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Narendra Modi GALLERY.
India's main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi, center, speaks during a campaign rally for the upcoming state elections in Bangalore, India, Sunday, April 28, 2013. The southern Indian state of Karnataka will go to the polls on May 5, 2013. There are 41.8 million voters in the state and as many as 50,446 polling stations will be set up ahead of the polls. BJP elevated Modi, a deeply divisive figure in Indian politics, to the party's top decision-making body last month. India's main opposition Hindu natio
Indian police escort a protester dressed as Hindu god Lord Shiva away after he shouted slogans against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi outside the venue of Modi's meeting with business leaders in Kolkata on April 9, 2013. Police arrested students and other protesters and tightened the security around the venue. Indian police escort a protester dr
Indian students from various Leftist students' unions shout slogans against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as they clash with police outside the venue of Modi's meeting with business leaders in Kolkata on April 9, 2013. Police arrested students and other protesters and tightened the security around the venue. Indian students from various Leftis
Indian activists of Naxalite group shout slogans as they protest the visit of Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi outside a hotel in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Indian activists of Naxalite group
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi (R) speaks with FICCI women's wing president Kavitha Varadaraj at the annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organisation (FLO) as in New Delhi on April 8, 2013. Modi said that women's empowerment was a must to make India a developed nation and that the dignity of women is a step towards nation building. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Mod
Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organization (FLO) during its 29th annual session in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 8, 2013. Gujarat state Chief Minister Narend
Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the 29th annual session of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organisation in New Delhi April 8, 2013. Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra M
Indian Gujarat state chief Minister, Narendra Modi (C) addresses BJP supporters during a rally in Ahmedabad on April 6, 2013. Rajnath Singh participated in the celebrations to mark the party's 33rd foundation day. Indian Gujarat state chief Minister
Gujarat state chief minister Narendra Modi, standing left on vehicle, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh wave to supporters during Foundation Day celebrations of the party in Ahmadabad, India, Saturday, April 6, 2013. The main opposition Hindu nationalist party last week elevated Modi, a deeply divisive figure in Indian politics, to the party's top decision-making bodies, with his supporters believing he could become prime minister in national elections next year. Gujarat state chief minister Narend
India's western state of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi speaks during inauguration of Gujarat Travel Mart in Gandhinagar, India, Monday, April 1, 2013. The main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday, March 31, 2013, elevated Modi, a deeply divisive figure in Indian politics, to the party's top decision-making body with his supporters believing he could become prime minister in national elections next year. India's western state of Gujarat Ch
U.S. Republican lawmakers Cynthia Lummis (in red) and Aaron Schock (wearing a garland) arrive at the Gandhi Ashram in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad March 28, 2013. A visiting U.S. congressional delegation on Thursday invited the chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, to the United States, despite the fact that Washington has denied him a visa since 2005 because of deadly religious riots. U.S. Republican lawmakers Cynthia L
India's Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi talks during a signing ceremony between British Gas and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation in Gandhinagar, some 30 kms. from Ahmedabad, on March 20, 2013. British Gas Group said March 20 it will supply up to 2.5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas to the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) from 2015. India's Gujarat state Chief Ministe
British Gas India's Managing Director and President Shaleen Sharma (L) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Managing Director Tapan Ray (R) exchange documents during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony in the presence of British Minister of State for Foreign Office Hugo Swire (C, background) and Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) in Gandhinagar, some 30 kms. from Ahmedabad, on March 20, 2013. British Gas Group said March 20 it will supply up to 2.5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas to the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) from 2015. British Gas India's Managing Direct
British Minister of State for Foreign Office Hugo Swire (2nd L) and Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) shake hands as they pose for photographs while British High Commissioner to India James Beven (L) and Gujarat state's Energy Minister Saurabh Patel (R) look on during a signing ceremony between British Gas and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation in Gandhinagar, some 30 kms. from Ahmedabad, on March 20, 2013. British Gas Group said March 20 it will supply up to 2.5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas to the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) from 2015. British Minister of State for Forei
