‘I'm an ordinary man, have no idea about protocols,’ says PM Modi on 'Hugplomacy'

Days after being mocked by Congress for his “awkward” hugs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said, he was unaware of the protocols of “looking right and left” since he is an ordinary man.

In an Interview to a private news channel, Modi said he was not “trained” like other politicians and his basic nature, which is "to convert adversity into opportunity", has helped him.

"I do not know all the protocols as I am a common man. The openness of this common man is liked by the world. Friendly relations come in handy," PM Modi said in the interview to Zee news.

Recently, Congress on its official Twitter handle shared a video mocking PM Modi’s “Hugplomacy” and highlighted select moments when Modi looked “awkward” around world leaders.

With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visiting India, we look forward to more hugs from PM Modi! #Hugplomacy pic.twitter.com/M3BKK2Mhmf

— Congress (@INCIndia) January 14, 2018

Reacting to the video, BJP said Congress has stopped to its lowest and demanded Rahul Gandhi’s apology.

Also Read | Congress video mocks Modi’s ‘Hugplomacy’, irked BJP demands Rahul Gandhi’s apology

"When I became the Prime Minister, Everybody used to ask me how will I conduct my foreign policy. And in a way, this criticism was right because I did not have any experience. I got the benefit of not having experience. I did not have any baggage,” Modi said.

He said when he stands next to the world leaders, he feels it’s not Narendra Modi but 1.25 billion people who are standing with them.