Modi's 'puppy' comment poorly contextualised, tweets Reuters journalist

Even as the debate around Narendra Modi’s remarks comparing the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat to a “puppy” being run over by a car rages on, Modi has received support from some unexpected quarters – the journalist who interviewed him,  RSS ideologue MG Vaidya, who is usually not well-disposed towards Modi, and senior BSP leader Vijay Bahadur Singh.

Sruthi Gottipati was one of the two Reuters journalists who spoke to Modi. Gottipati tweeted out on Saturday that the media hadn’t done justice to the interview, and urged readers to see the full interview:

Gottipati has since deleted the tweet. But before she deleted it, the tweet was played and replayed over the social networking site, not only by readers, but by political players intent on using her opinion to prove their points.

Member of RSS national executive Ram Madhav was one of the first to quote her tweet.

This post was then retweeted by BJP vice-president Smriti Zubin Irani.

Modi’s support was bolstered by the comments of senior BSP leader Vijay Bahadur Singh. “If he says that he feels bad if a puppy gets crushed under the wheels of his car, then it shows that he is a sensitive and compassionate person… Those who oppose his remarks are ‘rashtra drohis’ (anti-nationals),” said Singh.

“What’s wrong in someone saying he’s a Hindu nationalist?” added RSS ideologue MG Vaidya. “It should not be looked through a narrow prism.”