Some anti-Modi headlines and observations between 2014 and 2022 : Some positive observations too

New Delhi 

Some anti-Modi headlines and observations between 2014 and 2022. These only show how Modi-detractors were prejudiced and motivated in their views ! And eight long years, people of India are with Narendra Damodardas Modi who gave them Ram temple at Ayodhya and abolished Art 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Modi waving to crowd in Varanasi: Getty Image/Hindustan Times

# 'Narendra Modi - the divisive manipulator who charmed the world' - The Guardian in 2015

# Pankaj Mishra wrote in the article - "Modi was always an odd choice to lead India into the 21st century........More importantly, Modi was a symptom easily identified through his many European and Asian predecessors,of capitalism's periodic and inevitable dysfunction: he was plainly the opportune manipulator of massdisaffection with uneven and unstable growth".

Modi with Pak PM Nawaz Sharif, May 26, 2014

# "Modi rose frictionlessly and swiftly from disgrace to respectability in a world where money, power and statusare the measure of everything".

# Another 'The Guardian' piece in 2014 by Jason Burke - "Modi will still come up against the fundamental tension between his nationalism and his desire to accelerate economic development......

(About his foreign policy -- prior to Sushma Swaraj's appointment as External Affairs Minister) - Burke wrote: "Will it be ideology or pragmatism ? Nationalist pride and sovereignty first, or jobs with growth ? Or perhaps a clever blending of both, like his campaign rhetoric ? 

## "This is not about warmongering but about this country's culture. India has been there since 1947.Bharat has been there since time immemorial. Now Bharat has come back, validated and endorsed by thevoters of this country" - one Anuraj Dikshit quoted in 'The Guardian report' in 2014 

The Economist - May 14, 2022

"And as the BJP has found, promoting “Hindu consolidation” by pointing to a common enemy—generally Muslims—is electoral magic. It erases the divisions of caste and ethnicity that for decades fragmented the Hindu electorate, and in doing so gave minorities some weight in the game. Again and again the bjp has entered a contest, stirred up hatred, and walked off with victory. 

That success has brought more power and more money in a self-reinforcing cycle, such that even Mr Modi’s political rivals now compete in burnishing their pukka Hindu credentials rather than in defending secular ideals, let alone defending actual Muslims." 

'The Economist' headline on May 14, 2022 - How Narendra Modi is remaking India into a Hindu state - 

Now look at the pattern 

--- In July 2020, 'Foreign Policy' headline -

'How Modi Is Using Hinduism to Turn India Into an Autocracy' 

'Foreign Policy' article says - 

When Narendra Modi was elected prime minister in 2014, India reached a crucial milestone for a postcolonial democracy: Modi became the first leader since independence to command a lower house parliamentary majority that did not belong to the Congress party of India’s founders Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

 After 65 years, a dynastic founding party was subsumed by new blood. But in the six years since Modi won his first election, it has become clear that his style of leadership poses an existential threat to the world’s largest democracy. 

Through his wildly successful promotion of Hindutva ideology, Modi is poised to remake India into a Russian-style “managed democracy”—one retaining all the trappings of democracy while operating as a de facto autocracy.

Photo - AFP/Foreign Policy 

Headline - Is Modi Mania Melting Away? - May 13, 2021 

(Blog posting - https://the-elephant-story.com/blogs/news/is-modi-mania-melting-away) 

#@#
Saying Good about and positive observations -

# Rupert Murdoch once tweeted  saying Modi is India's "best leader with best policies since independence".

# Sheryl Sandberg declared she would change her Facebook profile in honour of Modi's visit toSilicon valley in September 2015. 

## Gujarati pride is also at play. Modi is from this western state, which makes up just 5% of India’s population but is much more prominent in the diaspora. More than 600,000 people of Gujarati origin live in Britain; along with Punjabis, they constitute the greater part of the Indian-origin population.

