Narendra Modi cannot be a good prime minister: Javed Akhtar

Lyricist and Rajya Sabha MP Javed Akhtar today said Narendra Modi can never be a good prime minister, alleging that the BJP's PM aspirant was not only tainted of communal riots but was also "undemocratic". "Besides, all talks of involvement in Gujarat riots of 2002 which are before the courts, this man (Modi) is not democratic," Akhtar told reporters on the sidelines of a school function here.

"Amid chants of registering hat-trick in Gujarat one thing is glossed over - that he has given a damn to democracy in the state ... His rise is a challenge to democracy," Akhtar, Padma Bhusan awardee, poet and well known script writer of Bollywood said.

Alleging that Modi treated ministers in Gujarat like 'chaprasis' (peons), Akhtar asked "How can he run the country with this mindset?" Showering praises on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the 'turnaround' in the state, he said during his interactions with the people of Bihar in past three days and during his visit in 2012 he had found that the people were optimistic as they felt positive change.