SIT Is Tightening Its Noose Around Narendra Modi’s Neck

SIT Is Tightening Its Noose Around Narendra Modi’s Neck

Have you ever seen a crow hiding the food? If not, lemme tell you what the crow does and why it does so.

Whenever a crow hides the food, it keeps its own eyes closed. He simply keeps on thinking that “ since I haven’t seen it, others haven’t seen it either”.

Narendra Modi and the crow are the two sides of the same coin and perhaps both are similar in deeds or misdeeds. Let us not forget, the word politics and the power that it bestows, make people fall in the honey trap. History is evident to numerous circumstances when individuals have gone to ‘any’ extent to grab the ‘power’. Narendra Modi found it difficult to make his presence felt in top political circles. He knew very well, till the time he didn’t make national headlines, he could not have replaced a political figure like L.K.Advani in BJP ranks.

There are two theories doing the round.

One, because of the above mentioned reasons, he orchestrated the Gujurat riots in 2002. And if ultimately the findings of the investigating agencies come true, this notion will be held correct.

Second theory which doesn’t find many takers, the Gujarat riots were a blessing in disguise for him. History will vouch the fact that when the Ram-Janam-Bhumi episode erupted, it carried with names like L.K.Advani, Uma Bharati, Murli Manohar Joshi, to name a few. Till that time, no body knew these names.

Over the years, BJP had learnt too well how to fan the religious hatred between Hindu and Muslims. It also saw how one Ram-Janam-Bhumi episode gave the power in no time to rule the nation for many years !

And Narendra Modi being a good learner, did learn the tricks of the trade in a short span of time. In recent years, his clout in BJP domain had reached such a height where top-rank leaders of BJP were found unwilling to attend certain functions where Modi would be present. And the reason was sheer fear psychosis of Modi’s growing image.

But my dear Modi Saheeb, you forgot the one-liner- “ Every dog has his day”. And with SIT building up a strong case against you, perhaps your days are numbered in political echelons. Now get ready to face the trial for your sins. Remember Mr. Modi, I am a Hindu.

WikiLeaks fallout: Narendra Modi, Bal Thackeray slam Rahul Gandhi

Mumbai: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Saturday tore into Rahul Gandhi for his alleged remarks that "radicalised Hindu groups" may be a bigger danger than Islamist terrorists.

Speaking to newspersons here Saturday, Modi said Rahul's comments only helped Pakistan.

"Through the WikiLeaks expose, it has been revealed who has given all the information to the US. Now, it is clear why the U.S. is backing Pakistan," Modi said.

In a similar reaction here, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray questioned Rahul's credentials for commenting on Hindu terrorism and advised him "not to act too smart".

"Who is Rahul Gandhi," he demanded, adding that he need not point out Rahul's "Italian connections".

Thackeray also warned the Congress leader against attacking Hindus, saying that failure to do so would mean that "they would retaliate and tackle him by the horns".

Rahul last year told U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that "the growth of radicalised Hindu groups" may be a "bigger threat" to India than support to some Islamic terror groups from the Muslim community, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.

Rahul told Roemer that although "there was evidence of some support (for Islamic terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba) among certain elements in India's indigenous Muslim community, the bigger threat may be the growth of radicalised Hindu groups, which create religious tensions and political confrontations with the Muslim community", the Guardian reported Friday.

A group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists burnt Rahul's effigy near the Congress party district office in Thane Saturday afternoon, shouting slogans and carrying placards.

Narendra Modi is terrorist number one’

Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmad Bukhari today made a scathing attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as the “terrorist number one” in the country.

“Narendra Modi is the terrorist number one in the country. He is unleashing state-sponsored terrorism in Gujarat. In the name to curbing terrorism, innocent people are arrested and harassed,” Bukhari said at an international conference against terrorism organised by the Jama Masjid United Forum here today (June 1).

Bukhari referred to the Gujarat riot and other incidents to elaborate his point.

“Gujarat riot took place as per the instruction of Modi. He is still in power. The victims of the riot do not have any expectation for justice as long as he is in power,” Bukhari said.

