Anand Mahindra points out irony in Winston Churchill's quote as Rishi Sunak becomes UK PM

As Rishi Sunak attained victory in the UK PM race, Indian businessman Anand Mahindra took the opportunity to highlight the poetic justice that had been served to Winston Churchill, who was the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, and from 1951 to 1955. 

In a post shared on Twitter, Mahindra said that Churchill had supposedly once said that “all Indian leaders will be of low calibre & men of straw.” He then went on to note the irony of Churchill’s statement and noted how Sunak, a man of Indian origin, is set to lead the United Kingdom as the next premier. 

“Today, during the 75th year of our Independence, we’re poised to see a man of Indian origin anointed as PM of the UK. Life is beautiful,” the Mahindra Group chairman wrote. The tweet, which was shared on Monday, has amassed over 92,000 likes and more than 800 comments so far. Reacting to it, one user wrote: “This is something Indians will cherish forever.” Another Twitter user added, “Churchill underestimated us. Wishing @RishiSunak all success.”

Apart from Mahindra, several public figures have sent congratulatory wishes to Sunak, including veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who wrote on social media: "Jai Bharat .. now the UK finally has a new viceroy as its Prime Minister from the Mother Country."

Rishi Sunak becomes new UK PM

On Monday, Sunak won the race to lead the UK’s Conservative Party. He will be succeeding outgoing PM Liz Truss, who resigned within 45 days of her tenure on October 20 and thus became the shortest-serving UK PM. In his brief address on Monday, Sunak vowed to serve the post with "integrity" and expressed gratitude to Truss for serving the country during "exceptionally difficult circumstances."

"The United Kingdom is a great country but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge," he said. "We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together,” he said. At the 1922 Committee meeting with MPs, Sunak added: “This is an existential moment … our party is not fundamentally divided.”It has to “unite around a clear economic plan and a vision of a better Britain … move forward with experienced, disciplined, focused leadership [and] stable competent government.”