Did Sonia's 'merchant of death' remark prove turning point?

New Delhi, Dec 23 - As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged a clear winner in Gujarat Sunday, some party leaders said it was Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's controversial 'merchants of death' remark that may have helped Chief Minister Narendra Modi turn the tide in his favour.

According to BJP sources, even Modi believed that it was Gandhi's comments and the subsequent war of words between the two parties that helped him 'invoke Gujarati 'asmita' (pride) and regain his ground' in the state.

Modi is believed to have confessed to his friends that he was doubtful about his party's prospects till the issue had not flared up in the media. 'The Congress campaign had clearly scared Modi. Their campaign on Gujarat development was really picking up,' a BJP leader, who spoke to Modi, told IANS.

Gandhi, who was pitted against Modi in the electoral battle, did not react to the Gujarat results till Sunday afternoon.

The Congress campaign had been focussed on developmental issues, during which it tried to 'expose' Modi's claims on Gujarat's developments till Modi riposted Gandhi's comments made at an election rally in Gujarat's Navsari town on Dec 1.

Gandhi was quoted as saying: 'The truth is that in today's Gujarat, those who run the government are liars, corrupt and merchants of religion and death.'

Modi was quick to react to it. On the day Gandhi's comments appeared in the newspapers, he reportedly said in an election rally in Ankleshwar in south Gujarat: 'I promise that I will not allow the merchants of death to thrive in Gujarat. I want absolute peace in the state.'

Said a young BJP leader: 'Modi, being a leader who knows where to hit and how to strike a chord with the voters, immediately highlighted Gandhi's vicious remarks and played it beautifully.

'The Congress chief's remarks and the following controversy have polarised the votes in Gujarat in favour of the BJP,' added the leader.

Modi then justified the alleged staged killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a Muslim criminal from Madhya Pradesh, by the Gujarat Police in 2005 and challenged Gandhi and the Congress-led government in New Delhi to hang him if he was at fault in the case.

At an election rally in Jamnagar district Dec 4, Modi admitted that Sheikh's encounter did happen in Gujarat, saying the latter got what he deserved. 'Yes, Sohrabuddin's encounter happened in Gujarat, and if Sonia Gandhi wants she can hang me for this,' said Modi.

The local media had then carried advertisements saying: 'Because of jealousy about Narendra Modi, Gujarat is abused.'

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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