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In saying that he should be hanged
publicly if he is found guilty of complicity in the 2002 Gujarat
riots, Chief Minister Narendra Modi has yet again provided an
object lesson in political grandiosity.
His comments in an interview with Shahid Siddiqui, editor of the
Urdu daily Nai Dunya, are symptomatic of a man who has an
inordinately large sense of the self. What he is in effect saying
is that even his failures and complicities, if those are indeed
what he is guilty of, cannot be mitigated by a mere apology.
There seems to be another ploy behind daring a faceless adversary,
namely, the country's judiciary, to hang him. He is conscious that
the bar of proving his direct involvement in the 2002 killings is
so high and therefore practically futile that grandstanding by
saying "Hang me, if I am guilty" is his best expedient option. It
is also a case of extreme pre-emption.
Somewhere along the lines Modi also appears to betray a martyr
complex by raising his alleged failures to the level of a crime
deserving of the capital punishment. It is a narrative which would
play well within his hardcore constituency that would also see any
conviction of Modi as someone who took one for the team. That is
ironic because Modi has never really seen himself as a team
player.
As political posturing goes, this is fiendishly clever. For a
politician subtly positioning himself for prime ministerial
sweepstakes it cannot get smarter than choosing a virulent critic
of his, editing a respected Urdu newspaper and a prominent Muslim
to boot to give an interview which is a mixture of bluster and
implied contrition. It is a no-brainer that he should have chosen
an avowed critic of his to give a detailed interview in a
newspaper largely read by the Muslims of Uttar Pradesh. Even if he
manages to persuade a small percentage of them to at least be
open-minded about him, Modi might have reasoned, he would stand a
fair chance in national elections.
Modi would have known that his comments would set off a political
churning in the 24/7 broadcast media as well as the bastion of
national politics, namely Uttar Pradesh. Politicians around the
world, particularly those as crafty as Modi, treat all media
interviews as an exercise in either building themselves up or
reinforcing their relevance. In his cost-benefit analysis the one
and a half hours spent with Siddiqui is worth so much more in
terms of return on political investment. And Modi is nothing if
not a Gujarati who instinctively understands return on investment
(ROI).
Incidentally, speaking of ROI, Modi has been touring Japan for the
past four days mostly to encourage Japanese investments in
Gujarat. It could well be a coincidence that he is out of the
country doing what he likes best, talking development, just as the
interview has come out. But then it could also be deliberate.
Even for Modi, who never tires of renewing his vows with Gujarat
every so often, 13 years would have been a long time to remain in
the state, subject of course to his winning the next assembly
elections later this year. By the time the 2014 national elections
take place he would have completed nearly a decade and a half as
Gujarat's boss. The calculation appears to be to start clearing
the brush in preparation for 2014.
Of course, the path from Gandhinagar to New Delhi is still full of
ambushers lurking around, the most potent being reasonable
acceptance of his politics on the national stage. With daggers
drawn in his own party at the state level, not to mention profound
antipathies coming from an important Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
ally in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, it can be nobody's case
that Modi has it all laid out for him. The Nai Dunya interview is
no doubt his way of testing the waters.
He cannot but be mindful that if he wants to pursue national
ambitions he has to change his ways of dealing with members of his
own party, not just at the state level but even at the national
level. He can no longer conduct himself with the aloof
self-assurance with which he has been known to do in Gandhinagar
and expect that people will support him no matter what.
Not many in the BJP would publicly acknowledge this but they know
that Modi sees himself as larger than the party. He is one of
those singular figures who shed affiliations and loyalties without
any qualms as long as the self remains in control. He gives the
impression that he has replaced ideological fealties with a
messianic self-belief.
Mayank Chhaya is a US-based journalist and
commentator. He can be reached at m@mayankchhaya.net
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