Senior advocate and noted special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who was among the four individuals nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday night, revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally called to inform him of the nomination—and spoke to him in Marathi.
“Modi ji speaks excellent Marathi. He begins some of his speeches in Maharashtra in Marathi and then switches to Hindi,” Nikam told reporters on Sunday. Recounting the conversation, he said, “When I received his call at 8.44 p.m. on Saturday and the operator connected me to him, the PM said, ‘Ujjwal ji mi Marathit bolu ka Hindi bolu (should I speak in Marathi or Hindi)?’”
“I told him he has command over both languages and loves them. He told me that the President wants to hand over some responsibility to me and asked if I would be willing to accept it. And then he continued in Marathi,” Nikam added.
Reflecting on his nomination, Nikam said, “It is the result of my decades-long work in the field of law. The BJP also showed faith in me during the Lok Sabha elections. Now, as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, I have even greater responsibility.”
Nikam is best known for his prosecution work in some of India’s most high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in which Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab was convicted, and the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He also highlighted his efforts in securing crucial testimony from David Headley, which helped expose Pakistan’s role in the 26/11 attacks.
“With the blessings I have received, I will strive to do good work. During the Kasab case, with the support of Amit Bhai (Home Minister Amit Shah) and Devendra Fadnavis, we secured key testimony from David Headley. Our efforts must now go towards constructive national work,” he said.
Nikam had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate from Mumbai North Central but lost to Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad.
Along with Nikam, the other nominees to the Rajya Sabha include former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master, and Delhi-based historian Meenakshi Jain. The nominations were announced via a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry on Saturday night.