The most common criticism leveled against Modi by his haters is that he is communal. 2002 was definitely an unfortunate incident but such riots have taken place almost all over the country under the rule of different political parties. So why single out Modi? I understand 2002 was a major administrative lapse on his part but if intellectuals like Amitav Ghosh did not leave the country when Rajiv Gandhi was elected as Prime minister, why now?
I would like to clarify that this is not about ‘my riots versus your riots’ because what happened in 1984 was not a riot, it was a pogrom in which Sikhs were systematically persecuted in the national capital of Delhi to avenge the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi never apologised. Instead he remarked, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.” At least Modi did not try to justify the riots in such brazen manner.
About that puppy remark: Remember the time when Shashi Tharoor had used ‘cattle class’ for the aam admi and you said that one has to be a convent educated to understand such phrases. Well, ditto to you. Only non-intellectual middle class can understand the nuances of this statement but since there is no harm in explaining: If my friend had made this statement- “I even mourn the killing of mosquitoes. So many people have died in Uttarakhand disaster, I feel pathetic.”, would you have labelled him as a fascist?
The so-called Indian liberals say Modi is a bigot. Madhu Kishwar, Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies, recounts that a certain Dilip Padgaonkar deleted her from his Facebook account just because he heard her defending Modi on NDTV. Amitav Ghosh wants to leave the country if the majority elects Modi as PM. If this is not bigotry then what is? [I seriously believe we should start a ‘secular walk’, akin to those ‘slut walks’ to reclaim the meaning of secularism from these liberal bigots].
Once we lift ‘the burqa of secularism’ from the Kangressis(Congressmen), they become vicious. They get TOI and NDTV to expose Modi’s ‘tall claims of development’. They carry out an elaborate exercise to rank states on random parameters of development and ensure that not one BJP ruled state makes it to the top of the list. This ranking also serves as an “intellectual justification to give aid to the potential allies”. [Innocent onlookers like me can only say- well played Congress]
When everything fails they say Modi’s ideas are impractical and that he plans to replicate Gujarat’s model of development in the rest of India. Of course he does not have a ‘magic wand’ to cure the economy of all its problems, but that does not mean he should not get a chance.
The weirdest of the accusations I have heard leveled against him is that he has no idea of what he is talking about and does not know any economics. I heard him speak in SRCC and I would request the readers to see that video on YouTube before jumping to any ready-made conclusions.
If you still obsess over the fact that Modi can’t distinguish national income from GDP, you are the victim of the Indian education system who actually prefers ‘Chatur’over ‘Phungsu Wangdu.’
Disclaimer: Any views or opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent those of ED.
