New Delhi, September 11, 2023 (PPI-OT): Critics accuse Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using Indian taxpayers’ money for his promotion in the run-up to the 2024 parliamentary elections. Diplomat-turned politician Mani Shankar Aiyar, quoting an unidentified former finance secretary, stated the estimated cost of advertising to be over Rs 1,000 crore. Aiyar wrote: “Modi’s notion of being the world’s guru is just as ridiculous as his twisted history of ‘centuries of enslavement’, which has been used to attack India’s religious minorities.”
Ahead of the event, the Associated Press critically examined the preparations and the narrative being built around PM Modi. It wrote: “Major roads in New Delhi are teeming with giant posters and billboards announcing India’s presidency of this week’s summit of the Group of 20 nations. And one leader’s picture – smiling benignly from every traffic circle – stands out from the rest: Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” The outlet further underlined: “It is an unabashed homage to the populist prime minister and staunch Hindu nationalist.”
A CNBC correspondent reporting from New Delhi highlighted that the G-20 event has been overshadowed by PM Modi. He said: “The streets of Delhi are filled with Modi’s posters, with critics accusing him of using it as an early campaign platform for upcoming elections in India.”
The headline in Bloomberg read: “Modi turns G-20 summit into not-so-subtle India election kickoff”. The agency underlined that a poll suggesting that PM Modi will extend a decade in power during the next vote.
The CNN in a debate pointed out that PM Modi “wants the world” to think about him. The news organisation’s leading anchor Christiane Amanpour commented: “Indian PM Modi “would like us to think of him… as a voice for the global south… But if you look at his actions, they don’t actually match the rhetoric,” argues@ghoshworld. “I think Modi’s own expectations from… the G20 are fairly limited, much to do with… publicity.”
In an extensive piece, The New York Times observed PM Modi’s motive to exploit the event for political gains. The paper called Modi “a master political marketer”.
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