NaMo's Detractors

Narendra Modi evokes extreme reactions. Those who love him do not brook any criticism of their leader; on the other hand, his detractors detest him for whatever they stand for.  



Criticism against Modi is person-centric and mostly rooted in vote-bank appeasement politics; his critics allege that Modi is a staunch Hindutvavadi who ill-treats minorities. But Modi's admirers bemoan the opportunistic politics of the Indian National Congress and other so-called secular parties. 



In his brilliant First Post article titled 'The hypocrisy of Narendra Modi's detractors', R. Jagannathan says that "more than anything else, our attitudes to Narendra Modi tell us more about ourselves and our hypocrisies than about him".



Here's an excerpt.

Those who refuse to believe this BJP-is-communal-Congress-is-secular line have an additional argument against Modi: his unwillingness to apologise or express regret for the administrative failures in 2002.

The counters to this argument are several. Has the Gandhi family apologised for even 1984, leave alone all the scores of riots that happened from 1947 to 1998, before the BJP came to power at the centre? Has any party, at state or centre, done so even now? CPM for Nandigram, the SP for the 8-10 minor riots in Uttar Pradesh after its return to power?

An apology is relevant only when it is real – not something offered as a political concession. And this Modi has indirectly offered through the Sadhbhavna fasts and silent efforts to reach out to some Muslim groups in Gujarat. I suspect believe that these efforts to reach out may be more meaningful to Muslims than fake apologies and hypocritical behaviour.

Read the complete article here.