He claimed people were resorting to terrorism to take revenge against forces which harass them. “When a boy sees his family members being brutally killed and is not getting justice, what will he do? Will he not become violent,” he asked.

“Those who have been victimised should get justice, otherwise terrorism will not end,” he said.

Some other forces are also unleashing terror in the name of ‘Jehad’. They are killing innocent people in Jammu and Kashmir, he said. “We are condemning such acts. Islam does not allow these things,” he said.

Narendra Modi: Travails of Travel Abroad

While law of the land is trying to catch up with the acts of commission and omission in the Gujarat carnage, another set of laws, the global ones have been very clear about permitting the entry of a person like Narendra Modi into their country.

Recently (April 8, 2010), a group of German MPs justified the denial of visa to Modi. They advocated a ban on his visiting Europe. This parliamentary delegation was on a two day visit to the city of Ahmedabad to study the state of minorities in Gujarat. It concluded that the European Union (EU) decision not to grant visa to him was justified. They went to the extent of banning his trip to Europe in near future. They pointed out that “the Chief Minister of Gujarat has a radical tone to his politics and is described as dictatorial. He has a wrong perception of religious freedom.” This four member team has been closely following developments in the Gujarat riot cases.

One member of delegation pointed out that he was shocked by parallels between Germany under Hitler and Gujarat under Modi. Incidentally in Gujarat school books Hitler has been glorified as a great nationalist. Modi, in response to this has written to Prime Minister to seek apology from the German delegation for tarnishing the image of democratically elected head of state. The Congress Government endorsed Modi’s view and clarified that the EU had put a ban on Modi’s visit in the aftermath of Gujarat carnage but that has been withdrawn. Also that it was not an official delegation. Whatever that be, the opinion of the members of the delegation does reflect a deeper truth of our political phenomenon.

That apart, this is not the first time that such a thing has happened. Modi was earlier denied visa to US. On March 18, 2005 in a severe rebuke to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the United States denied him entry to America. US Consular division had taken a strong stand against Modi, the Hindutva icon. They denied him diplomatic visa apparently holding him responsible for communal carnage of 2002. In addition, his tourist/business visa which was already granted was revoked under a section of US Immigration and Nationality Act since he was not coming for a purpose that qualifies for a diplomatic visa.

In response to the query that he was already holding a tourist-cum-business visa, the Consulate pointed out that the "existing tourist/business visa has been revoked under Section 212 (a) (2) (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act." According this section
any foreign government official who was responsible or "directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religions freedom" is denied the visa. The decision of US authorities was based on the observations of India's National Human Rights Commission findings and other independent Indian sources.

The observation of German delegation raises one additional major point about the state of Gujarat being similar to that of Germany under Hitler. Who will know it better than Germans who have suffered the political tragedy of fascism for bad many years? Modi’s point that he is an elected person again matches so well with Hitler. One recalls, Hitler came to power through democratic means and then he gradually eroded liberal-democratic norms from inside to bring in worst type of fascist state. The parallels are unmistakable. There are some differences from German fascism here but all the same the basic phenomenon is the same. Fascism is a politics where the liberal democratic space is abolished in the name of targeting some section of society for the supposed cause of National interest. In case of Germany the process was accompanied by a cultural paradigm shift and political aggression against communists, then trade unionists and then the Jews. Millions of Jews were subjected to the gas chambers, one of the greatest tragedies of the human history of twentieth century.

The politics of Hitler, and his clone Mussolini was praised by M.S. Golwalkar the ideologue of RSS, the organization where Modi has been indoctrinated and trained. Golwalkar’s formulations of aggressive nationalism and relegating minorities to second-class citizenship are being actualized by Modi and company in different ways.

While the similarities with German case are so glaring, there are some differences as well. The German fascism began to take social roots after the economic crisis generated in the aftermath of First World War. The cultural offensive in the field of arts, music, literature and the ‘glorification of ancient past’ picked up rapidly. In one of the major assaults on democracy, the fire at Reichstag was attributed to having been done by Communists, and physical violence was unleashed against them. Analogies with Godhra train burning are unmistakable.

