Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi

Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi (née Chimanlal Modi; born 1952) is an Indian former school teacher and the estranged wife of Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India. The couple were married in 1968 when she was 16–17 and Modi was 18. About two years into the marriage, her husband, Narendra Modi, abandoned her. Her mother died when she was two years old.

After about two years of being out of contact with all who knew him, Modi returned to Vadnagar and contacted his family. At his mother's insistence, Jashodaben came to the family household to maintain their marriage, but her husband objected to the arrangement, insisting on continuing his life on his own terms and encouraging her to continue in her studies. or 1974,

In 1991, she moved to Rajosana village, where she now remains. Jashodaben lives with her brother Ashok and his wife in Unjha.

Public discussion of marriage

Rumours had long been circulating that Modi was actually married. In 1992, Jashodaben refused to be interviewed by the newspaper Abhiyan when that publication presented a story on the marriage of her and Modi. At political rallies he had said he was single. Under the Representation of the People Act and following recent rulings stating that a complete response was mandatory, Modi was required to declare any previous marriage. Following legal advice to "come clean" about the issue, for the first time in public and media, Modi acknowledged that he had a wife. He said that the marriage was never consummated, and that Modi left it soon after it was solemnized.

In summer 2014, Congress party politician Ajay Rai filed a lawsuit to be heard by the Allahabad High Court complaining, among other things, that Modi did not give the permanent account number of Jashodaben.

The estrangement of Jashodaben and Modi has been discussed in the context of a broader trend in India that politicians may have more success if they are known for not having ties to a spouse. The RSS, which gives Modi political support, values celibacy in its senior leadership

Many Congress party politicians have criticised Modi's treatment of the estrangement of his wife.

Media appearances and political activities

Jashodaben has made numerous media appearances.

In February 2014, a reporter for The Indian Express interviewed her. In May 2014, TV9 Gujarat interviewed her on video.

Jashodaben said that she was not invited to the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi in 2014, but had she been invited, she would have gone. In December 2014, a writer for Pakistani news agency Dawn News said, "not many newspapers have had the courage to report the troubles which Jashodaben has experienced".

In June 2015, Jashodaben was scheduled to speak at a conference on politics organized by supporters of Modi. Event organizers reported that the conference was shut down on the second day of the week-long program on the direction of the BJP leader Amit Shah and others.

Request for information on security detail

From May 2014, police from the Mehsana district began providing continual police protection for Jashodaben. The security agent team following her was assigned as a response to the Special Protection Group Act, which says that the spouse of the Prime Minister of India should receive police protection. The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers' Act describes other benefits which are typically given to spouses of prime ministers. Various media organizations in India reported the RTI in different ways, including emphasizing Jashodaben's fear, the financial implications of her complaint, the guards' demands to be treated as guests, or the case as an example of female independence. The Gulf News reported that her security guards are primarily with her to conduct surveillance on her. At the end of December 2014, Jashodaben filed an appeal to the refusal. In addition to the appeal, Jashodaben complained that the government officers changed her name from "Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi" to her maiden name "Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi". As a result of this broadcast, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting chastised staff at Doordashan and transferred the director of the broadcast from Ahmedabad to Port Blair 2,500 km away.

In May 2015, Jashodaben filed a third request for the information about the security detail and their orders.