Britain's Minister of State for the Foreign Office Hugo Swire (L) shakes hands with Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi after the signing ceremony of the long term liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreement between British Gas (BG) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) at Gandhinagar, in the western Indian state of Gujarat March 20, 2013. Britain's Minister of State for the
British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire, left, interacts with India s Gujarat state chief minister Narendra Modi at Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India, Wednesday, March 20, 2013. Swire was accompanied by a large business delegation including a team from UK's oil and gas major BG Group. According to local news reports, the BG Group, Wednesday signed an agreement for the supply up to 2.5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd. British Minister of State for Forei
strongAhmedabad:/strong Narendra Modi is the only Chief Minister from India to be invited to address the Google Big Tent Activate Summit 2013 on 21 March through Google+ hangout on the theme 'Technology in Politics'. Before delivering the address, Modi will be interacting with Eric Schmidt, Chairman of Google Inc. through Google+ Hangout, a state government release said today. Besides Schmidt, Alan Rusbridger, the Editor-in-Chief of British newspaper emThe Guardian/em and Stephanie Cutter, who served as the Deputy Director in US President Barrack Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns, will also be participating in the summit. [caption id=attachment_667925 align=alignleft width=380 strongAhmedabad:/strong Narendra Mo
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi speaking at the IndiaToday Conclave in New Delhi on Saturday slammed the UPA's developmental model, spoke of how the country lacks a feeling of pride and suggested ways in which the country can move ahead. Choosing to begin his speech with a 10-minute film on Gujarat's development model, the Gujarat chief minister highlighted how Gujarat has grown over the last decade in fields ranging from solar energy to education.   [caption id=attachment_664181 align=alignleft width=380 Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Mod
strongDhoraji:/strong Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Friday fired a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying his speech reminded him of proverb 'empty vessels make the most noise' and his poetry was a vain attempt to hide Centre's failures. I listened to the speech of Prime Minister day before yesterday and I remembered the saying 'empty vessels make the most noise', Modi said addressing a function, where Congress leader Vitthal Radadia and his son joined the BJP. [caption id=attachment_653680 align=alignleft width=380 strongDhoraji:/strong Gujarat Chief
In that incandescent moment, Narendra Modi tuned bleaters into beaters, a href=http://centreright.in/2013/03/modi-turning-bleaters-in-to-beaters/#.UTg5faVEAUV target=_blankwrites/a Centre-Right blogger Vinod Sharma of Modi's rousing, red meat speech at the BJP National Council Meeting. The blistering, no-apologies, full-on attack was delivered in what has become the chief minister's signature rhetorical style, giving voice and heart to his party's cadres who loathe the Congress and the Gandhis in equal measure. Yet, no one was prepared for the vehemence with which he went for the holy jugular of the 'Termite' party - the Nehru-Gandhi family. The impact was immediate. It was as if a door had been opened to the forbidden fortress, without taking which victory is not possible. No more potting around this side of the moat, hoping that the fortress will fall on its own; no more letting the defenders within fearlessly fire all weapons and keep you helplessly pinned down, declares Sharma, reveling in Modi's muscular hyper-aggression.[caption id=attachment_652123 align=alignleft width=380 In that incandescent moment, Narend
Activists from Rashtrawadi Shiv Sena shout anti-US slogans during a protest against the US government not issuing a visa for India's Gujarat state chief minister Narendra Modi, who was scheduled to deliver an address during the Wharton India Economic Forum to be held in Philadelphia, in New Delhi on March 6, 2013. Modi, who was denied the visa, will deliver the keynote address through video conference, the organisers announced. Activists from Rashtrawadi Shiv Sen
The decision to withdraw Narendra Modi as a keynote speaker at the Wharton India Economic Forum was no easy one. According to an article in the ema href=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Inside-story-why-Wharton-cancelled-Modi-s-lecture/Article1-1021161.aspx target=_blankHindustan Times/a,/em President of University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Amy Gutmann, whose family fled Nazi Germany, could have influenced the decision. The article further states that professors and administrators at the university were not surprised when UPenn asked Wharton to drop the Gujarat chief minister's keynote address. [caption id=attachment_649231 align=alignleft width=380 The decision to withdraw Narendra M
