Did PM Narendra Modi insult National Anthem in Russia?

Moscow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday night faced embarrassment when he, unintentionally, disrespected the National Anthem.

As per PTI, PM Modi started walking when the National Anthem was being played by a Russian military band soon after his arrival at the Moscow airport on Wednesday.

PM Modi was then immediately pulled back by a Russian official.

PM Modi started walking after he misunderstood a gesture by a Russian official.

After the Prime Minister stepped onto the tarmac, the Russian official made a gesture probably asking the band to start.

However, another official stopped Modi from walking following which the Prime Minister stepped back and stood in attention.

The Aam Aadmi Party wasted no time in capitalising on the issue and its MLAs started sending out messages on WhatsApp etc like the one below:

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday night committed a huge protocol gaffe causing him considerable embarrassment. Upon arrival in the Russian capital Moscow, Modi was to take the guard of honour, which started with the playing of Indian national anthem. However, as required by the protocol, Modi didn’t stand in attention until the completion of the national anthem and he kept walking. #Shame #ModiwalksonRashtagaan (sic)"

We leave it to our readers to decide whether it was an unintentional mistake on the part of the PM or a deliberate attempt to disrespect National Anthem.