Here the ascendance of Modi comes on the background of the economic crisis of the decade of 1980s, the adverse effects of globalization picking up, the loss of jobs of the downtrodden due to closure of textile mills, the attacks on the dalits OBCs in the name of anti reservation riots. The cultural manipulation began with Ram Temple movement, and spreading of hate against minorities, Muslims first and then the Christians, who by now have been relegated to second class citizenship in Gujarat and some other states and the trend in other states is going in that direction.

While in Germany whole of the Nation came under the grip of fascism, the saving grace in India is that the electoral face of ‘Indian fascism’, BJP, has not been able to come to absolute majority in the center by itself. That’s not to say that fascism is not marching. In Germany the defeat of Germany in Second World War led to the collapse of the nation along with the edifice of fascism with the fascist-in-chief committing suicide. In India here it has gripped Gujarat in full, while in other states like Karnataka, Orissa, MP its presence is getting strengthened by and by. At national level though BJP might have faced two electoral debacles, the infiltration of fascist ideology through the pores of Indian democracy is going on in various ways. The phenomenon is creeping slowly though section of media, communalization of education, and infiltration of the followers of this ideology in different section of state. The gradual attempt to erode the liberal and plural values is a dangerous portent for democracy. Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit’s alleged involvement in Malegon blast may just be the tip of the iceberg. The judicial pronouncements that ‘Gita should be our national book’ are also reflective of the same phenomenon.

Indian fascism is a slow growing one, capturing different aspects of society one by one. It is not for nothing that Modi is the darling of big capitalists, who stand to gain maximum from the fascist type set ups. One can label Indian phenomenon as a chronic fascism, going in a step ladder pattern. Those of us relived because of electoral debacles of BJP at center need to wake up and realize that fascism is marching, irrespective of BJP’s electoral debacle in last two general elections.

The incidental observation from German delegates report is that since Germany went through such a painful period of history, many Germans realize and can sense the symptoms of fascism so easily. Same applies to many Japanese joining anti-Nuke protests and campaigns against Nuclear weapons. Who knows better than them as to what a nuclear weapon can do to the society?

So while here in India the justice to Modi ilk is elusive, globally there are norms which do recognize the nature of incidents happening here, the politics which abuses religious identity to come to power is in essence a variant of fascism whatever be its other characteristics.

Analysis of Narendra Modi's signature

In the past few years, very few Indian politicians have been trashed or won accolades like Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. Clearly, he is one of the most controversial persons in India. A lot has been written against Modi and his handling of the post-Godhra scenario.

He has been called the modern-day Hitler. On the other hand, it is also said that there is no better performer than Narendra Modi in India’s political structure. In fact Gujarat’s achievements in the past few years are often attributed to the efforts made by him.

But we are not here to decide whether we should side with someone who abuses him or someone who showers praises on him. We won’t conclude whether things that are said about him are true or not. Here, we will just analyse Modi’s signature. I would like to add here that I have not seen a signature like Modi's. Anyway, here are a few points I have made about his signature.

Illegible signature: If we did not have his full name written under his signature, is there any way we could have figured out that it is Narendra Modi’s handwriting sample? Nope. Such signatures are illegible. Legible means the writer is interested in communicating, illegible means they are not. In general, an illegible signature reveals a desire to be seen but not known, keeping things private. Illegible handwriting in combination with other specific traits may indicate dishonesty, but there are a lot of variables.

Lack of readability: If all letters in a signature are readable, then the writer's feelings are readable. Such person will not be able to hide his feelings. Even if such a person tries to hide dissemble his feelings, they will be revealed by the expressions on his face. His activities — good, bad or ugly — cannot remain unknown for a long time. Modi's signature is not readable. So, it's likely he does not have all these traits.

Letters missing: According to graphology, if some of the letters are missing in a signature, it indicates that the person always tries to avoid any dialogue on a few matter of his life.

Secretive circle: The second thing that stands out in his signature is the big circle around the first letter of his name. This indicates that the writer wants to keep his true identity hidden. They guard their secrets and it is very difficult to know the truth about such people. Many questions about such writers’ lives are just a subject of speculations.

