PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has lauded former Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu for his commitment to ideology, which drove him to join a political party that had little presence in his State of Andhra Pradesh, saying his “energy is infectious”.

In a three-page farewell letter to Naidu, whose term as the Vice-President ended on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said, “Your energy is infectious. It can be seen in your wit and wisdom. Your one-liners are widely admired. Articulation has always been among your greatest strengths.”

Recalling Naidu’s strengths, Modi said from the small lanes of Nellore to the vice-presidency, yours has been an outstanding and inspiring journey. “Whenever any challenge or setback came, it only strengthened your resolve to go about your work with even more courage,” Modi said.

Referring to his chairmanship of Rajya Sabha, Modi said Naidu has always been a “stickler for parliamentary discipline and traditions”. “I know of your personal anguish and discomfort whenever there were unseemly disruptions or the dignity of the Parliament was lowered in any manner. Whenever you spoke about it, there was deep pain in your voice, conveying your worry for the long-term future of our nation and the vibrancy of the Parliament,” Modi wrote in the letter addressed to Naidu as Venkaiah ‘garu’ (honorific suffix).