Politics
Why PM Modi Does Not Want To Associate Himself With Lutyens Delhi
Swarajya Staff
Sep 04, 2016, 11:25 AM | Updated 11:25 AM IST
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Narendra Modi’s victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and his taking over the role of Prime Minister dismayed a small elite group of Indians who have spent more than a decade portraying him in a negative light. This section, often termed as “The Lutyens” group, always presented Modi as an outsider to “national politics” and “Indian Ethos” in their narrative. For long it has been stated that the Prime Minister is not on good terms with “The Lutyens” cluster.
So, unsurprisingly, when Prime Minister Modi sat down with Network 18 Group Editor Rahul Joshi for an expansive interview, his relation with “The Lutyens” group came up:
Question: Mr Prime Minister, it’s being said that Lutyens Delhi did not like you. But have you started liking Delhi?
Look back at history. What happened with Sardar Patel? This group presented Sardar Patel as a simple person from a village with a simple intellect.Look at what happened to Morarji Desai. This same group never talked about his abilities, achievements. It always talked about what he drank. What happened with Deve Gowda? A farmer’s son became the PM, yet they said he only sleeps. And what happened with the supremely talented Ambedkar who they are praising today? They made fun of him. What happened with Chaudhury Charan Singh? They again made fun of him.
Following this interview, one can now expect even more op-eds, in the near future, critiquing the Prime Minister from the “Lutyens” group.
You can watch the full interview here.
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