PM Modi’s statements on Gandhi draw controversy

As the nation was preparing itself for 2024 general election and Modi traveled the length and breadth of the country to win a third term in office, a handful of his statements began to rake in controversies and debates.

While these statements were made by the Prime Minister to criticize the opposition’s policies, critics of the prime minister spoke out at large against the polarizing tone of his statements.

A clip of Modi from a TV interview he had given prior to the elections has been going viral on social media on Tuesday. In the clip, Modi has declared the world did not know about Mahatma Gandhi till Richard Attenborough made a biopic on the freedom fighter in 1982.

He further commented that it was the responsibility of political leaders of this country over the last 75 years to ensure that the world knew more about Gandhi. The statement implies that the Gandhi family, who ruled post-Independence India for decades, failed on some level with their foreign policy and cultural diplomacy.

A clip of Modi’s statement became viral on social media. While the Twitter handle of INC Kerala shared a compilation of various global leaders including Barack Obama, Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr hailing Gandhi as their role model, others questioned Modi’s knowledge and began to make jokes.