Camouflaged first name: This reflects Modi’s tendency to be over-protective about himself. Circles around the first name shows the person gets very defensive in public. Such writers have a problem making friends because they do not open up and are always scared of getting hurt. They suspect the motives of people around them, which results in their social isolation.

Two dots at the right end: The dots indicate that Modi likes to have the final word in whatever he does. The two dots also suggest that he does not like others’ intervention and keeps all suggestions at bay.

How Narendra Modi played his part in Kar‘Nataka’

While the chief minister and his partymen are rejoicing at winning Thursday’s trust vote, it is instructive to know that the state BJP was provided with a measure of comfort in a nail-biting situation by none other than Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. If it had not been for Modi’s cooperation, the state BJP would have been hard-pressed to hang on to JDS MLA (Channapatna) M C Ashwath and make him abstain from voting against the government. Where the Congress and the JDS sequestered the BJP’s 11 rebel MLAs and the five independents at resorts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa – all ruled by UPA constituent parties – the BJP, courtesy Modi, kept Ashwath at an undisclosed location in Gujarat. No problem in gujarat A senior minister in Yeddyurappa’s cabinet said, “If we had kept him in a resort in Maharashtra, or Tamil Nadu, or Andhra Pradesh, or Goa, the ruling parties there would have got to him. After he went briefly to Tamil Nadu, we took him to Gujarat.” He added, “When our party teams went to these states to talk to the dissidents, the governments there threatened us with arrest. But in Gujarat, there was no problem.” Ashwath, who arrived in the city late on Thursday evening, submitted his resignation to the speaker, K G Bopaiah. He was accompanied by home minister R Ashoka, tourism minister Janardhana Reddy and BJP MLA (Surpur) Raju Gowda. With his resignation, the JDS strength is down to 27 in the assembly. Meanwhile, hinting at a renewed Operation Lotus, state BJP chief KS Eshwarappa has said that the BJP would welcome any MLA who is willing to join the party and abide by its ideology.

Engaging Modi the U.S. way

PTI Facing the possibility of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi assuming a leadership role at the national level, the State Department sanctioned meetings in 2006 at the level of the Mumbai Consul General. File photo

Confidential 2006 cable reveals complex calculations in the event of the Gujarat Chief Minister ‘making it to the national stage'; wants a clear message delivered on U.S. concerns over 'human rights and religious freedom'

Having declined to engage with him at the ambassadorial level because of his role in the 2002 Gujarat communal violence and anti-Muslim pogrom, U.S. diplomats found themselves, in 2006, facing the possibility of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi assuming a leadership role at the national level. Conscious that the United States would have to deal with him at a later stage if he rose in stature on the national stage, the State Department evidently sanctioned meetings at the level of the Mumbai Consul General on the understanding that such interactions would also enable the U.S. to deliver a “clear message on human rights and religious freedom in Gujarat.”

In a cable dated November 2, 2006 ( the Consul General in Mumbai, Michael S. Owen, underscored the importance of interacting with Mr. Modi “whose B1/B2 visa we revoked in 2005, at the level of the Consul General” over the Chief Minister's role in the 2002 communal violence. Such interaction, Mr. Owen said, “will also shield us from accusations of opportunism from the BJP that would invariably arise if we ignored Modi now but sought a dialogue with him in the likely event that he makes it to the national stage.”

On the basis of discussions with leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Mumbai Consulate concluded that Mr. Modi had set his sights on national politics. Interestingly, many in the BJP leadership believed that the Gujarat Chief Minister was the “only person of the BJP's many aspiring leaders who can reinvigorate the party and stop its further slide into oblivion.”

While there was no consensus on Mr. Modi's chances for success at the national level, some in Delhi and Gujarat strongly felt that his rise was inevitable, Mr. Owen added.

The Mumbai Consulate's 2,850-word assessment, which was cleared by the New Delhi Embassy before being cabled to the State Department, was carefully considered, nuanced, and telling. The disquisition could well form the core of an M.A. thesis in politics:

“If Modi does eventually get a national leadership role in the BJP in the foreseeable future, the USG [United States Government] will be obliged to decide how it wants to deal with a figure of national prominence whose B1/B2 we revoked. We believe it would dilute our influence to avoid Modi completely. If we waited to engage Modi after he attains national stature within India's largest and most important opposition party, many in the BJP would likely view this as an opportunistic move and only deepen the suspicions cultivated by some BJP leaders in western India since the visa revocation.

