Modi looks into the mirror and sees Bush

What’s common between George Bush and Narendra Modi? Ask the Gujarat Chief Minister. A day after Best Bakery prime witness Zaheera Shei...

What’s common between George Bush and Narendra Modi? Ask the Gujarat Chief Minister.

A day after Best Bakery prime witness Zaheera Sheikh retracted her statement, Modi broke his silence at a function to felicitate BJP president L K Advani: ‘‘For long, I have been silent. Now I feel like talking. I see a lot of similarities between Bush’s election speeches and my election speeches during 2002. Bush took up the issue of terrorism, something that I did as well during my Gaurav Yatra.

‘‘Bush warned America’s enemies while I warned Gujarat’s enemies. I challenge political pundits to analyse that.’’

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The Chief Minister also used the forum to hit out at Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil. Raising the issue of security in the state, Modi said: ‘‘The state government has passed a bill — GUJCOC — to tackle organised crime in the state. It’s similar to MCOCA in Maharashtra but the Union Home Minister is sitting on the Bill.’’

He attacked the Centre for ‘‘indulging in cheap politics’’ by reducing assistance for Navratri celebrations in the state from Rs 1 crore last year to just Rs 45 lakh this year. ‘‘I want to tell them (Centre) that efforts to throw a spanner in the works were fruitless. Gujarat went ahead with the celebrations on a grand scale. This act has political undertones,’’ he said.

The Centre also came in for flak over the issue of reservation for minorities. ‘‘When the Constituent Assembly had opposed reservation for religious minorities, this government, just to come to power on minority votes, promised them reservation.’’ Advani joined Modi in attacking the UPA government: ‘‘When the problem of Naxalism is speading to Karnataka and Kerala, the Government is talking to Naxalites who approach the negotiating table with arms. The Andhra Pradesh government won the Assembly elections with Naxal support.’’