'The Economist' says it cannot bring itself to back Narendra Modi for PM

On Thursday, The Economist published an editorial titled ‘Can anyone stop Narendra Modi?’ in which it made some rather strong remarks against the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate labeling him as an RSS man as well as stating that his refusal to apologise or come clean about what occurred in Gujarat was troubling. 

The stinging editorial states that “By refusing to put Muslim fears to rest, Mr Modi feeds them. By clinging to the anti-Muslim vote, he nurtures it.”

“Unlike other BJP leaders, Mr Modi has refused to wear a Muslim skullcap and failed to condemn riots in Uttar Pradesh in 2013 when most of the victims were Muslim.” 

Stating that, “It would be wrong for a man who has thrived on division to become prime minister of a country as fissile as India. We do not find the prospect of a government led by Congress under Mr Gandhi an inspiring one. But we have to recommend it to Indians as the less disturbing option.” The editorial believed that Indians would be making a grave mistake in voting someone like Narendra Modi due to his past. 

The magazine also goes onto say that Modi’s views are 'murky' and that his comment, where he compared the death of Muslims in the riots to the death of a puppy under the wheels of a car as sending the wrong message to Muslims.

Although, the piece did acknowledge the work done by Narendra Modi in Gujarat and that he was the 'overwhelming favourite' for the position of Prime Minister in the country. 

But they say that, “Mr Modi might start well in Delhi but sooner or later he will have to cope with a sectarian slaughter or a crisis with Pakistan—and nobody, least of all the modernisers praising him now, knows what he will do nor how Muslims, in turn, will react to such a divisive man”