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Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's seemingly innocuous statement, "I never see such dreams (of becoming PM); will serve Gujarat till 2017", at a Teachers' Day function in Gandhinagar on Thursday, seems to have set political circles abuzz. Many analysts are attempting to read between the lines and assigning a myriad of meanings to the remark.
It might overtly appear that Modi is stepping back and, surprisingly, negating his prime-ministerial aspirations - hemmed as he is in the damaging evidence against him surfacing from the recent letters of jailed Gujarat IPS officer D G Vanzara. Some, however, are not even discounting the possibility that the latest remark could be Modi's tactic to pressure his own reluctant party into naming him as its prime-ministerial candidate.
It all started when, replying to school children's queries on whether he would come and interact with them next year if he had "become the country's PM", Modi said: "Those who dream of becoming something end up destroying themselves. One should not dream of becoming something; one should dream of doing something." He went on to say: "I never see such dreams, nor am I going to see such dreams. People of Gujarat have given me the mandate to serve them till 2017 and I have to do that with my full strength."
The buzz in the political circles the statement caused was also because of its timing. With the fear of being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation looming, especially in the light of Vanzara's letter and a sting-operation CD related to the Tulsiram Prajapati encounter case surfacing, some interpret downplaying his PM ambitions as a compulsion for Modi.
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Not only have the Congress and the Left parties sought Modi's prosecution on these grounds, the former's Gujarat unit has also called a state-wide bandh on Friday to demand the resignation of the Modi-led BJP state government.
Adding to his woes and causing a flutter in the party, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat were a "blot" on Narendra Modi's career.
Delhi's BJP leaders, on the other hand, see Modi's frustration in his Thursday remarks. "He undoubtedly is our top-most leader. Everyone acknowledges that. But the delay in naming him the prime-ministerial candidate is making him say these things," a senior BJP leader said.
Also, one cannot overlook the fact that BJP's Goa summit, where Modi was named the party's campaign committee chief for 2014 general elections, was witness to clear reluctance from party seniors over his elevation. The opposition from veteran L K Advani and his camp had almost thrown a spanner in Modi's works. Now, the reluctance to name him the PM candidate, many believe, comes from the same quarters.
Congress General Secretary Gurudas Kamat, in charge of the party's affairs in Gujarat, on Thursday said Modi's remarks showed the realisation in the chief minister that "he cannot create a dent in Indian politics beyond the borders of Gujarat, where he has managed to win by fooling people".
Some close observers even attributed Modi's statement to the compulsions of the setting - a public function, before school children. What else could he have said?
While the jury is still out on what led the BJP's poster boy to make such a statement, the one thing most agree with is that the incident set the cat among the pigeons - both within his party and outside of it.