“Since the riots of 2002, we have declined to engage Modi at the Ambassadorial level, but Mumbai Consul Generals have routinely sought meetings with Modi whenever they visited Ahmedabad. We will continue to seek such meetings at the level of the CG to emphasize that the USG does not have a formal no-contact policy… and to demonstrate to the BJP that we are interested in cultivating relationships with the party while it is in the opposition. Direct encounters with Modi will also enable us to deliver a clear message regarding USG concerns for the state of human rights and religious freedom in Gujarat.”

On Mr. Modi's strengths as Chief Minister that could aid his national leadership ambitions, Mr. Owen's analysis was: “Modi has successfully branded himself as a non-corrupt, effective administrator, as a facilitator of business in a state with a deep commercial culture, and as a no-nonsense, law-and-order politician who looks after the interests of the Hindu majority. Modi's backers in the BJP now hope to convince the party leadership that he can use these positive traits to attract voters throughout India. Some BJP leaders believe, or hope, that voters will forget or forgive Modi's role in the 2002 bloodshed, once they learn to appreciate his other qualities.”

Not ‘if' but ‘when’

The Consul General quoted Harin Pathak, a BJP Member of Parliament from Gujarat, as saying that the BJP national leadership, and particularly former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, were convinced that only Mr. Modi could rejuvenate the party. Ram Madhav of the RSS also voiced similar views, “going so far as to say that Modi's ascendancy is not a question of if but when, and the USG must start considering now how it will deal with Modi when he becomes head of the BJP and leads the party's electoral campaign in the national elections scheduled for 2009.”

Mr. Owen also drew attention to what he saw as divergence between Mr. Modi's public image and his private actions. “In public appearances, Modi can be charming and likeable. By all accounts, however, he is an insular, distrustful person who rules with a small group of advisors. This inner circle acts as a buffer between the Chief Minister and his cabinet and party. He reigns more by fear and intimidation than by inclusiveness and consensus, and is rude, condescending and often derogatory to even high level party officials. He hoards power and often leaves his ministers in the cold when making decisions that affect their portfolios.”

Development of Gujarat

Development of Gujarat

Narendra Modi with Anil Ambani during VGGIS 2003

Modi took charge of Gujarat when its economy was shrinking and the domestic growth was stagnant. Faced with massive economic losses, he re-organised the government's administrative structure and embarked upon a massive cost-cutting exercise. As a result of his elaborate efforts, Gujarat registered a GDP growth rate of over 10% during his first tenure. This was the highest growth rate among all the Indian states.

As a Chief Minister, Modi concretely put to practice his envisaged Gujarat by means of various yojana. This includes Panchamrut Yojana, a five-pronged strategy for an integrated development of the state, Sujalam Sufalam, a scheme to create a grid of water resources in Gujarat in an innovative step towards water conservation and its appropriate utilization.

Gujarat earthquake

Gujarat earthquake

The biggest challenge which he had to face, when he took over as the Chief Minster, was the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the massive Gujarat Earthquake of January 2001. Bhuj was a city of rubble and thousands of people were living in temporary shelters without any basic infrastructure. In this critical situation, Modi is credited with starting immediate work to re-organize and stimulate the local economy. For Narendra Modi's outstanding contribution for disaster management and rehabilitation, on 16-10-2003 Gujarat govt got UN Sasakawa Certificate of Merit for outstanding work in the field of

Main articles: 2002 Gujarat violence and Godhra Train Burning

Narendra Modi's 2002 campaign exploited anti-Muslim sentiment. According to the Economist, his audiences considered Muslims as "scheming" in their midst. According to the Center for Social Justice, Modi cast Muslims as "the villains".

