Modi gets a shoutout from ‘Man vs Wild’ host: When episode led to row amid Pulwama attack ahead of 2019 polls

PRime government minister Narendra Modi's pip with breakthrough channel's hold Grylls is formerly again hitting the headlines after the British survivalist gave a special shoutout to Modi, hailing him as one of the “most powerful leaders in the world”.Grylls shared pictures on X of himself with PM Modi, former US President Barack Obama and Prince William of the UK, as he hailed all three as some of the most powerful leaders he has shot episodes with.“I've met some of the most powerful leaders in the world. The best ones were never the loudest,” Grylls wrote on X. The show dates back to February 2019 when PM Modi was invited by Bear Grylls on the popular Discovery channel show ‘Man Vs Wild’ on one of his excursions within Uttarakhand's Jim Corbett National Park.However, the show ran into quite a bit of controversy as the shoot day of the show coincided with the Pulwama terror attack that claimed lives of over 40 CRPF jawans in J&K.Also read: ‘Govt doesn't care': Calls for Sonam Wangchuk to call off hunger strike grow; Mahua, Uddhav, Dipke issue appealsNearly a week after the attack, the Congress alleged that Modi was shooting a documentary in the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand on the day when a dastardly terror attack in J&K's Pulwama shook the entire country. The party accused the prime minister of continuing the filming even after news of the deadly attack emerged.“The terror attack happened at 3:10 pm, but the Prime Minister was busy shooting for his promotional film till 6:40 pm. When the whole country was mourning the loss of lives of our jawans in the Pulwama attack in the afternoon, PM Modi was busy shooting for a film till the evening. Is there any PM in the world like this?” Congress leader Randeep Surjewala had then said.However, the Congress allegations were rejected by the BJP. The party said that the PM got to know about the attacks late and that he cancelled his public rally at Rudrapur that afternoon after he got to know about the attack. Sources quoted by several media reports back then said that Modi had sought updates from National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik before going back to his guest house in Ramnagar.Also read: Affair, murder and body parts dumped in forest: How Navi Mumbai man was killed by wife, her loverSatyapal Malik, who passed away in 2025, had also said that he had called PM Modi soon after the attack happened but the PM was not reachable. “He was in Corbett National Park, getting his shooting done. There isn’t a phone there, so after getting out of there, he called me from a dhaba: ‘Satyapal, what happened?’ I told him, ‘Sir I am very unhappy that this happened solely due to our fault. If we had given them an aircraft it wouldn’t have happened.’ He told me to keep quiet about it then,” Malik had alleged in an interview in 2023.Malik's remarks kicked up a row as he claimed that he had pointed that the attack happened because of government lapses and that PM Modi had asked to remain silent over it. He also alleged “incompetence” and “carelessness” on part of the CRPF and the Union home ministry.Amit Shah, the then BJP chief, had accused the Congress of playing petty politics over the Pulwama attack. Malik's claims also faced BJP's denials.“The Congress is making an issue of the events the PM was attending at that time. Say whatever you want, but the people of the country are not affected. He is very serious about national security and zero tolerance towards terrorism. With what face are you questioning the PM? The same party questioned the surgical strikes,” Shah was quoted as saying.Modi retained power in the May 2019 Lok Sabha elections, his second straight term.