13.7.13

Of NaMo's pup talk....


On being asked if he regretted what happened under his watch 11 years ago, Narendra Modi replied that he had been given a “thoroughly clean chit” by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court.
He said: “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 it 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.”
On secularism he said: “For me, my secularism is India first. I say the philosophy of my party is ‘Justice to all. Appeasement to none’. This is our secularism.” He made it explicit that he was not going to lose his polarised Hindu vote by sounding placatory towards the Muslims.
When asked how he would persuade minorities, including Muslims, to vote for him, he replied: “First thing to Hindustan’s citizens, to voters Hindus and Muslims, I’m not in favour of dividing. I’m not in favour of dividing Hindus and Sikhs. I’m not in favour of dividing Hindus and Christians. All the citizens, all the voters are my countrymen... Religion should not be an instrument in your democratic process.”
He underlined the fact that he was a Hindu nationalist. He offered the explanation that having been born a Hindu and being a patriot, he would always end up being a Hindu nationalist. He said: “I’m nationalist. I’m patriotic. Nothing is wrong. I’m a born Hindu. Nothing is wrong. So, I’m patriotic, so nothing is wrong in it. As far as progressive, development-oriented, workaholic, whatever they say, that it what they are saying. So there’s no contradiction between the two. It’s one and the same image.”

In the first fallout within the party of Narendra Modi’s “puppy” remark, Delhi BJP vice-president and well known theatre personality Aamir Raza Husain resigned from the party on Tuesday, a day after he had made anti-Modi remarks on television.
The Padma Shri awardee, who had been appointed to the post just two months ago, told a news channel on Monday that “Modi’s statements (on puppy deaths and the burqa of secularism) are despicable, divisive and can never draw support from Muslims.”
Husain added, “Modi is a BJP leader, not my leader”. His resignation was accepted.
Husain said, he was unapologetic. “People like me who live in a liberal as well as minority universe want an anti-Congress option which a Vajpayee or an Advani-led BJP provides. By promoting Modi, BJP has closed that option for us,” said Husain, who is known to have shared a rapport with former PM Vajpayee and late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan.

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