By Shekhar Iyer (Hindustan Times)

New Delhi: With Gujarat going to elections in two months, Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra may be development but he will neither budge on Hindutva nor hesitate to give it back to those who criticise him on the 2002 riots issue. His winning formula is to get the people to do what needs to be done with a single-minded focus. And no, he isn’t dreaming of becoming prime minister one day.

“It is irrelevant (whether he intends to take a shot at the PM’s post). I cannot think of anything other than Gujarat’s welfare. I’m obsessed with the state’s development,” Modi told the HT Leadership Summit on Friday.

As he gave an account of his achievements, a critical audience wasn’t ready to let him off the hook so easily. A volley of questions saw the chief minister do his best to avoid direct comment on whether he regretted the riots and whether Muslims in his state felt insecure. But he wasn’t daunted either.

Has Modi changed, asked moderator Rajdeep Sardesai, managing editor of CNN-IBN. “Some of my critics now acknowledge my work but not all. I am willing to wait another five years for their acceptance,” he said.

According to Modi, his critics have avoided taking a holistic view of Gujarat while persisting with a “negative vision” different from reality. When Sardesai said one of his critics had called him a “mass murderer”, he responded: “I pray to God I continue to have their friendship and when the time comes, they will accept the truth.”

Does he fear his past? Does he regret the riots? “The truth will finally dawn on the people. It’s the people who will decide my fate and I am answerable to none but them,” Modi responded. When the moderator asked Modi if his actions could be whitewashed merely because he kept winning, he retorted: “You have to decide whether you accept the people’s verdict or not….”

On the fate of Muslims under his regime and what percentage of people back him, Modi said: “See for yourself… When the Narmada waters reached Sabarmati, the whole city benefited. But you ask what percentage got the benefit. You see a division. You have to change your mindset.”

To adman Suhel Seth’s query on whether Hindutva would take a back seat to development this poll season, Modi said: “Gandhiji’s Ram Rajya and issues like Hindutva are also relevant.” As Sardesai persisted in asking Modi to define Hindutva, he said: “Ram Rajya to me is nothing but the concept of a welfare state.”

Asked why he had taken five days to compliment Irfan Pathan on his performance in the T20 final, Modi said he wanted the people to debate why no one had bothered to reward the policemen who gave up their lives thwarting Pakistan-backed terrorists in Ayodhya.

Email: siyer@hindustantimes.com