'When Narendra Modi looks at the face of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat he sees the face of a fool'

The guest for the first edition of Firstpost Salon was author and journalist Aatish Taseer, who joined us for a lively discussion about one of the more incendiary topics in Indian politics: the elite of Delhi. Here are some of the most memorable moments from the conversation with the author of The Way Things Were.

‘When Narendra Modi looks at the face of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat he sees the face of a fool’

Speaking about the Narendra Modi victory in the 2014 national elections and the months that have passed since he has taken charge, Taseer said he believed that the Prime Minister had no interest in letting his development agenda being hijacked by right wing groups.

“I would feel that when Narendra Modi looks at the face of Mohan Bhagwat, he sees the face of a fool. He sees the face of a man he has outgrown and of an organisation that he’s saddled with that is useful to him politically,” Taseer said.

He admitted that it was his instinct that the Prime Minister was saddled with an organisation like the RSS and said that it was possible that the Prime Minister had a Faustian pact with right wing groups.

“He could say to them ‘I will take economy and development, you take culture and education’. There are many dangerous ways in which this could play out ,” he said.

He said the Prime Minister couldn’t allow his agenda to be hijacked by sadhvis and “little freaks wrapped in saffron”.

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