As voting in India’s election ends Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi—the star campaigner of his party’s bid to win a rare consecutive term in power—has stirred controversy with his comments in press interviews and campaign speeches over the six-week voting cycle.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks during the campaign trail have led to controversy and ... [+]
On Gandhi: The most recent controversy revolves around Modi claiming in a TV interview this week that no one outside the country had even heard of Mahatma Gandhi until Richard Attenborough released his Oscar-winning biopic “Gandhi” in 1982.
Modi appeared to blame this purported lack of global awareness about Gandhi on previous governments led by the opposition Congress party, saying while figures like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. were world-renowned, little was done to promote Gandhi’s legacy (but he omitted that Mandela and King both cited Gandhi’s non-violent freedom struggle as an inspiration for their activism).
On his birth: In a separate interview earlier this month from his electoral constituency of Varanasi, Modi said that while his mother was alive, he believed he was “born biologically,” but after she died, he became convinced “that God had sent me” and the kind of energy he possesses cannot come from a “biological body.”
Despite some opposition leaders mocking him, Modi appeared to double down in a follow-up interview and said he is convinced he was sent by the “Parmatma” (supreme being or god) to fulfill a purpose and his work will only be done when that purpose is fulfilled.
On the Gaza war: In another sit-down interview earlier this month, Modi claimed he asked his special envoy to urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not bomb Gaza during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and claimed Israel mostly adhered to his request, with fighting only happening on 2-3 days around the end—adding that he did not publicize this despite his rivals calling him anti-Muslim.
But commentators have criticized the claim, pointing out that conflict continued during Ramadan, while Modi critics mocked the remark by pointing out its similarity with one of the election’s most lampooned campaign ads, in which an actor playing a girl evacuated from Ukraine claims Modi stopped the war to get them out.
On the opposition snatching buffaloes: During a campaign rally in his home state of Gujarat on May 1, Modi targeted the opposition alliance’s proposed benefit transfer schemes and tax policies, claiming if they came to power, the Congress party would take away a buffalo from people who have two and snatch away people’s gold and women’s Mangala sutra—a necklace worn by married Hindu women.
On India’s Muslims: In a campaign speech in Rajasthan last month, Modi claimed if the Congress party came to power, “Muslims [will] have first right over resources” and they would gather everyone’s wealth and distribute it among “infiltrators” and those “who have more children”—referencing a right-wing Islamophobic trope similar to the “Great Replacement Theory” that accuses Muslims of engaging in “population jihad” by birthing more children than Hindus.
Modi’s comments at the Rajasthan campaign event triggered outrage among opposition leaders and resulted in a hate speech complaint being filed against him in court.
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Sambit Patra, a spokesperson from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, came under fire from opposition leaders after saying the Hindu god Jagannath was also a devotee of the prime minister. Patra later clarified his comment was a slip of the tongue while speaking to reporters.
The final phase of voting in India’s six-week election ended on Saturday, with voting taking place across seven states and the union territory of Chandigarh. While official campaigning ended earlier in the week, the prime minister still courted controversy from the opposition over his decision to go to Kanyakumari—the city located on the southern tip of India’s mainland—to meditate. Modi’s meditation received close media coverage but leaders from the opposition alliance have complained to the Election Commission, alleging Modi’s actions and the intense media coverage of it are a violation of the country’s model code of election conduct, which prohibits any form of campaigning or canvassing 48 hours before a vote.
At the start of the election, Modi’s party was a strong favorite to easily secure power for a third term, with his ministers talking up the possibility of the BJP and its allies winning more than 400 of the 545 seats in the Indian Parliament’s lower house, or Lok Sabha. While Modi remains the favorite to continue as prime minister, jittery markets suggest investors are worried he and his party may end up with a lower-than-expected seat tally—and potentially a narrower majority.