Rome, Oct 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday invited Pope Francis to visit India as he called on the head of the Catholic Church at the Vatican in their first-ever one-to-one meeting.

At the Vatican, Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

It was the first-ever one-to-one meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church.

Modi is also the first Indian Prime Minister Francis has met since becoming Pope in 2013.

The Prime Minister also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican City State.

The first Pope to visit India was Paul IV, who visited Mumbai in 1964. Pope John Paul II visited India in February 1986 and November 1999.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in October 2019 met Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Amritsar: Unidentified individuals opened fire at the youth who were on their way to the rally for Gurjeet Singh Aujila, the Congress candidate for Amritsar parliamentary constituency, at Ajnala on Saturday afternoon. One youth was injured in the firing, reported Amar Ujala.

 The miscreants reportedly fled the scene after the incident, taking advantage of the huge gathering. Meanwhile, Aujila has alleged the role of AAP leader Kuldeep Dhaliwali’s relatives in the firing incident. Local police have visited the scene and an investigation is in progress.