INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoists the national flag on the 77th Independence Day on Tuesday from the ramparts of the
historic Red Fort, he will create a record of sorts
record with Manmohan Singh of hoisting the national flag for 10 consecutive times, Modi will also become an Indian PM to raise the tricolour
for third highest time, a record which he will share with his immediate predecessor.So far, India has seen 15 PMs
Out of these 15 PMs, 13 have hoisted the national flag at the Red Fort
hoisting the maximum number of times rests with first PM Jawaharlal Nehru
She hoisted it 16 times, just one short of her father
However, it was not consecutive as in the case of Nehru
She achieved the feat in two different stints separated by a gap of about four years.Indira hoisted the national flag for 11 consecutive
times during her first stint as PM from January 24, 1966 to March 24, 1977
She hoisted the flag for five consecutive times between January 14, 1980 and October 31, 1984.Till now, Manmohan Singh, who was the PM of
the Congress-led UPA government for continuous 10 years, holds the record of hoisting the tricolour for 10 times between May 22, 2004 and
and will also become a PM to to do the honours for 10 consecutive times from May 26, 2014 onwards.Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the PM of the
BJP-led NDA government raised the tricolour for six consecutive times
Though he was sworn in twice as PM, he could not get a chance to hoist the flag in his first stint between May 16, 1996 and June 1,
1996.Vajpayee raised the tricolour for six consecutive times in his second term as PM from March 19, 1998 to May 22, 2004.Rajiv Gandhi, who
Tashkent in the erstwhile USSR
Morarji Desai, the first non-Congress PM of independent India and who succeeded Indira Gandhi after a spell of Emergency, hoisted the flag
hoisted the flag only once each.Charan Singh was the PM from July 28, 1979 to January 14, 1980
He took over from Morarji Desai and was succeeded by Indira Gandhi.V P Singh, who succeeded Rajiv Gandhi on December 2, 1989 was the PM till
November 10, 1990, when his government also lost majority and fell.Vajpayee had taken over as the PM from Narasimha Rao on May 16, 1996
He was succeeded by H D Deve Gowda on June 1, 1996
Gowda hoisted the flag in 1996 and had to step down from his post on April 21, 1997.Gowda was succeeded by I K Gujral on April 21, 1997 and
was on the chair till March 19, 1998
tricolour.Gulzarilal Nanda twice became the PM
PM from November 10, 1990 to June 21, 1991 and he also could not hoist the national flag even once.
