Modi’s onslaught breaks the tradition

Narendra Modi's unbridled attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day speech has shocked the traditionalists angered the Congress and created unease within the BJP which is still to come to terms with Modi's brand of politics. The traditional thinking has been that occasions like the Independence Day was an opportunity to showcase national unity to the outside world and not internal rifts and differences.
Seen as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the forthcoming general elections yet without any official declaration by the party which is still trying to come to a consensus on the issue, Modi seemed to have seized the opportunity provided to him by the Independence Day to force his entry into the national stage by hinting that he was ‘the man’ to take on the prime minister, symbolizing his unofficial status in his own party, the BJP.
Criticising Modi for this choice of time and venue for assault on PM, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said Modi’s lust for becoming the Prime Minister had crossed all limits.
Congress slammed the Gujarat chief minister for indulging in "petty politics" for personal projection. Foreign minister Salman Khurshid said Modi was "so restless to become something big in the country" that he forgot it was a day when parties sink political differences.
In the BJP camp, L K Advani too felt that the leaders should not be critical of other leaders in the country the occasion like Independence Day. “I heard the Prime Minister today...Today on Independence Day, without criticising anybody, we all should realise that India has unlimited potential for the future,” he said.

Clear intentions
 Modi has clearly stated his intentions with his frontal attack on PM. He indicated that he is a rank outsider challenging Delhi’s misrule. This way, he is challenging not only the Congress, but also the coterie in the BJP’s own Delhi headquarters. By posing as the outsider to Delhi’s power elite, Modi is saying if the people wanted change, they have to choose him. He has clearly abandoned the old style of submission, humility and compromise – a style that usually leads nowhere. He seems confident that large sections of the urban middle class, at least, want to abandon excess humility and to sit down to do serious business. Modi has shown his liking for the US-style presidential campaign where the candidates themselves are the issues as much as the parties’ manifestos. Modi has managed to make himself the issue.

Modi’s points
1. Challenged PM to a debate over the country’s development. "Come let us have a competition on development between Gujarat and Delhi. Our shortcomings will come forward and so will your good deeds."

2. Criticized PM for not talking about Pakistan’s aggression on LoC. "Today we never got to hear anything from the Prime Minister about this (the attack along the LoC). I don't believe that the Red Fort is a place to target Pakistan but it is a place where we can boost the morale of our troops."

3. Lambasted the PM for not talking about India’s freedom fighters but about one family (Nehru-Gandhi family) in his address from the Red Fort.

4. Said Congress has not done anything much since Independence: "The PM in his speech mentioned the same problems thatPandit Jawaharlal Nehru mentioned in 1947. So what have they been doing for all these years?"

5. Hinted at the recent charges levelled against Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra. "Pehlemaama-bhaanjeke serial aate they, aabsaas, bahuaurdamaadkeserials bhiaanelagehai (Earlier soaps involved uncle and nephew but now they involve mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and son-in-law)"

6. Opposed Food Security Bill saying the PM would not like to discuss shortcomings of the bill. 7. Took a personal dig at Manmohan Singh. Referring the PM’s words that he had miles to go, Modi said “Which rocket does he intend to take to cover these miles?", he wondered (in the context of the general perception that this year’s address from Red Fort was his last)

(Oped story in City Today on August 16, 2013)