Anti and pro-Modi chorus is gaining momentum. RSS and Modi loyalists are trying to incite the passion of Hindu nationalism and are preparing ground for pan India Hindutva appeal for Modi. Those opposed to Modi are also building blocks to ensure that the mood of the nation is not divided between communalists and secularists. If it is true, 65 MPs have written to US President Barack Obama seeking denial of a visa to Narendra Modi for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. For some, Modi as prime minister is not acceptable, while others do not believe in his model of development and some are worried over his autocratic way of doing things.
In broader perspective, Modi has been denied visa in some Western and European countries. He is not welcome in the Gulf and Middle East, has got little impact in Southern India, and was denied entry into Bihar for campaigning until yesterday. Even the BJP camp is virtually divided for or against Modi. BJP’s most important ally JD-U severed ties with the BJP because of Modi. L K Advani also resigned against Modi’s elevation. The politics of BJP is that if you get the backing of the RSS you stand tall and firm no matter who, why and how people are opposed to.
At a time when Rajnath Singh was in the US to press for Modi’s visa issue, which he has denied later, grouping against Modi to deny him visa has also been reported. There are reports that 65 MPs have written a letter to Obama in November and December 2012 asking the US administration to continue deny visa. The letter has been re-sent on 21 July 2013. Genuineness of the letter is now debated because some MPs have denied to have signed such letters. BJP has dubbed it as the dirty trick of the Congress. However, California-based Forensic document examiner has certified that the signatures of the lawmakers are “original and authentic”.
The CPI (M) has launched a booklet titled, The BJP model for India – Vikash Purush and Vinash Neeti where it has been said that all claims made by Modi are filled with falsehoods.
Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen, in an interview to CNN-IBN has said he does not want Narendra Modi to be the prime minister of India because the Gujarat chief minister hasn’t done enough to make minorities feel safe and has criticised Modi’s model of governance. In reply to a question, as to why he did not want the Gujarat chief minister as the prime minister, he said, Modi could have first of all been more secular and he could have made the minorities feel more secure. Taking strong note of what Amartya Sen said, Chandan Mitra in a series of his twits has demanded that the NDA government should strip him of the Bharat Ratna when it comes to power. Reacting to Mitra’s demand, Sen has said that if Alal Behari Vajpayee asks him to do so, he will relinquish his Bharat Ratna.
Minorities even today feel insecure but with Modi at the helm of affairs it is likely to be changed from bad to worse and the intensity of insecurity will get further increased as many believe. Another important finding of CNN-IBN–The Hindu Election Tracker Survey indicates that Muslim youths falsely implicated in terror cases are noteworthy. Across 18 states, when it was asked whether Muslim youths were falsely implicated, the response was remarkable as 41 per cent of voters agreed to it either fully or to some extent. Notably, 40 per cent of Hindus and 56 per cent of Muslims believed that Muslim youth are falsely implicated in terror cases. When it was further simplified, it was found that 53 per cent of rural Muslims and 62 per cent of Urban Muslims agreed that youth are wrongly framed. It is therefore essential that a prime minister no matter to which party he belongs to must provide an atmosphere where minorities can feel secure and the rest of people could live in peace and harmony with a sense of togetherness and we-feeling.
Survey conducted by CNN-IBN and The Hindu has also shown that Modi’s popularity has gone down by 5 per cent in his home state which has come down to 44 per cent from 49 per cent and satisfaction with his administration has come down to 64 per cent from 72 per cent since July 2011. On the contrary, the level of satisfaction for Shivraj Singh Chouhan is 82 per cent and 75 per cent for Raman Singh as against 64 per cent for Narendra Modi. Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been projected as more capable than Narendra Modi by many BJP leaders including LK Advani and also by Nitish Kumar.
It seems that by promoting Modi even by sidestepping wishes and aspirations of all other tall leaders, the BJP is trying to command Indian polity to fulfil its long cherished agenda of establishing Hindu Rashtra. And this by way of provoking the sentiments of Hindutva and by fanning the idea of Hindu nationalism. Mohan Bhagwat, while speaking in Patna, recently said the essence of its activities is to build a strong India with Hindutva at its core. Bhagwat further said, “Change has always come from society and not politics. Just change of people in power will not help much. There is need to bring right kind of change in the society based on ideology of Hindutva.”
Many believe that Modi is going by the script of the RSS. Earlier, it was insinuated by the BJP that election would be fought based on Modi’s model of development. In order to keep up that spirit, Modi was even asked to keep from Ayodhya meet just after his elevation. But after his meeting with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, the election strategy seems to have got changed. As a result, BJP chose to follow the basics of Hindutva politics and that too in an aggressive manner and sometime with forked tongue to hurt the sentiments in order to polarise.
Going by the fine prints of initial campaign trail, Vir Sanghvi has rightly said in his article, “An action, a reaction” in Hindustan Times on 23 July, that Narendra Modi’s Hindutva-centric approach could polarise India along Hindu and Muslim lines. No matter which party wins, India is certain to lose.