'Not saying because he is PM but..,' Jaishankar on PM Modi's leadership

livemint.com:

During an interaction with the Indian community in Bangkok, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's exceptional ability to comprehend the intricacies of various matters and translate them into effective policies and programs. Reflecting on his own transition from being a diplomat to a politician, Jaishankar highlighted the contrasting nature of the two roles.

As a diplomat, he had previously worked alongside politicians, but stepping into the world of politics brought him face-to-face with its relentless and non-stop demands, with no respite even on weekends. “I feel it's been an enormous good fortune of the country to have someone like PM Modi at this time. And I am not saying this because he is the prime minister of the day and I am a member of his Cabinet.

I am saying this because when you have a once-in-a-century health challenge, it's only someone who's so grounded can say okay there is a health challenge, but what will do for the persons going home; what will you do to feed them; how will you put money into their account. The idea that women will manage money better will not occur to many people," Jaishankar said. "Good leaders are people very grounded, very experienced with an enormous feel for what is happening but who also has the passion to take the country to a different level -- enormously grounded and enormously visionary.

And such people, I can tell you, come once in a lifetime," Jaishankar said. Addressing a question about a book he had authored, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar responded by expressing his belief that, in his opinion, Lord Hanuman is the greatest diplomat of all time.