujarati, I will call him Tulsibai. Tulsi is a plant that the present generation is forgetting. For generations, tulsi has been worshipped. Tulsi plant can also be used in marriages. That is why you are with us now,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi is due to be sworn in for a third term as prime minister on Sunday. His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which won 293 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, while the opposition United India won 232 seats.
