“As a Gujarati, if Modi becomes prime minister,I would be pleased and proud”

Ahmedabad, 18 January 2013

Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat and one of the Congress party’s top national leaders, Mr. Ahmed Patel in an interview with Rediff.com’s Sheela Bhatt said that as a Gujarati, if Modi were to become Prime Minister, he would be pleased and proud.

Sheela Bhatt:What are your insights about him(Narendra Modi)?

Ahmed Patel:I have not seen him closely; the impression I have gathered is from the newspapers and there is an opinion that he is prime ministerial material, but I don’t agree.

Sheela Bhatt:Why?

Ahmed Patel:Because of his nature, because of his arrogance. A prime ministerial candidate is one who can carry others with him. The quality of statesmanship which ought to be there is missing. As a Gujarati, if he becomes prime minister, I would be pleased and proud. But at the same time, the direction he wants to move after becoming prime minister, he has to lead not Gujarat, but the country. So he should be able to think of the welfare of the whole country.

Full interview can be reached at this link