Letters: When Modi mellowed

What Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha during a special discussion on the Constitution on November 27, he should have said a long time ago. After 18 months in power, he is finally in conciliation mode. This mellowing of demeanour is due to the Bharatiya Janata Party's humiliating defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, which has also led a majority in the party to shed their arrogance and for common sense to prevail in them.

I agree that Modi's outreach has created an atmosphere in which important bills, in particular the Goods and Services Tax Bill, may finally be passed after much ruckus in Parliament over them in the past couple of months.

In Shanghai in May this year, Modi said: "Earlier, you felt ashamed of being born Indian. Now you feel proud to represent the country." Lately, the prime minister has realised that having a majority in Parliament does not mean he can afford to ignore the other parties and insult the creators of modern India. This change in attitude was apparent when he said in the Lok Sabha that all prime ministers of India had contributed to its progress.

Modi should try to change himself as a statesman. One hopes he will advise his ministers and party leaders to show Opposition leaders the respect they deserve. If he succeeds, the biggest winners will be the country and its people.

Bidyut K Chatterjee, Faridabad

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