Why should I be forgiven if I’m guilty, asks Modi

August 30, 2012 01:19 am | Updated 01:19 am IST - Washington:

Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has refused to apologise for the 2002 riots in the State after being asked if he would apologise for the riots, something that his critics demand. “One only has to ask for forgiveness if one is guilty of a crime. If you think it’s such a big crime, why should the culprit be forgiven?” he told The Wall Street Journal .

“Just because Modi is a Chief Minister, why should he be forgiven? I think Modi should get the biggest punishment possible if he is guilty. And the world should know that there isn’t any tolerance for such political leaders,” he said.

Mr. Modi parried a question whether he sees himself as a future Prime Minister, saying he was concentrating on Gujarat. “I can’t think beyond that,” he said.

“Malnutrition due to vegetarianism”

The paper said Mr. Modi attributed malnutrition problems in his State partly to Gujaratis being largely vegetarian and partly to body, image issues among young women.

“The middle class is more beauty conscious than health conscious — that is a challenge,” he said. “If a mother tells her daughter to have milk, they’ll have a fight. She’ll tell her mother ‘I won’t drink milk. I’ll get fat’,” he added.

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