NEW DELHI — Narendra Modi, India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee and the frontrunner in the general elections, disapproved of virulent anti-Muslim remarks made in the recent past by his supporters as he sought to keep attention on his core message of development and corruption-free administration. However, he shied away from taking any strong measures to send a strong message to his right-wing forces. Praveen Togadia, head of the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), faces a police investigation after a video appeared to show him urging Hindus to evict Muslims from their neighborhoods in western Gujarat state. Speaking in Gujarat on Saturday, Togadia is heard saying: “We (Hindus) are in a majority — we should have the courage to intimidate them by taking the law in our own hands.” A lawyer for Togadia said the clip was “false, malafide and mischievous.” Modi, a hard-liner from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata BJP, said he “disapproved” of the statement from Togadia, an associate when both men were in grassroots Hindu groups in the 1980s. “Petty statements by those claiming to be BJP's well-wishers are deviating the campaign from the issues of development and good governance,” he wrote on Twitter. “I disapprove (of) any such irresponsible statement and appeal to those making them to kindly refrain from doing so,” he added. Last week, Giriraj Singh, a BJP leader in eastern Bihar state, said critics of the 63-year-old leader “will have to go to Pakistan.” Modi's closest aide, Amit Shah, was temporarily banned from campaigning after he made inflammatory remarks in a constituency torn by anti-Muslim riots last September, urging supporters to seek “revenge” at the ballot box. Reacting to Modi's statement, the ruling Congress said, “Modi has not even canceled ticket of Giriraj Singh, so these are crocodile tears.” Some critics feel that anti-Muslim rhetoric is a part of BJP's wider game plan. One one hand, the party showcases its development agenda to woo moderate Hindu voters, on the other, it has allowed some of its leaders to polarize the elections on religious lines. This is why, they say, that Modi is soft on these elements as he cannot afford to antagonize them. The BJP mainly draws it strength from anti-Muslim Hindu nationalist forces in the country.
