Even before he became Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi was propagating his goal to create a Congress-Mukt-Bharat (Congress-free-India). After becoming PM his campaign intensified. At the outset this writer enquired whether he wanted an India minus Congress or merely the removal of the Sonia Gandhi Congress from office. An India minus Congress was the goal of the late Ram Manohar Lohia and of even Mahatma Gandhi at the end of his life. It implied not a change of government but of political culture and system. However, Mr. Modi is going about achieving his goal in a most curious manner. Increasingly it appears that he will not deliver an India minus Congress but an India minus what people thought Mr. Modi represented.

Mr. Modi first deified Sardar Patel as the symbol of national unity. He traveled across the nation to propagate his resolve to build the world’s tallest statue in honour of Sardar Patel. He sought iron from each village to be used for the enterprise. He called it the Statue of Unity. This writer ridiculed that a leader among the team of leaders who allowed the Partition of mighty Hindustan should become a symbol of unity. By coincidence or otherwise subsequently on the Internet Mr. Modi’s team suggested that the statue be renamed. Gradually less was heard about Sardar Patel and the world’s tallest statue which is still being built.

Instead Mr. Modi suddenly discovered Mahatma Gandhi. Inspired by the Mahatma’s teaching he launched a nationwide campaign to keep India clean. Mr. Modi frequently extols the Mahatma’s memory to propagate various policies. People indulgently concluded that Modi’s ire was directed against the Nehru Dynasty which is why he campaigned for a Congress-Mukt-Bharat. When he started praising Sardar Patel Mr. Modi never failed to state that if Patel had governed India instead of Nehru our fate would have been different.

But now, lo and behold, Mr. Modi is singing the praises of Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He recently said: “Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister was Chacha Nehru to children and I would like that on November 14, his birth anniversary, children of all schools be given lessons in cleanliness and hygiene. The cleanliness campaign should continue till the birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi on November 19…Those who want to pay tribute to Chacha Nehru should sit with the children he loved so much and tell them how to lead a healthier life.”

Doubtless this newfound love for Congress icons will please critics who feared that Mr. Modi will sing the Hindutva tune. But what tune is he singing? This writer had earlier described Mr. Modi as a muscular version of Mr. Manmohan Singh. Both are creatures of the international corporate lobby. What then is Mr. Modi’s claim of being different? Is it that he is a better Congressman than Mr. Rahul Gandhi or Mrs. Sonia Gandhi? That is all right. But does that not imply a Modi-Mukt-Bharat?