I don't trust Modi. He's a bad loser
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been a "bad loser". On various occasions he has accused opponents of doing things they have actually not, or took credit for something he had not done all by himself. Or even better claim success for something which in reality failed miserably.
For example, the prime minister promised that poor people will get 15 lakh each in their accounts after bringing back black money. But after his "surgical strike" on black money - demonestisation - the promised cash never came. No one spoke of it. The media too was comfortably mum.
What's more, Modi claimed that there will be "bonanza" from the tax from black money deposited in banks following demonetisation.
Despite his tall claims, nearly 99 per cent of the demonetised notes came back into the system. The fact that when all the currency came into the Reserve Bank of India, only 1 per cent of the outstanding currency was left due - which in effect meant only 1 per cent of the demonetised currency had not been returned. This was quite different from the demonetisations of 1946 and 1978, when 10 per cent and more demonetised currency was outstanding.
But Modi is at his most virulent form when faced with a major electoral contest. Ahead of the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, the Election Commission apparently buckled under pressure and digressed from the time-honoured convention that elections due within six months of each other are held simultaneously. Former chief election commissioners TS Krishnamurthy and S Quraishi openly disapproved of the Election Commission's move, which obviously helped Modi.
Moreover, it has now been found that in the Gujarat elections, at least 100 EVMs had malfunctioned during the first phase of voting. Does this look coincidental? Not really. What happened to the voter verified paper audit trail?
Modi was not completely sure that his party could sweep his own state. So his anger and taunts against the Opposition, especially the Congress, became shriller. First, the BJP tried to discredit Hardik Patel to split the Patidar vote. It then raised questions over Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Somnath temple. They claimed that Rahul was listed as a “non-Hindu". When that didn’t work, Mani Shankar Aiyar’s "neech aadmi" comment provided another opportunity to the BJP and Modi.
Later, when former Pakistani ministers, diplomats and others met their Indian counterparts - former PM Manmohan Singh, former Army chief Deepak Chopra and several former Indian high commissioners to Pakistan - at Mani Shankar Aiyar's house, the PM claimed that the Pakistanis and the Congress were planning to upstage him and his government in Gujarat. But such meetings are not uncommon.
As for the accusation about the Congress having discussions with the Pakistanis, so has Modi before. The PM stopped over in Lahore during a long trip outside the country. Modi dashed to Lahore to meet the then Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif. Modi had not received an invitation. But many applauded Modi’s initiative, despite the informal and unexpected meeting.
Should Modi, given his own unprecedented visit to Nawaz Sharif’s family function, have unleashed such an unwarranted broadside against a former PM, Manmohan Singh, who is known for his politeness and intelligence, especially in economics.
By contrast, Modi lacks both. This kind of hectoring, violating established norms and undignified behaviour is unprecedented.
Another stunt was running a fake news by a channel that former Union minister P Chidambaram met Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Saleem Zaeef based on a picture where the two were seen in the same room. It turned out the photograph was taken during the Tehelka ThinkFest at Goa in 2013. Zaeef was a speaker at the conclave along with others. BJP supporters and some other pliant TV channels lapped up the opportunity to corner the Congress.
It is evident that the BJP has decided to stoop lower than the lowest to conquer.
Given his track record, PM Modi is unlikely to tone down his rhetoric. However, to accuse the Congress of treason with no concrete proof is completely unacceptable.
But for Modi, winning is all that matters. Even if it undermines efforts to strengthen Pakistan-India relations, though he himself was a party to such efforts in the recent past.