In a recent interview, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to equip party cadres and leaders with a set of arguments and answers to defend his government for convincing people that the PM is clean and his actions are in the interest of the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked upon an elaborate exercise on the first day of 2019 to build new formulas to regain people’s confidence in making the BJP win the coming general election. He gave an extensive interview to the media covering a wide range of issues.
Setting a precedent — or better said — breaking a well followed convention of not giving an interview while the parliament is in session, the Prime Minister spoke to a Asian News International (ANI) representative. It was telecast on all major news platforms. He spoke on several issues: from the Ram temple in Ayodhya, to triple talaq.
Modi, conscious that his popularity has begun to ebb — as was confirmed by recent defeats of the BJP in the Hindi-speaking states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — and not doing much in Telangana and Mizoram — launched a strident attack on the grand old party. He blamed Congress lawyers for creating hurdles in the Supreme Court for building a Ram temple in Ayodhya asked them to desist in “interest of peace, security and amity.”
“Nobody can deny that those sitting in the government in the last 70 years have tried their best to stall a solution to this (Ayodhya) issue,” Modi said in his attempt to blame the Congress.
It is surprising that the Prime Minister chose to elaborate on the issue of Ram temple, three days before the Supreme Court is going to fix a date of hearing of appeals, challenging the Allahabad High Court order in the Ram-Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit. Normally, the Prime Minister is expected to avoid speaking on a policy issue while a parliament is in session.
In a 95-minute long interaction with the ANI, Modi defended demonetisaton saying that any change would slow down growth, but it was necessary for the Indian economy. He avoided listing the benefits that he had counted while announcing demonetisation in November 2016, but defended the move saying that there are more people in the tax net and that there is an atmosphere of honesty now.
Cleverly differentiating between the BJP’s stand on Sabarimala and triple talaq, Modi said there are two different things. Most Islamic countries, including Pakistan, have banned triple talaq, he said, and pronounced that it is not a matter of religion or faith — it is an issue of gender equality and social justice. In case of Sabarimala, it is an issue of custom and faith and not of gender equality.
Aimed at enthusing party cadres who are feeling demoralised post the defeat of the BJP in three Hindi speaking states, Modi did not make a big deal. He said that while 15-years long anti-incumbency was responsible for the defeat of BJP in Chhattisgarh, there were hung results in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In an obvious attempt to belittle unity efforts of the opposition parties to take on the BJP, Modi trained his guns on the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) saying that different political leaders are trying to save themselves only. They cannot speak on any single issue in one voice; the Prime Minister said that their agenda is Modi.
Putting up a brave face in his attempt to hide growing electoral insecurity, Modi said that the Indian public would decide the course of the election. “It is going to be Janata versus Gathbandhan; Modi is just a manifestation of public love and blessings,” he asserted.
For the first time, the Prime Minister chose to disapprove incidents of lynching. No such incident reflects well in a civilised society, and no voice should ever support such incidents, he said adding this is totally wrong and condemnable. At the same time, he sought to give a philosophical explanation of the incidents, saying this is a result of social ills. Asking did it (lynching) start after 2014, Modi said: “We should all work collectively to improve the situation.”
Reflecting his best political instincts, Modi diverted the Rafale jet fighter controversy, saying that the allegation was not against him personally, but it was an allegation against his government. “If there is any allegation against me personally, let them dig who gave what, when and where and to whom,” he said, adding, “the matter has been cleared even by the Supreme Court.”
On the exit of former RBI Governor Urjit Patel, the Prime Minister tried to underplay to silence critics, saying that the Governor had himself requested to resign for personal reasons. He carefully chose not to speak on issues that became the cause of disagreement between his government and the RBI, raising fears that the Modi government was trying to undermine the autonomy of the central bank.
Demonstrating that his political instincts are still sharp, Modi chose to reach out to people by granting an interview to a news agency so that rising tide against him could be turned back. He has carefully avoided holding a press conference since he assumed power in May 2014. In a press conference, he would have to face instant questions, but in such interviews, advance questions are submitted so that the Prime Minister can do proper homework.
In short, Modi tried to equip party cadres and leaders with a set of arguments and answers to defend his government for convincing people that the Prime Minister is clean and his actions are in the interest of the country.
The only final tally of the BJP after the general election results are announced would offer a clue whether Modi’s chemistry with the electorate worked to overcome arithmetical superiority of the opposition, or not.
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
Satish Misra was Senior Fellow at ORF. He has been a journalist for many years. He has a PhD in International Affairs from Humboldt University ...
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