The near-coronation of Narendra Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate well ahead of the general elections shows up the poor quality of Indian political punditry. No matter whether you think of Modi as hero or villain, genuine punditry needs dispassionate analysis, not biases couched as insight. This is why we get electoral and political surprises. The people aren't surprised, only the pundits are. Everyone predicted that Modi had too many detractors inside the BJP to be made inumero uno/i. In fact, they had forecast huge factional infighting between pro- and anti-Modi factions. But politicians are smarter than columnists: they saw the writing on the wall when they observed how ordinary BJP workers were responding to Modi. Which is why once Modi won in Gujarat, they saw they had a choice: either align with a rising power or be consigned to the sidelines. This is why the likes of Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Yashwant Sinha have clearly moved to recognise reality and joined forces with Modi. It is not that they lack ambition; but they know that in politics momentum is everything, and opposing Modi now will damage their careers rather than make it. The history of political parties in India shows that the electorate seldom spares party poopers. And right now, Modi has the tailwind aiding his rise. Now that the much-ballyhooed infighting has not happened, the next conjecture of clichd punditry is that Modi will not find secular allies among regional parties. A Modi-led BJP continues to be seen as un-coalitionable by many of these players and his continuous and conspicuous silence on the accountability for 2002 means that this is unlikely to change, writes a href=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/modi-vs-the-rest/1082522/emThe Indian Express/em/a in an editorial today. [caption id=attachment_647679 align=alignleft width=380 The near-coronation of Narendra Mod
strongNew Delhi:/strong Stung by Narendra Modi's attack at BJP National Council, Congress today said the Gujarat Chief was mistaken if he thought that he could attain the stature of a national leader by spending crores of rupees of the state for self propaganda. The kind of language that Narendra Modi ji used today does not behove any leader of national stature. I think he is yet not capable of attaining the stature of a national leader. By spending crores belonging to Gujarat for self propaganda, if someone thinks that he has become a national leader, then he is mistaken, Union Minister Rajiv Shukla said. [caption id=attachment_646793 align=alignleft width=380 strongNew Delhi:/strong Stung by Na
If Narendra Modi galvanised the mood of the party delegates at the BJP National Council meet, party patriarch LK Advani in his concluding speech did some plain speak. He spoke on the possible strategies that the party should act on to enhance its support base among the minorities and how to turn the existing opposition coalition into a NDA Plus. He began by saying that the mood in the country was of anger and revulsion against the Congress-led government at the Centre. Congress leaders are displaying a certain arrogance indicating that their party enjoys the TINA (There Is No Alternative) advantage. This arrogant expectation is completely at variance with the mood of the people. He then raised two questions to his own party workers - first, what will be the shape of this alternative and second, what role should the BJP play in ensuring the alternative comes to fruition? [caption id=attachment_646783 align=alignleft width=380 If Narendra Modi galvanised the moo
India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi, speaks during the party s National Council meeting in New Delhi, India, Sunday, March 3, 2013. The two-day long meeting will end Sunday. India's main opposition Bharatiya J
Taking a dig at Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today said then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had reminded the Gujarat Chief Minister about 'Raj Dharma' in the wake of the 2002 riots in the state. Reacting to comments by Modi in his speech at BJP's National Council meeting here, he also said it was under the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi that the country had conducted its first nuclear test in 1974. AMNESIA Is it not true that Vajpayee ji reminded a certain CM about Raj Dharma in 02? What did Vajpayee attribute their 2004 defeat to?, Tewari said on social networking site Twitter. Following the defeat of NDA in 2004 polls, Vajpayee had blamed that violence in Gujarat as one of the reasons that led to the electoral loss. [caption id=attachment_646665 align=alignleft width=380 Taking a dig at Narendra Modi, Info
Narendra Modi has by all reckoning been declared the de-facto leader of the BJP. An official announcement on his being the party's prime ministerial candidate may still have to wait, but for the rank and file of the party that's only a technical issue. The timing is a matter of strategic concern for the party's leadership. So far the chants of `Modi for PM' was limited to sound bytes to the media and atmospherics at public meetings where Modi used to be present but today it took a different turn. The occasion was the inaugural session of the party's two-day National Council in Talkatora indoor stadium in New Delhi. On his part, Modi, who has been making style statements for some time at various meetings, came dressed in a all-white bandhgala kurta with a saffron shawl on his shoulder. [caption id=attachment_646139 align=alignleft width=380 Narendra Modi has by all reckoning
India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Narendra Modi, left, and Sushma Swaraj speak during a meeting in New Delhi, India, Saturday, March 2, 2013. The two-day long national council meeting of the BJP began Saturday. India's main opposition Bharatiya J
India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj, center, talks to L.K. Advani, second from right, as Narendra Modi, left, watches them during a meeting in New Delhi, India, Saturday, March 2, 2013. The two-day long national council meeting of the BJP began Saturday. India's main opposition Bharatiya J