Vinod Mehta: The return of the old Narendra Modi, the one who makes communal speeches

by Guest Sat Apr 19, 2014 1:56 pm

This may be a make-or-break election for some. For me, sadly, it created major headaches. Like most citizens, I decide well before polling date which button on the EVM I am going to press. Not for me the panic of a last-minute decision. In the Delhi assembly elections, I spotted pretty early on AAP and Arvind Kejriwal’s potential for good. He and his party had something new and valuable to offer. It was an easy decision. Alas, when polling date for the general elections arrived, my mind was full of negative feelings. Although readers of this column are convinced I am a Sonia sycophant, I would like to inform my critics that as early as November last year I had come to the conclusion that voting Congress in 2014 was a bridge too far for me. There was no way I could support a party with such an abysmal record, topped up with arrogance.

The AAP quickly lost much of its credibility on account of its reckless and erratic behaviour coupled with some bizarre choice of “enemies”. So, two of my options were non-starters.

I was left with Narendra Modi and the BJP, in that order. As Mr Modi’s star ascended and ascended and he himself ran a centrist-moderate campaign, I felt I could do the unthinkable, i.e. vote BJP. Then just a week before polling date, the old Modi suddenly reappeared: he made his terrible “Pakistani agent” speech while his soulmate and closest aide, Amit Shah, ordered Hindus to take “revenge” on Muslims for Muzaffarnagar. Both were straightforward communal speeches. Since I yield to no one in acknowledging the duty of the citizen to cast his vote, I went to the polling station and with a heavy heart pressed the NOTA button.

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?290329

by Guest Sat Apr 19, 2014 1:58 pm

Rashmun wrote:This may be a make-or-break election for some. For me, sadly, it created major headaches. Like most citizens, I decide well before polling date which button on the EVM I am going to press. Not for me the panic of a last-minute decision. In the Delhi assembly elections, I spotted pretty early on AAP and Arvind Kejriwal’s potential for good. He and his party had something new and valuable to offer. It was an easy decision. Alas, when polling date for the general elections arrived, my mind was full of negative feelings. Although readers of this column are convinced I am a Sonia sycophant, I would like to inform my critics that as early as November last year I had come to the conclusion that voting Congress in 2014 was a bridge too far for me. There was no way I could support a party with such an abysmal record, topped up with arrogance.

The AAP quickly lost much of its credibility on account of its reckless and erratic behaviour coupled with some bizarre choice of “enemies”. So, two of my options were non-starters.

I was left with Narendra Modi and the BJP, in that order. As Mr Modi’s star ascended and ascended and he himself ran a centrist-moderate campaign, I felt I could do the unthinkable, i.e. vote BJP. Then just a week before polling date, the old Modi suddenly reappeared: he made his terrible “Pakistani agent” speech while his soulmate and closest aide, Amit Shah, ordered Hindus to take “revenge” on Muslims for Muzaffarnagar. Both were straightforward communal speeches. Since I yield to no one in acknowledging the duty of the citizen to cast his vote, I went to the polling station and with a heavy heart pressed the NOTA button.

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?290329

Are we seeing the return of the old Narendra Modi because Modi is no longer confident of victory if he focuses on development alone? Is that why he and his cronies like Amit Shah continue to stir the communal cauldron?

Vinod Mehta: The return of the old Narendra Modi, the one who makes communal speeches

Vinod Mehta: The return of the old Narendra Modi, the one who makes communal speeches

Re: Vinod Mehta: The return of the old Narendra Modi, the one who makes communal speeches