WANTED: History and Comprehension lessons for Arun Sinha

Ahmedabad, 3 November 2013

It is said that a friend in need is a friend indeed and Arun Kumar is evidently becoming the strongest votary of this saying. In a time when governance in Bihar is at an all time low, with the Chief Minister himself holding 18 departments including the crucial Home and Finance, when innocent people are becoming vulnerable to suit the whims and fancies of the Chief Minister’s ambitions and when the state is becoming a hotbed for anti-national elements, what does Nitish Kumar do? He recruits his classmate and friend Arun Sinha (this is what Arun Sinha himself wrote about Nitish Kumar in his book) to write lies about Narendra Modi.

Arun Sinha’s article ‘Long Siege in Pataliputra’ if anything, suggests that the writer needs better comprehension skills and a sense of history, whose absence clearly comes out in the article.

-A comment wrongly attributed to Narendra Modi on Pandit Nehru in Sardar Patel’s funeral has been already clarified by the daily that carried the comment in the form of a clarification that Modi did not say any such thing.

-At no point in his speech did Narendra Modi say Alexander was defeated on the banks of the Ganges, that too by people from Bihar. He clearly said that this land had that power that it sent Alexander away. History proves Modi right- after defeating Porus, Alexander refused to go any further due to fear of Nandas, who had their capital in Pataliputra. The poem was a symbolic reference to who they await on the other side of the Ganga, which were the Nandas.

-Narendra Modi did not say Taxila is in Bihar. Arun Sinha should tell us where he said it. What Narendra Modi says is, when we remember the Gyaan Yug or era of knowledge we remember Nalanda and Taxila, which again is a historically accurate statement to make.

-Arun Sinha is perhaps not aware of the power turnaround in Gujarat that began very early from Narendra Modi’s tenure. He clearly needs to read more about the Jyotigram Yojana. As for Narmada and electricity, Modi said the water problems of Gujarat and Rajasthan and the power problems of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra would be solved. He never said anything on the price.

-Narendra Modi’s remark on 8.4% during NDA rule has been vindicated by the first economic survey that came out under the UPA in 2005. Nothing more needs to be said on that.

-If Mr. Arun Sinha is so sure that Nitish Kumar’s base among the lower strata of society would not be rattled then why did he have to dedicate an entire column on Modi and Patna and why mention this particular part at all? Why even compare Modi with Lalu or anyone else? Is Arun Sinha hiding his anxiety through these words or is he overtly displaying it?

-Is giving compensation to people who died in your rally incorrect Mr. Sinha? Why must it rattle you and Nitish Kumar?

-By saying only Businessmen and traditional Hindu nationalists endorse Narendra Modi, Mr. Sinha has already shown how out of touch he is with the ground reality. Did he see rallies in Trichy, Karnataka, Hyderabad, Kerala- all states where BJP is weak. Did he see the number of people turning up and their backgrounds? From professionals, women, rich, poor, forward, backward they were all there.

-Mr. Arun Sinha should know that when Churches were attacked in Dangs, Narendra Modi was in Delhi as General Secretary Organisation. Infact, Christian leaders very early on during his tenure welcomed his appointment as they could finally have a peaceful Christmas. No instance of a Church attack under Narendra Modi.

-In every speech of his Narendra Modi has always said that the reason for the success are people of Gujarat – can he single out an instance where Modi has claimed the contrary?

Perhaps Mr. Sinha should stop writing about Modi and guide his dear friend Nitish Kumar, who seems poised to get Bihar back to the Lalu Raj days.