Only “secular” parties and the partisan media have found fault with Narendra Modi’s statement that he would have been unhappy even if a puppy came under his car (“ >The more he talks …” July 22).
Mr. Modi claimed in the interview with Reuters that the SIT which investigated the 2002 Gujarat riot cases did not find any evidence against him, which is a fact. He never claimed that the Supreme Court had given him a clean chit. “India first” is the most innovative slogan, thanks to the “family first,” “corruption first” and “minorities first” policy of the UPA government.
V.M. Muralidharan,
Karumalloor
Mr. Modi gathered youth support because of his development-focussed agenda. But the fallacy created by NaMo, exaggerating the achievements of Gujarat, is getting exposed.
He finds himself trapped in his own words. His burqa and kutte ka bachcha remarks contradict his “India first” slogan.
Sumit Sharma,
Ludhiana
I agree with Vidya Subrahmaniam’s observation that Mr. Modi’s words have, of late, been spinning out of control. The reasons are understandable. Mr. Modi’s nouveau national avatar demands media glare. The sea of scams and failure of the UPA government in addressing important issues are his weapons. The gratitude he owes to his sponsor, RSS, outweighs his political compulsion to put on a secular face needed for the top job. He makes no bones about displaying his allegiance to Hindutva, unmindful of the bruises caused to a section. He is the last to accommodate divergent views. He banks on his arithmetic of polling majority Hindu votes and those spilling from the Congress basket.
Although Mr. Modi projects himself as a strong and confident contender, he is weak. As Eric Hoffer put it, “Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.”
C. Chandrasekaran,
Madurai
Even non-controversial utterances of Mr. Modi trigger a controversy. Being a Prime Minister aspirant, he would do well to draw a lesson or two from the former Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao. The less he talks the better for both him and his party’s electoral prospects.
P.K. Varadarajan,
Chennai
