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3 Sep, 2014

Modi’s 100 days: Biding his time, circling the wagons – Al Jazeera

If there is one arena where the Modi government and the prime minister personally are seen as having done poorly in their first 100 days, it is in their failure to control BJP leaders and members engaging in hate speech and divisive politics.

Although the Uttar Pradesh assembly does not go to the polls till 2017, the party knows Modi’s “development” mantra may not work a second time around and has begun a strident campaign accusing Muslims of seducing and raping Hindu women. This campaign of demonisation of Muslims has made many non-BJP supporters of the prime minister nervous, since they know such attempts to disturb the social fabric and harmony of UP and India will eventually result in violence. Modi’s studied refusal to condemn MPs and senior leaders of his party who have indulged in inflammatory rhetoric is a reminder of the past that the prime minister has tried so hard to make the country forget. Is it an early sign of the forces that might be unleashed if Modi comes to the next general election with only a slender list of economic accomplishments to his credit?

Read the rest: Modi’s 100 days: Biding his time, circling the wagons – Opinion – Al Jazeera English.