A former judge, clad in a saffron kurta, bent halfway forward and tightly grasped with both his hands Prime Minister Narendra Modi's outstretched palm.
If one image stood out at Modi's Siliguri rally on Saturday, it was not Abhijit Gangopadhyay's maiden appearance at the speaker's podium in a political event but the way the former high court judge chose to greet the Prime Minister within four days of quitting the judiciary.
Gangopadhyay, who had to address the rally in the Prime Minister’s absence as Modi arrived 30 minutes late, was separated from Modi by a seat. As Modi noticed Gangopadhyay, he stretched his hand towards him. The former judge rose from his chair and bent halfway forward to greet the PM.
Gangopadhyay, before flying to Siliguri on Saturday morning, demanded imposition of President’s rule in Bengal.
On his interaction with the Prime Minister, he said: “I sought the blessings of Modiji.”
Two days into his political innings, Gangopadhyay said he was thrilled by how the BJP had embraced him while claiming he received a certificate of courage from Modi.
The picture of Gangopadhyay bending to greet the Prime Minister was picked up Trinamul, Bengal's ruling party that had been his staunchest critic from the day his judgments on the alleged teacher recruitment scam embarrassed the Mamata Banerjee government.
Rajya MP Derek O’ Brien shared the image and wrote: “GODSE LOVERS UNITE.”
If the picture stole the Siliguri show, Gangopadhyay’s first speech as a BJP leader was an extension of what he had been saying ever since he had decided to quit as a Calcutta High Court judge and hold the party flag.
“This (Trinamul) is a party of criminals. The education minister is in jail. The food minister is in jail. They have taken away people's basic rights — food, housing and clothing,” Gangopadhyay said, urging people “not to cast a single vote to Trinamul”.
On Gangopadhyay’s speech at the Siliguri rally, Trinamul spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: “We always said he (Gangopadhyay) was biased as a judge, and now it is amply clear.”