A boy in Ahmedabad prays for Sunita Williams’s safe return from space. (AP)

Sunita Williams may be the most famous non-resident Gujarati, but Narendra Modi doesn’t care.

The astronaut, whose father Deepak Pandya migrated to the US from Gujarat, touches down tomorrow after the longest space flight by a woman.

All over the country — and especially in Gujarat — prayers are being said for her safe return. The Vishwa Gujarat Samaj is planning a grand celebration. But the chief minister hasn’t congratulated her yet, not even after repeated prodding.

Modi’s government, never one to pass up an opportunity to tomtom Gujarati pride, has no plans to felicitate her either when she visits in October. “As of now we have not decided anything. It is too early to plan any programme,” said BJP spokesman Vijay Rupani, a Modi loyalist.

The reason could lie in Sunita’s family ties — her cousin, Haren Pandya, was the home minister and Modi’s rival within the BJP. He had become a rallying point for dissidents before he was assassinated in 2003. Haren’s father Vitthalbhai Pandya had blamed Modi for the death.

Vitthalbhai said Sunita wants to visit Gujarat in the first week of October. Apart from Somnath and Dwarka, she intends to go to Kutch where there is a space enthusiasts’ club run by girls keen to interact with her.

The last time Sunita was in Gujarat was in 1998 when her cousin Haren — Haren’s mother and Sunita’s father are siblings — was elected MLA.

“Sunita has been emotionally attached to Haren. In fact, in 1998 she had come all the way from the US to campaign for Haren and had participated in his victory procession. She was so thrilled to see the large turnout,” Vitthalbhai said.

She could not come when Haren was murdered because she was undergoing training, he added.

Deepak Pandya, a doctor, hails from Mehsana in north Gujarat. He migrated to the US before Sunita was born in Ohio in 1965. Her mother Bonnie is of Slovenian descent.

“A follower of Aurobindo and a deeply religious person, Deepak is attached to his cultural roots in Gujarat. So is his daughter,” Vitthalbhai said.

Sunita took a copy of the Bhagvad Gita, a Ganesha idol and samosas with her to space.

She is married to Michael Williams, a “generous police officer” who is a practising Christian, Vitthalbhai said, adding that Sunita remains a Hindu. “She had even taken the Gita with her, which remained her companion in space. It has been her source of inspiration,” her uncle said.

The Opposition had a few months ago wanted the Assembly to adopt a resolution congratulating “Gujarat’s daughter”. But the suggestion was greeted by silence.

Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil feels the state government should felicitate Sunita. “If the Modi does not organise any grand function, his Save the Girl Child and women’s empowerment campaigns will ring hollow,” he said.

Krishnakant Vagharia, president of the Vishwa Gujarati Samaj, said he does not expect the “vindictive” Modi to felicitate Sunita. The Samaj, he said, has decided to organise a grand celebration that will put the government to shame.

BJP spokesman Vijay Rupani would only say: “We will decide what is to be done at the appropriate time.”