In July 2012, social activist Swami Agnivesh visited Gujarat to lend support to a group of Gandhians who were working among farmers and displaced tribal communities. Criticising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s model of development, he said it was time to tell people how much damage it had done to Gujarat.
But now, Swami Agnivesh has shot off a letter to Mr. Modi, endorsing his style of governance. In a letter dated April 23, the activist wrote that he had noticed a shift in Mr. Modi’s ideology as he had steered “ the political debate towards development and good governance.” Though a severe critic of the Gujarat riots of 2002, Swami Agnivesh wrote: “It was refreshing to listen to your speeches and interviews during your election campaign where you have relentlessly attacked communal politics and casteism.”
Confirming that he had mailed the letter to Mr. Modi, the activist said he had noticed a change in the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in the last few days. “I can see a new face of Modi ji that even the BJP and the RSS has been forced to endorse,” he told The Hindu . Mr. Modi, he said, had marginalised right-wing Hindu groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Gujarat and had pulled out the issue of Ram temple in Ayodhya from the BJP’s agenda. “This is worth noticing and I can see that Mr. Modi is turning inclusive.”
Wishing him good luck in the elections, the letter also congratulated the prime ministerial hopeful for his stance against cow slaughter and alcoholism. “When Modi ji speaks against cow slaughter, the liberals call him communal. But Gandhi ji was also against cow slaughter. Would they call him communal, too?”
The letter, Swami Agnivesh said, had been received by Mr. Modi and one of his aides had called on Friday morning to confirm it.
