With the ‘puppy’ remark, Modi has kicked up a storm, inviting a riot of criticism from all around, over his role in the 2002 pogrom in which thousands of Muslims got killed as the state under his stewardship looked the other way and yet again proved that he is divisive with. Its ironical that the statement comes at a time when public opinion is moving in his favour. Now all depends on how he manoeuvers the mess now.
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has kicked up a political storm by saying he had done "absolutely the right thing" during the 2002 riots and describing himself as a "Hindu nationalist". Modi came under sharp attack from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, CPM, CPI and JD-U and from a slew of Muslim leaders for his remarks in an interview to Reuters during which he said he had not done anything wrong with regard to the riots. An SIT (special investigation team) set up by the Supreme Court had given him a "thoroughly clean chit", he said.
The Gujarat strongman's comment, when asked if he regretted the riots, that even if a "puppy comes under the wheel" of a car, one felt sad, drew particularly sharp condemnation with SP accusing him of comparing Muslims to dogs and the Congress and SP demanded Modi immediately apologise to the nation. Slamming Modi, Congress said the remarks reflected his "perverse mindset" and were "totally against the idea of India". "Thousands of people lost their lives in the 2002 riots and in this backdrop the analogy used by Modi needs to be strongly condemned. There is no place for such a comparison in civilised India," said Ajay Maken, Congress communications department head, in a reference to the 'puppy'
remark.
Samajwadi Party spokesman Kamal Farooqui said, "it is a very sad, very humiliating and very disturbing statement…What does Modi think, that Muslims are worse than even puppies? He does not have a heart for them. He should feel sorry… He should apologise," Farooqui said. "Modi should be ashamed for using such a language," the SP leader said, adding, "the earlier he apologises, the better it will be. Otherwise, there will be dangerous
consequences."
Congress leader and external affairs minister Salman Khurshid said Modi is "gradually becoming his own worst enemy". He said if Modi feels he is "misinterpreted", he should talk less and described Modi’s ‘nationalist Indian’ statement as nothing but oxymoronic. Attacking Modi, CPM leader Brinda Karat said, "the expression of regret just doesn't come to Modi….There is something wrong fundamentally what he is saying." CPI leader D Raja described Modi's comments as "desperate attempt to deceive people and hoodwink the masses." Shivanand Tiwari, leader of JD-U which only last month snapped ties with BJP over Modi’s elevation to the national scene, attacked the BJP’s PM candidate and said "psycho-analysis should be done on him and that it will be a "very dangerous situation if a person of such a person becomes the prime minister." Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman sought to defend Modi, saying his comments had been "misinterpreted" completely, resulting in a "controversy where it does not exist".
In a rare interview, the first since he was appointed the chief of the BJP election campaign committee in June, Modi was asked by Reuters if it is frustrating when many people define him by 2002. He responded by saying that he would feel guilty if he had done something wrong. "Frustration comes when you think 'I got caught. I was stealing and I got caught.' That's not my case." To a question whether he had done the right thing in 2002, he said, "Absolutely. However much brainpower the Supreme Being has given us, however much experience I've got, and whatever I had available in that situation and this is what the SIT had investigated."
Asked if he regretted what had happened, Modi said the Supreme Court had created an SIT which in its report had given him a "thoroughly clean chit, a thoroughly clean chit". "Another thing, any person if we are driving a car, we are a driver, and someone else is driving a car and we're sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheel, will be painful or not? Of course, it is. If I'm a chief minister or not, I'm a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad," Modi said. Answering a question about being regarded as a polarising figure, Modi cited the example of Democrats and Republicans in the US to emphasise that polarisation is "democracy's basic nature".
Asked whether he believes the country should have a secular leader, he said, "we do believe that. But what is the definition of secularism? For me, my secularism is, India first. I say the philosophy of my party is 'justice to all, appeasement of none'. This is our secularism…" To another question about criticism that he was an authoritarian, he said, "if you call yourself a leader, then you have to be decisive. If you are decisive, then you have the chance to be a leader. These are two sides to the same coin.
“People want their leaders to make decisions. Only then they accept them as leaders. That is a quality, it is not a negative. The other thing is that if someone is authoritarian, then how would he be able to run a government for so many years? Without a team effort, how can you get success?" Queried how he would persuade minorities, including the Muslims, to vote for him, Modi said he saw all voters as Indians and he would not like to divide the country.
"Hindus and Muslims, I am not in favour of dividing. I am not in favour of dividing Hindus and Sikhs. I am not in favour of dividing Hindus and Christians. All the citizens, all the voters, are my countrymen. So my basic philosophy is, I don't address this issue like this. And this is a danger to democracy also. Religion should not be an instrument in your democratic process."
