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‘I will be sad if something bad happens anywhere’

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has once again stirred political cauldron, this time with his wide-ranging interview to British wire service Reuters.

Departing from the recent attempt of his image managers to project him as the development-oriented leader, the newly-elevated chairman of the campaign committee of the BJP in the interview reiterated his Hinduvta image.

Describing himself as a Hindu nationalist, Modi said, ‘I am nationalist. I’m patriotic. Nothing is wrong. I am born Hindu. Nothing is wrong. So I’m a Hindu nationalist. So yes, you can say I’m a Hindu nationalist because I’m a born Hindu.’

‘Even if I am in the back seat of a car and a puppy comes under the wheels, would I not feel pain? Yes. Whether I am a chief minister or not, I am a human being - I will be sad if something bad happens anywhere,’ said Modi.
The reference to the puppy drew criticism from some quarters, but Modi defended his comment and tweeted: ‘In our culture every form of life is valued and worshipped, people are the
best judge.’

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman, while defending Modi’s comments, said that the interview has been misinterpreted. ‘It is despicable to say that Modi compared a community to dogs. It’s absolutely unfortunate and I only wish that before more comments and interpretations are made, people should read the interview and in what context it was made,’ said Sitharaman.

Modi’s comments received sharp response from political parties. ‘Thousands of people lost their lives in the 2002 riots and in this backdrop the analogy used by Narendra Modi needs to be strongly condemned,’ said Ajay Maken, AICC communications department head, in a reference to the puppy remark.
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