Modi's marriage: Do the people of India have a right to know?

How much difference a leader’s marital status can make to the country’s future is a debatable issue. But when elections are as high voltage as the Lok Sabha elections 2014, every discrepancy is seen as an opportunity. Narendra Modi’s admission that he was married, in the affidavit submitted before the Vadodara collector while filing his nomination has provided his opponents with enough ammunition. [caption id=“attachment_1476757” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] “It is not a personal issue. Modi has entangled himself in the legal, moral and political front. In all his earlier affidavits, he had maliciously suppressed information about his marriage. All these years Modi had tried to make a virtue out of bachelorhood. It is clear that half truth is also a lie. The electoral process requires mention of spouse and her assets. It should be clear whether he is married as people call it a child marriage or if he is not married. He cannot stand on two grounds,” Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak told CNN-IBN during a panel discussion. The BJP begged to differ. “This was a child marriage and the marriage has never been acted upon by two people,” said BJP spokesperson Meeenakshi Lekhi. Training her guns on the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for raking up the issue of Modi’s marriage, Lekhi said, “The people who are engaging in illegal relationships are questioning a legal marriage. We are not asking where Rahul Gandhi is holidaying with whom and how many girlfriends he has. Even the prime minister in his affidavit did not disclose anything about his wife. People have the right to live as they want to. They have a right to privacy.” Journalist Rana Ayyub, who took part in the discussion, felt that when the person concerned is running for the country’s highest executive post, the people have the right to know about his personal and professional lives to a certain extent. “These details have to be known by the people as Modi is a prime ministerial aspirant. Why did the Supreme Court have to intervene to get him to reveal this information?” he asked. Last year, the Supreme Court in one of its orders and follow-up order by the Election Commission had made it mandatory for all candidates to divulge all information in their affidavits completely. Modi’s admission of his marriage is largely seen as a result of this order. “This marriage never happened technically as they were both underage when the wedding took place. They never lived as man and wife. Legally this marriage would fit for annulment and not even for divorce. This is a non-existent marriage. Why is the Congress is so worried about it when Jashodaben herself never complained?”, asked Manushi, founder editor, Madhu Kishwar. The Congress was quick to answer. “How did Madhu Kishwar know about it? Jashodaben may face domestic cruelty. Her keeping quiet does not mean everything is fine,” said Nayak. Journalist Anna MM Vetticad was of the opinion that the country has every right to know if all laws were obeyed by the BJP prime ministerial candidate. “We need to know if Modi has broken any law,” said Vetticad.