JAIPUR: His first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was when Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat in 2012. But 26-year-old visually challenged Shaitan Singh never imagined that he would have a second date with Modi again.On Sunday as his recorded message to the Prime Minister found its way into Mann Ki Baat, Singh visually challenged since birth, was surprised yet happy.Modi on Sunday stressed that cleanliness has its own importance in everyone’s life. His comments were in reply to Singh’s statement who hailed the Swachh Bharat Mission for the benefits it provided him. “Being visually impaired, you might have faced a lot of problems without a toilet, and now it has become quite comfortable for you. Had you not called, people would have been unaware of this sensitive side of the mission,” the PM said.A farmer by profession, Singh does farming using solar panels. “I was studying agriculture in the Tata Agricultural and Rural Training Centre for the blind at Phansa village of Valsad district of Gujarat. It was a 3-year training. On January 1, 2012 we were taken to a ‘Sadbhavna Mission’ programme where I met Modi ji who was the chief minister of Gujarat then. He was happy when I told him that I aspire to be a farmer and he had asked if I was blind by birth or got this at a tender age,” said Shaitan Singh while talking to TOI over the phone from his village.On Sunday, one of his visually challenged friends from Gujarat told him to play ‘Mann Ki Baat’ as his recorded message was being played by Prime Minister Modi. “There is a facility to listen to Mann Ki Baat by dialing 1922 from your phone. I dialled it immediately and was happy to notice that the message on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan I had recorded on September 24 was played by Modi ji,” Singh added.“In the message, I had said that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a good initiative that inspired my family too to build a toilet. As a blind man, it was difficult for me to go for open defecation. I had praised it in my message and had thanked him for the initiative,” he added.Now, Shaitan Singh wishes to appear for class X exam through open school. “I have learnt the basics of agriculture, If I can add something to my education it would be an advantage,” said a confident Shaitan Singh.

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