GRIPES AGAINST MR MODI’S GOVERNMENT
“The cost of living is increasing, prices are going up. These people have just one agenda, Hindu-Muslim, and they don’t focus on the real issues,” said another citizen. He was referring to criticism that Mr Modi and his party are fueling religious disputes, a charge that they deny.
While average incomes have risen, International Monetary Fund data showed that inflation has hovered around 5 per cent during the 10 years Mr Modi has been in office, dipping below the 4 per cent level only twice.
As the leader of the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJB) in a country where Hindus form the majority of the population, Mr Modi has also pushed hard on the party’s religious agenda.
“He is what is called the king of Hindu hearts. So somewhere, that has had an appeal, and it’s polarised society along Hindu-Muslim lines, majority-minority lines. The BJP has played on all the fault lines,” said Ms Chowdhury, who is also a veteran journalist.
In 2019, the Modi government also passed a citizenship law which excludes Muslim migrants. The United Nations Human Rights Office called the move “fundamentally discriminatory”, which the government rejects.
However, polarisation is an ongoing theme for Mr Modi, going back to when he was chief minister of Gujarat state in the 2000s, where his home town is.
Many credited him with transforming the economy there. But he has also been a controversial figure, accused by some of turning a blind eye to deadly inter-communal riots in 2002 that claimed hundreds of lives. Mr Modi was effectively banned from the United States because of questions over his role in the riots.
PRIDE AT HOME
However, over the past decade, Mr Modi has travelled extensively to build relations with the world’s most powerful leaders and has been warmly welcomed at the White House.
Apart from boosting India’s image internationally, Mr Modi has focused on improving India’s infrastructure, expanding the manufacturing sector, and growing the country’s digital economy.
While there is no reliable evidence to support Mr Modi’s narrative that he used to help his father sell tea in the village of Vadnagar in Gujarat, there is a model of him as a tea street vendor at the local museum. His primary school has been redeveloped as a centre for students to be inspired.
Mr Shamaldas Modi, a relative of the prime minister who was brought up in the same household, told CNA: “If he has a job to do in mind, he does it. He won’t listen to others.
“No one can stop him. His mind is very sharp.”
