JULY 13- Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi can be many things, but apologetic is not one of them. Despite repeated attempts to draw him into saying sorry for his alleged failure in containing the post-Godhra communal riots of 2002, he has remained firm. On Friday – the day after Modi wished Muslims a happy Ramzan – the man who would be prime minister got yet another chance to apologise.
But he did not, preferring instead to explain how he felt about the riots that wounded Gujarat more than a decade ago. “Someone else is driving a car and we’re sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheels, will it be painful or not? Of course it is. If I’m a chief minister or not, I’m a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad,” Modi told a news agency in an interview published on Friday.
Modi’s rivals pounced on his words immediately. “This reflects the perverse mindset of Modi; the remarks are totally against the idea of India. Thousands of people lost their lives in 2002 riots and, in this backdrop, the analogy used by Narendra Modi needs to be strongly condemned. There is no place for such a comparison in civilised India. Congress strongly condemns it. It was unfortunate. Why is Modi bringing up such issues before elections again? He should apologise to the nation for his comments,” said Ajay Maken, the head of the Congress communication department.
After the storm had broken, Modi spoke again, this time via twitter. Again, there was nothing apologetic about it. “In our culture every form of life is valued & worshipped. People are best judge,” he tweeted.
Modi stirred afresh the debate on secularism and nationalism. “But what is the definition of secularism? For me, my secularism is India first. I say, the philosophy of my party is ‘Justice to all. Appeasement to none.’ This is our secularism,” he said, drawing from one of the many widely held beliefs of the Sangh Parivar, which first entered the nation’s political lexicon in India in the wake of the Ramjanmabhoomi movement of the late 1980s.
Modi clearly enunciated his ideological underpinnings, taking care to underline that he would never distance himself from it. “I’m a nationalist. I’m patriotic. Nothing is wrong. I’m a born Hindu. So, I’m a Hindu nationalist so yes, you can say I’m a Hindu nationalist because I’m a born Hindu. I’m patriotic, so nothing is wrong in it,” the Gujarat Chief Minister who was only last month anointed as the BJP’s campaign committee chief, making him his party’s de-facto prime ministerial face, said.
The statement was aimed at reinvigorating his image as staunch Hindu nationalist.
All are equal
In the past, Modi has consistently refused to be drawn into a debate on whether he is anti-Muslim. To such queries, his oft-repeated reply has been that he was a leader of six crore Gujaratis. As he seeks to broaden his canvas in his quest to be accepted as a serious contender for the prime ministerial sweepstakes, he used a similar analogy. “First thing, to Hindustan’s citizens, to voters, Hindus and Muslims, I’m not in favour of dividing. I’m not in favour of dividing Hindus and Sikhs. I’m not in favour of dividing Hindus and Christians. All the citizens, all the voters, are my countrymen,” he said, in remarks aimed at strengthening his ” above-the-fray” persona. The BJP leader made no attempt to deny that he was a polarising force.
In fact, he defended it, arguing that it was good for democracy. “If in America, if there’s no polarisation between Democrats and Republicans, then how would democracy work? It’s bound (to happen). In a democracy there will be a polarisation between Democrats and Republicans,” he said, seeking to transform an apparent weakness into a strength.
He also refuted allegations about his role in the 2002 riots, contending that the Supreme Court-appointed SIT had given him “a clean chit”. He also made a determined effort to make a virtue out of his image as a decisive leader, denying, at the same time, that he was authoritative and dictatorial. “If you call yourself a leader, then you have to be decisive. If you’re decisive, then you have the chance to be a leader. These are two sides to the same coin.. The other thing is, if someone was an authoritarian, then how would he be able to run a government for so many years ?” Modi said in response to a query.
INDIA TODAY
