Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated UK’s next Prime Minister, the Indian-origin Rishi Sunak, in a tweet, saying, "I look forward to working closely together on global issues, and implementing Roadmap 2023."
Sunak has received congratulatory messages from all quarters.
The first to wish him were fellow Tory MPs at Conservative Party headquarters, who were seen exchanging hugs and handshakes. Sunak is expected to make a speech shortly.
The new Tory leader bumped into (current) Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and exchanged a cordial handshake. Sunak also ran into erstwhile Tory leader Theresa May, who appeared to congratulate him.
Among the initial well-wishers on Twitter is outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has congratulated Sunak for succeeding her as leader of the Conservative Party.
UK leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt tweeted a long note, stating “Rishi has my full support” and ending it with, “We all owe it to the country, to each other and to Rishi to unite and work together for the good of the nation. There is much work to be done.”
Angela Rayner, Labour Party's Deputy leader, says Sunak will become the UK's next prime minister without him "saying a word" about what he would do as PM.
While India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to issue a public statement, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Priti Gandhi tweeted:Who would have imagined the tables would turn in just 75 years!!
Even Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha tweeted along the same lines, stating in a post, "History comes full circle"
Today, as India celebrates Diwali in its 75th year as an independent nation, the UK gets an Indian-origin Prime Minister. History comes full circle.
Congratulations, @RishiSunak and Happy Diwali! 🪔
Congress leader P Chidambaram has tweeted that "...there is a lesson to learned by India and the parties that practise majoritarianism.”
