Narendra Modi is really politically shrewd, Amit Shah is not that sharp: Ramchandra Guha

Historian Ramachandra Guha has described PM Narendra Modi as a smarter politician than Amit Shah. Responding to questions in the Indian Express’s Idea Exchange program, Ramachandra Guha said that Amit Shah is the divider, he is an expert in manipulating things, but Modi’s intelligence is much more than him.

Modi knows how to shift the narrative: Guha

Ramachandra Guha said, “There should be no doubt on the political acumen of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I believe Amit Shah’s political understanding has been overestimated, he is adept at distorting things and dividing, but Modi understands things. Modi knows how to shift the narrative. The BJP presents Patel and Bose as its icons, both of whom have been Congressmen throughout their lives. From this you can understand how clever Modi is. Modi should not underestimate at all, he has the ability to fabricate symbols, ideas, names, history in his own way. He has no match even in the matter of dreaming about what the future should be like. It can be clearly said that as an opponent of Modi, Rahul Gandhi has proved to be incompetent, not only politically but also at the level of ideology.

Standard of Indian democracy has declined: Guha

Guha further said, “The Gandhi family has proved to be best friends for Modi and BJP in many ways. History will take its own decision on what is happening today, but I am looking at things differently from symbols and ideas. Let me look deeply into the incidents that have brought down the standard of Indian democracy. We should worry about all these things. We should worry about all the things that happened in front of Modi’s eyes in the last 8 years. Especially what has happened after 2019, since Amit Shah’s entry in the cabinet.

History is being fabricated according to the right wing point of view, its process is still going on, how far can it go, because what is your conclusion as a historian on this?

In response to this question, Ramachandra Guha said, “Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are in charge of the Congress at this time, it will continue to do so, because in the history of Sonia Gandhi, the Gandhi family is the Congress. Yes, Mahatma Gandhi is definitely involved in this. Otherwise only Nehru, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi are seen in it. Ignorance of other senior Congress leaders and familyism has given so much power to BJP that it asserts its claim on Patel by thumping the chest. Not only Patel, there is Subhash Chandra Bose and many other Congress leaders are like this. Where I feel, Modi and Shah want Congress to be headed by Sonia-Rahul always, because by doing so their political, ideological and historical purposes are being fulfilled.