Artist with speech, hearing impairment presents PM Modi his painting

An artist with hearing and speech impairment on Friday presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his painting, and said it was a dream coming true for him.

The painting is a collage of drawings showing Modi in different stages of his life, including when he was a boy, and one in which he is receiving his mother's blessings.

After presenting the painting, Abhijeet Gotani, the young artist from Assam, said he felt very good at meeting the prime minister in person after often watching him on the TV.

Modi praised the artwork work as "very beautiful", he said, according to a translator.

"I felt emotional. A dream has come true," Gotani said, describing Modi as "simple and soft-hearted".

The artist said his family will feel proud he has met Modi.

He said people with impairments like him should not feel defeated but let their work do the talking. "If someone insults you, you have to reply with your work. That I can do it," he said.