Posted by Dr. Francisco Colaço Margao. Goa. Cell: 9823190318 Modi’s bubble is slowly bursting. The hype created by the media cannot be sustained any longer. Anchors like Prannoy Roy, Rajdeep Sardessai and Arnab Goswami, we are told, are already fearing for their lives and liberties should Modi come to power tomorrow. While they churn fudged electoral statistics they are experiencing a sense of déjà vu. They know they will be sent packing if they rub the boss on the wrong side. While everyone is realizing that Modi’s development model is full of lies for public consumption, pari passu, there’s an all-pervasive fear that Modi’s apparent rise brings in its wake.
Here is what VINOD MEHTA, one of India’s most brilliant editors, a fearless writer, always critical of the Congress, who does not fear to speak the truth, writes in the Times of India about the danger of Modi ever being the man at the helm. A must read ===================================================================================== SHOULD WE GIVE NARENDRA MODI A CHANCE? by VINOD MEHTA I write this article with trepidation. It has huge potential for being misunderstood. Specifically it is addressed to Narendra Modi’s detractors, among whom I count myself. Of course I am not in the U.R. Anathamurthy league. He said “he wouldn’t want to live in a country led by Modi”. I have more in common with Amartya Sen’s critique “As an Indian citizen I don’t want Modi as my PM. He has not done enough to make the minorities feel safe” Still reality hovers. As a journalist I have to read the writing on the wall. It says in capital letters Narendra Modi will lead an NDA government on May 16. The permutations and combinations of how this is achieved need not detain us. It will take divine intervention to stop him being crowned. . I can think of four main misgivings concerning our prospective prime minister. First he is a deeply polarizing figure. You love him and you loathe him. No in-between position exists. His opponents maintain he will destroy the idea of India and promote a majoritarian agenda. New York Times noted, “India is a country with multiple religions, more than a dozen major languages and numerous ethnic groups. Mr. Modi cannot hope to lead effectively if he inspires fear and antipathy among its citizens”. The paper’s verdict is hard to refute. Nonetheless to see him as some Chaplinesque Great Dictator is over the top. Such an impulse probably comes to him congenitally but it is unlikely to be top of his mind when he is sworn-in. If nothing else Modi has a sense of sharp self-preservation. This may persuade him on the need to wear the Vajpayee mantle. Second, minorities, especially Muslims will not be safe under his rule. Modi is committed to shredding the secular fabric. Remember he has yet to apologise or express regret for 2002. We have a population of 170 million Muslims; 169 million tremble at his name. His behavior post 2002 in Gujarat is hardly reassuring. Now consider the flip side. Ever since he was declared the PM designate, Modi has been treading with caution, avoiding baiting Muslims or Pakistan. Instead he has stuck to his jobs/development theme, resisting even in places like Ayodhya and Varanasi, the communal card. Before you call me a native fool, let me say I am aware of what has happened in Muzaffarnagar and I am also aware of the conspiracy theory. While Modi is talking-up one India, the Parivar is busy stirring the communal pot. Together they are engaged in a familiar double-game. Even so Modi is staying away from what he does best. In this campaign we have not heard of the Sons of Babar. The prescient H.L. Mencken said, “If a politician finds out he has cannibals among his constituents, he will promise them missionaries for dinner”. Who can deny there are some cannibals among Modi’s die-hard loyalists? Third, he is the classic autocrat/fascist masquerading as decisive leader. Truth here too. We have only to look at the way he governed Gujarat for a decade. He brooks no debate. He is a solo, not a team player. He decimated all opposition from within the party. Does India want to be ruled by a despot? Again the flip side. We must credit Modi with minimal intelligence. If his style remains unchanged the country is in big trouble. India is not Gujarat His imperious approach which served him well in his home state will spell disaster for him in 7, Race Course. Modi may not have been to Oxford, but surely understands the difference between Delhi and Gandhinagar. Fourth his much-touted achievements in Gujarat are statistical fiction. He is no messiah of good including governance. He is the rich man’s prime minister. Amartya Sen says: “Gujarat’s record in education and health care is pretty bad”. Incontrovertibly it is a mixed picture. While the state grew at over 10 per cent between 2002 And 2012, even the Economic Times concluded, “The effects of the high growth are yet to trickle down among its people” In his speeches Modi pleads : “For 60 myears you gave a chance to the Congress, now give me a chance for 60 months. I will give you life, peace and happiness”. Politicians with a dubious past who ask for another chance are usually dodgy customers. And if any customer looks dodgy it is our Narendrabhai. So what should we do with Modi’s request? Should we throw it in the waste-paper basket and start dusting our passport? Or should we, while remaining vigilant, give his request some consideration? Each one of us anti-Modiwallahs must make up our mind. Me, I am not applying for any visa yet! (Courtesy : Sunday Times of India, Goa, March 16, 2014)
