THE MODI ROAD SHOW

THE MODI ROAD SHOW Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi sets off on his `Gujarat Gaurav Yatra' again. Will the Akshardham sentiment fuel his campaign momentum? DAZED and confused. That is how most Gujaratis felt after two terrorists stormed the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar on September 24, murdering 37 persons and injuring 81. For a State yet to recover fully from recent communal violence, the death of innocent devotees, including of young children, came as a grim reminder that violence could still be sparked off anytime, anywhere. PARAS SHAH Chief Minister Narendra Modi resumes his `Gujarat Gaurav Yatra' on October 5 from a temple in Ambaji. Another tragedy in the cycle of violence that has struck Gujarat. But for the grim reapers of the violence, it was yet another tragedy to twist for the sake of deriving political mileage. Several VIP aircraft took off to Gujarat. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee cut short his visit to the Maldives and flew straight to Gujarat. He was in Gandhinagar within 24 hours of the terrorist attack. But earlier this year, after communal violence broke out in late February, he arrived on the scene 35 days later. Only after more than a thousand people were killed and 1.5 lakh were left homeless. Even Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani reached Gujarat only three days after the torching of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra, which killed 59 people and sparked the communal violence. By then, Sangh Parivar mobs had already ravaged the State with attacks on Muslims. But, within three hours of the Akshardham siege, Advani made his way to the temple complex. Both leaders raced to the temple, clambering to claim the Akshardham `victory'. Advani hailed it as "a victory over terrorism for India" soon after National Security Guards commandos ended the siege by killing the two terrorists. He asked the tired commandos to stand up and chant `Bharat Mata ki Jai'. Many in the Bharatiya Janata Party are already doing the victory dance, even before State elections have been announced. But it is a dance over dead bodies. It may be a victory that left 37 people dead and 81 injured. By immediately blaming `the enemy', Pakistan, for the assault on the temple, Advani tried to deflect attention from the fact that it was a revenge attack. Innocent people had died in a suicide strike provoked by the Hindu Right. The militants apparently wanted to avenge the recent state-supported communal terror in Gujarat. The Sangh Parivar had orchestrated these attacks on Muslims following the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra. While revenge is no justification for perpetuating violence, the attack symbolises the deep impact that the Gujarat carnage has had on persecuted Muslim youth. The police had anticipated terrorist attacks to avenge the communal carnage. It had alerted the government as early as in March. At Akshardham, a note found in the pocket of one of the dead militants from the Tehriq-e-Kasas (Movement for Revenge) stated: "This is a gift to Modi and Advani." Yet, Advani immediately accused Pakistan, in an effort to deflect attention from the BJP's hand in inciting the attack. Even before the investigations began, Chief Minister Narendra Modi insisted that the terrorists were from outside the State. The police have reportedly unveiled two separate plots to assassinate Modi. Soon after the Akshardham attack, they arrested Samirkhan Pathan in Rajkot for allegedly planning to kill the Chief Minister. He was reportedly trained by the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist network. Later, three other accomplices were detained. Whether the BJP will gain electorally from Akshardham depends on the extent to which voters may fall for its anti-Pakistan propaganda. The BJP is doing its best to milk the temple attack for all it is worth. The appeal is purely emotional — stoking Hindu insecurity and playing on fears of more terrorist attacks. Modi is being projected as the Hindutva hero. A few months after the communal fervour had died down, Modi was besieged by dissent within the party. The powerful Patels, as a bloc loyal to former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, refused to cooperate with Modi during his electoral campaign. But for now, the dissenters are lying low. The jingoism could be momentary. Some people are already looking farther on. "The party may get more votes after Akshardham, but there may not be an electoral sweep, as anticipated by most of its members," says a BJP insider. "Some voters are upset that Narendra Modi has brought violence to a once-peaceful State. He will now try to project himself as the man fighting terrorism, but he was the one who invited terrorists to Gujarat." The Congress(I) is also using Akshardham to highlight the State government's security lapses and its inability to protect the lives of Gujarat's citizens. But it is being drowned out by the BJP's anti-Pakistan discourse. Sensing that the BJP may gain an edge in cities by playing on fear and insecurity, the Congress(I) is focussing on the countryside and the government's neglect of rural development.