23 jan 2012
The once fire-breathing Hindu Hriday Samrat is a man of amity now, busy reaching out to the people, whose victimisation had once cemented his position in Gujarat politics. But that was ten years ago. Amity is the current mantra in Gujarat and Narendra Modi is turning a new leaf to pave a path to Delhi.
The 2002 train carnage, that had left 59 Hindu karsevaks, women and children incinerated and had triggered off large scale anti-Muslim riots in the state. The carnage also helped Modi's consolidate his grip over his party and the state administration, which was otherwise fuming with discontent after the unceremonious replacement of Patel patriarch Keshubhai Patel.
The antipathy towards Modi was particularly acute as he had never occupied an elected position before that. So he had no option but to outgrow Keshubhai's stature and the Godhra carnage gave him a perfect opportunity.
But when the roads of the ambitious Hindu Hriday Samrat to the corridors of power in Delhi hit a dead end, the CEO of Gujarat took over and 'public participation' and 'inclusive development became Modi's new mantra.
Gone is the rhetoric of describing relief camps as breeding factories or slogans like 'Hum paanch, humare pachees' or the communally charged digs at Congress president Sonia Gandhi whom he had called 'Italy ka beti'.
Narendra Modi of 2012 claims that the state has killed the evils of casteism and buried communalism. 'The unity, peace and fraternal feelings amongst its people form the basis of the development of Gujarat,' he says.
He is trying to reach out to the Muslims in the state and prospective NDA allies at the national level.
'There is tremendous amount of fear among the Muslims here and their not attending the programme is a clear message to the rest of the country. Our wounds have not healed,' says Saeed Umarjee, the son of Maulana Umarjee, the community leader, whom the state police had projected as the key conspirator in the Sabarmati Express burning case. The Maulana was acquitted by the special court last year.
Elections are only a few months away and Modi may well become the Chief Minister once again. But for his graduation to the next level, the walk has begun .
The once fire-breathing Hindu Hriday Samrat is a man of amity now, busy reaching out to the people, whose victimisation had once cemented his position in Gujarat politics. But that was ten years ago. Amity is the current mantra in Gujarat and Narendra Modi is turning a new leaf to pave a path to Delhi.
The 2002 train carnage, that had left 59 Hindu karsevaks, women and children incinerated and had triggered off large scale anti-Muslim riots in the state. The carnage also helped Modi's consolidate his grip over his party and the state administration, which was otherwise fuming with discontent after the unceremonious replacement of Patel patriarch Keshubhai Patel.
The antipathy towards Modi was particularly acute as he had never occupied an elected position before that. So he had no option but to outgrow Keshubhai's stature and the Godhra carnage gave him a perfect opportunity.
But when the roads of the ambitious Hindu Hriday Samrat to the corridors of power in Delhi hit a dead end, the CEO of Gujarat took over and 'public participation' and 'inclusive development became Modi's new mantra.
Gone is the rhetoric of describing relief camps as breeding factories or slogans like 'Hum paanch, humare pachees' or the communally charged digs at Congress president Sonia Gandhi whom he had called 'Italy ka beti'.
Narendra Modi of 2012 claims that the state has killed the evils of casteism and buried communalism. 'The unity, peace and fraternal feelings amongst its people form the basis of the development of Gujarat,' he says.
He is trying to reach out to the Muslims in the state and prospective NDA allies at the national level.
'There is tremendous amount of fear among the Muslims here and their not attending the programme is a clear message to the rest of the country. Our wounds have not healed,' says Saeed Umarjee, the son of Maulana Umarjee, the community leader, whom the state police had projected as the key conspirator in the Sabarmati Express burning case. The Maulana was acquitted by the special court last year.
Elections are only a few months away and Modi may well become the Chief Minister once again. But for his graduation to the next level, the walk has begun .
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