Modi-fied Gujarat

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It was undoubtedly the most talked about election of the year after the UP polls. It is truly unfair to say that Modi used the communal plank alone to win in Gujarat. In 2002 his speeches were resplendent with Mian Musharaf and the foreign origin issue of Sonia Gandhi. But this time he put them on the backburner and pushed forward the agenda of his reforms and developmental activities in Gujarat. In fact, Modi's victory is reassuring in some ways. Sure, this election too saw stray remarks on Sohrabuddin and Mian Musharaf. But at the end of the day, it is the Beti Bachao Aandolan, Jyotigram Power scheme, proper water supply (in spite of droughts), reformation of the babus and bureaucrats by bringing in accountability-based governance and the positive air for business that led him to victory. He didn't hesitate from slapping cases on those who indulged in power theft (even if they were farmers) and arresting the goons of VHP when they created problems. In UP or Bihar, such people would have been let off for the sake of votes. This is definitely not to say that he has come clean on Godhra. The statement of Mr. Vajpayee that 'Modi has not performed his Raj-Dharma and Mr. Advani's statement that 'Godhra riots are a permanent blot on the BJP' will continue to haunt him throughout his career. MODI IS NOT THE MAN IN BLACK as the media has portrayed him, but he is a very GREY FIGURE. He has got enough from the media for 2002. It's time they give him his due for his developmental activities because if you talk about riots, no big fish has ever got implicated in India. Indira Gandhi got away with Emergency. Rajiv Gandhi (for 1984 Sikh riots) and Bal Thackeray (for 1992 Bombay riots) walked scot free. Perhaps Modi too will be exonerated. It is unfair; but it is the reality.
But this is a lesson of sorts for the politically-correct Buddhijeevis in the A/C rooms of the media capital. Whatever they may say, it is the ground realities that the voters take into account. But there are two questions Modi has to answer: What will happen to the victims of Godhra (both Hindu and Muslims)? Second, now that the elections are over, what does he intend to do with the Modi masks?