Panaji: In a rare gesture, Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh praised his bitter opponent Narendra Modi and said that he has changed in many ways.
Power has ended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swagger that he had as an opposition leader and has made him “less vocal”, Digvijaya said in Panaji.
Digvijaya Singh, who is the party general secretary in charge of Goa, also said that after speaking aggressively against Pakistan, Modi had in fact made a U-turn on the issue.
“It is one thing to be making speeches as opposition leader and another thing to govern a country like India,” he said.
“An opposition leader has become an establishment leader… He has realised this reality. He cannot be vocal about everything now,” Digvijaya Singh added.
The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh is in the state for two days to attend a series of meetings with local party leaders.
He said that Modi, after his victory, was forced to do a U-turn on Pakistan.
“The prime minister was critical of Pakistan during his election speeches. We are happy to note that he has taken a U-turn by extending the hand of friendship to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” Digvijaya Singh said.
Asked to assess Modi’s performance after one month in power, he said it was too early to take a call on the quality of governance.
However, he said that Narendra Modi’s supporters are deriving “sadistic pleasure” by attacking minorities on the social media and the prime minister should bring them to heel.
“I hope he (Modi) would control not only his party people, but also his supporters on the social media, who take sadistic pleasure in criticising Muslims, Christians… We would like the prime minister to work for all sections of society in multi-religious, multi-cultural country that is India, as he has assured us in both houses of parliament,” he said.
Digvijaya Singh also said the BJP appeared to be whipping up the illegal migration issue along the Bangladesh border in order to split the country communally.
“There are both Hindus and Muslims who have migrated illegally from Bangladesh. They are raising this issue in order split the country on the lines of religion,” he said, commenting on the union government’s rhetoric against illegal migration from Bangladesh.