interesting interview. modi makes the usual suspects ('secular' 'progressives) pee in their pants, doesn't he?
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: India Chat
INTERVIEW/NARENDRA MODI
RSS taught me 'India first'
By Suman K. Jha
Are you the new saviour the BJP is scouting for?
I'm busy looking after the interests of five crore Gujaratis. I've neither the time nor energy to think about anything else.
What about reports that you plan to move out of the state after the Assembly elections in 2007?
I'm not even thinking of the Vijaya Dashmi next year. I'm only concerned about the present.
Are you ready to take up any responsibility at the Centre if your party so desires?
This is a loaded question. Neither has my party asked me anything, nor have I said anything. And, I won't use the media to communicate with the party.
You've been hailed as a good administrator. Has your stint in the government forced you to revisit some of your ideas, in the light of your RSS background?
My experience as a swayamsevak comes in handy as a chief minister. My job here is to marshal all human resources at my command; this is what I essentially did while working for the sangathan. My RSS years taught me the 'India First' philosophy; as a chief minister I've made it into 'Gujarat First'. 'Empower Gujarat to Empower India' is my mantra now. Whatever I have achieved today is due to my training in the RSS.
Why then did you have problems with various RSS offshoots? First, it was the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, then the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
I'm not aware of any such discontent. Love and affection is all I have got from the Sangh.
Many consider you a fascist. Bodies like the National Human Rights Commission have passed strictures against you. The Supreme Court has made similar observations....
If you have any document, please quote it. And, while doing so, do also quote adverse observations it has made about various state and central governments at various points of time.
Can you justify the anti-Muslim riots in the wake of the 2002 Godhra carnage? Your government's complicity will remain a blot for times to come....
I would urge you to wait till the commission, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, completes the probe in the matter.
What is the solution to the Hindu-Muslim issue?
Coexistence. In the west, they call it tolerance. Here, we're a step ahead, and we call it acceptance. But no one should say that 'my path alone leads to God'. As they say, Ekam sat, vipra bahuda vadanti [There is but one Truth though the wise speak of it in many ways] . Mutual respect [betweenvariouscommunities] is the only way out for coexistence. The way the Parsis have been accepted here best exemplifies this philosophy.
Do you think the riots could have been avoided?
You may be living in the past but I think about the future. I'm amazed that even in 2006, you continue to live in 2002. For me the five crore Gujaratis are aradhya [worthyofworshipping], and I'm only concerned about their well-being.
Your partymen are asking if 100 crore Indians will next become your aradhya.
[Laughsuproariously.] I've already answered the question.
RSS taught me 'India first'
By Suman K. Jha
Are you the new saviour the BJP is scouting for?
I'm busy looking after the interests of five crore Gujaratis. I've neither the time nor energy to think about anything else.
What about reports that you plan to move out of the state after the Assembly elections in 2007?
I'm not even thinking of the Vijaya Dashmi next year. I'm only concerned about the present.
Are you ready to take up any responsibility at the Centre if your party so desires?
This is a loaded question. Neither has my party asked me anything, nor have I said anything. And, I won't use the media to communicate with the party.
You've been hailed as a good administrator. Has your stint in the government forced you to revisit some of your ideas, in the light of your RSS background?
My experience as a swayamsevak comes in handy as a chief minister. My job here is to marshal all human resources at my command; this is what I essentially did while working for the sangathan. My RSS years taught me the 'India First' philosophy; as a chief minister I've made it into 'Gujarat First'. 'Empower Gujarat to Empower India' is my mantra now. Whatever I have achieved today is due to my training in the RSS.
Why then did you have problems with various RSS offshoots? First, it was the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, then the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
I'm not aware of any such discontent. Love and affection is all I have got from the Sangh.
Many consider you a fascist. Bodies like the National Human Rights Commission have passed strictures against you. The Supreme Court has made similar observations....
If you have any document, please quote it. And, while doing so, do also quote adverse observations it has made about various state and central governments at various points of time.
Can you justify the anti-Muslim riots in the wake of the 2002 Godhra carnage? Your government's complicity will remain a blot for times to come....
I would urge you to wait till the commission, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, completes the probe in the matter.
What is the solution to the Hindu-Muslim issue?
Coexistence. In the west, they call it tolerance. Here, we're a step ahead, and we call it acceptance. But no one should say that 'my path alone leads to God'. As they say, Ekam sat, vipra bahuda vadanti [There is but one Truth though the wise speak of it in many ways] . Mutual respect [betweenvariouscommunities] is the only way out for coexistence. The way the Parsis have been accepted here best exemplifies this philosophy.
Do you think the riots could have been avoided?
You may be living in the past but I think about the future. I'm amazed that even in 2006, you continue to live in 2002. For me the five crore Gujaratis are aradhya [worthyofworshipping], and I'm only concerned about their well-being.
Your partymen are asking if 100 crore Indians will next become your aradhya.
[Laughsuproariously.] I've already answered the question.
1 comment:
We need atleast 10 more Modis in the BJP. That guy is awesome.
I rank him higher than Vajpayee or Advani.
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