In February 2002, a incident in which 58 Hindu pilgrim burnt alive in a conspiracy. Violence immediately broke out across the state claiming around 1,000 lives. Independent estimates by human rights groups and NGOs place the figure higher to around 2,000. The official estimate stated that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed, 223 people were reported missing and 2,500 were injured. According to the Economist, the violence was organized by the supports of Modi's BJP. A Hindu nationalist said to that Modi given the mobs three days to carry out the attacks, during which they wouldn't be stopped by the police. The later compared Modi to Roman emperor who allowed his city to be burned), viewing that he "looked elsewhere" while innocents were killed.

Gordhan Zadaphia, former junior home minister, has accused Gujarat CM Narendra Modi of playing an active role in 2002 riots. He further states that it was Modi who kept in touch with senior police officials and bureaucrats during rioting. The former minister alleged that he was sidelined by Modi and was not called for official meetings which were conducted by Modi during the riots.

As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national the issue. Even (DMK) and allies of the BJP, asked for Modi's resignation. Modi submitted his resignation to and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly. In the following state re-elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.

The United States revoked a visa for Modi the following year. He was cited for responsibility for "severe violations" of the Modi was sought after later by US diplomats owing to his fast rising stature in national politics, Mumbai consul generals had routinely sought meetings with Modi whenever they visited Ahmedabad, acording to leaked USA diplomatic cables. The Chief Minister also made three essential points: “the events of 2002 were an internal Gujarati matter and the U.S. had no right to interfere; the U.S. is itself guilty of horrific human rights violations (he specified Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and attacks on Sikhs in the U.S. after September 11) and thus has no moral basis to speak on such matters, and Muslims are demonstrably better off in Gujarat than in any other state in India. Modi also said that the Indian National Human Rights Commission was biased and its reports wildly inaccurate. More broadly, he claimed, the U.S. relied far too much on ‘a few fringe NGOs' that don't know the real picture and have an axe to grind and that Modi noted (accurately) that the culprits in the 1993 Mumbai bombings are only now being sentenced(after 15 years), so we should not have ‘unrealistic expectations. The diplomats from USA believed that Sinhji's(former Minister of Environment Yuraj Digvijay Sinhji) comments on Modi are indeed accurate: ironically the man most hold accountable for the communal violence of 2002 may now be the most ardent defender of communal harmony, at least on the surface. Another reason why Modi could face challenges in becoming a national leader: Modi's reputation for being completely incorruptible is accurate, and if he were to become a national leader he would crack down on corruption throughout including BJP.

In April 2009, appointed a special team of investigators to look into the role Modi had played in the alleged anti-Muslim conspiracy. The team was appointed in response to the complaint of Jakia Jafri, the widow of ex-Congress who was murdered in the riots. In December 2010, a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its report to the Supreme Court seeking answers pertaining to the , submitted that they had found no evidence against Narendra Modi.

However in February 2011, the that a confidential report from the SIT indicted Modi on several counts of alleged complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002. Other sources have noted that the the SIT report does not indict Modi for the riots due to lack of evidence. The too said the report did not find any Modi involvement in the violence, though it did accuse him of watering down the seriousness of the situation. According to the report not only found that Modi tried to water down the seriousness of the situation, but Modi also implicitly justified the killings of Muslims, and failed to condemn the attacks on them. The demanded an investigation into the publication of the report, claiming it politically motivated by the -dominated government. Italic text

Modi's 2007 election campaign was marked with some passionate speeches reflecting his vision for Gujarat and his aggressive leadership. One such speech was given at Magrol in response of Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of death", and referred to this speech the , a constitutional body governing election proceedings in India, cautioned Modi as it considered it as indulging in an activity which may aggravate existing differences between different communities.

Tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat

Tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat

In October 2001, he was called upon by the party to lead the Government in Gujarat. When the Modi government was sworn in on 7 October 2001, the economy of Gujarat was reeling under the adverse effects of several natural calamities, including a massive earthquake in January 2001. However Modi, a master strategist, who was enriched by national and international exposure and experience, decided to take the bull by its horns.

He is believed to be a protégé of , who is a senior leader of the himself. Advani has praised Modi on numerous occasions, referring to him as "a leader who, after being subjected to a malicious and prolonged campaign of vilification, has been able to impress even his critics with his determination, single-minded focus, integrity and a wide array of achievements in a relatively short time."