The BJP’s landslide election victory last year (2014) was in part because Modi was seen as representing hope for a revitalised India; the welcome he has received in Western capitals, with Barack Obama personally nominating Modi as one of Time magazine’s ‘100 Leaders’, is relished by Indians abroad as a sign of India gaining global influence and authority. -- The Asian Dialogue.com 

(Headline - Why Indians abroad succumb to Modimania ? - 2015 )

Eight years of Narendra Modi’s regime: Gujarat Govt lauds PM’s achievements & contributions to the state

New Delhi: As Narendra Damodardas Modi completes eight years in office as the Prime Minister, the Gujarat government recalls a few of his mega achievements and contributions to the native state.

Mr Modi was first sworn in as Prime Minister on May 26, 2014, by then President Pranab Mukherjee.

Officials say Prime Minister Modi had given the nod to shut the gates of Sardar Sarovar Dam under Narmada Yojana on the 17th day of taking charge. There was already a longstanding demand for the closure of Sardar Sarovar Dam gates.

After the Prime Minister’s approval, an expert committee was formed, which submitted its report redressing the problems of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. With the committee’s consent, the gates were finally closed on June 16, 2017.

The closure of the gates opened the “gates of opportunities” in Gujarat as the dam’s capacity grew 3.75 times to 4.73 Million Cubic Meters, sources say.

Among other such features – Gujarat got the outstanding Crude Oil Royalty.

Mr Modi, in March 2015, approved the payment of Rs 763 crore to the Government of Gujarat as a Crude Oil Royalty. “This was one more big decision in favour of Gujarat as the matter was pending in the Supreme Court,” a source said.

In fact, prioritising the needs and interests of Gujarat, the Prime Minister decided to disburse about Rs 800 crores as crude oil royalty to Gujarat.

“Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s contribution for Gujarat is immense,” Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel told ‘Organiser’.

“Thanks to his unique style of functioning and meticulous planning with a focus on every detail, Gujarat is today a model of economic development for other states and countries across the globe,” the Chief Minister remarked.

Officials say AIIMS Rajkot should also be listed as one of the major achievements during the last eight years.

“As the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modiji very well understood and felt the need for such a national level medical institution. Hence, after becoming the Prime Minister, his determination to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure materialised as he gave approval for establishing an AIIMS in Rajkot. PM also laid the foundation stone of Rajkot AIIMS in December 2020,” said an official.

The Prime Minister also approved a Light House Project for Gujarat.

Under the Light House Project, an ambitious scheme of the Union Ministry of Urban Affairs, beneficiaries are provided with sustainable houses considering the local climate and ecology.

Six states got the benefits of the project- Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat.

Under the Light House Project, around 1,144 houses are being constructed in Rajkot city in Gujarat.

Official sources also say that PM Modi’s one more significant gift to Gujarat came in the form of a high-speed bullet train. Ahmedabad, along with Mumbai, two of the business centres of India, will be among the first cities in India to witness the development of this high-speed rail corridor.

The foundation of this project was laid by Modi on September 14, 2017, in the presence of the then Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe.

Around 98 per cent of land acquisition has been accomplished in Gujarat’s region under this project.

There were a few more milestones during the last eight years.

Of course, the Statue of Unity dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel has become a landmark for Gujarat. Tourists from all over the world visit the spot to catch sight of this 182-metre-long statue. To provide ease of access to the visitors, the PM also inaugurated Kevadiya Railway Station in January 2021.

This has enhanced the connectivity towards the world’s tallest statue. At present, eight trains of Indian Railways are running on this route.

Acknowledging Gujarat’s proficiency in sector-specific education, in September 2018, the PM inaugurated India’s first National Rail and Transport Institute in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Notably, several world leaders have been hosted in the Prime Minister’s native state during the last eight years.

They include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Shinzo Abe, the then PM of Japan, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump in 2020 and Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and also British PM Boris Johnson.

Blogger with Gujarat CM Patel