Clearly, India’s ‘strong leader’ is caught between his aspiration to emerge as national war hero and thus sweep the polls with a two-thirds majority on the one hand and be a trusted Trump buddy on the other.

P. Raman

The Wire had in these columns narrated how Narendra Modi had often lampooned his predecessor as ‘Maunmohan’ Singh but how he had himself sought the cover of silence as prime minister. Since then, there is a lengthening list of Modi’s silences on crucial issues facing the nation. The latest entry on the list is the total maun on Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he had forced a ceasefire on India and Pakistan.

Modi, who had a highly publicised meeting with the US President in February, had gone out of his way to pamper Trump’s ego, including on issues such as the US demand for defence purchases. For three months this year, the entire Modi establishment was pressed into wooing Washington, first to get a meeting with Trump and then to charm the big boss by all available means, which included offering trade and policy concessions. Before that, in Trump’s first term, Modi had tried to build a personal rapport, inviting Ivanka Trump to visit India, hosting the ‘Namaste Trump’ event in Ahmedabad, and attending the ‘Howdy, Modi’ gathering in Houston.

Pandering to Trump was hailed as Modi’s ‘smart’ diplomacy by the godi media, which boasted that India would be the first country to sign a tariff treaty with the US.

Now, suddenly, the Modi regime is left to encounter the realities of the liaison and the prime minister has been forced into a humiliating maun – on Trump’s claim that he brought about the ceasefire and leveraged trade to do it. Trump repeated this claim multiple times, including after the godi media reported a significant ‘walk back’ by Washington…..

https://thewire.in/politics/modi-silent-maun-ceasefire-trump-response-public-relations

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