DC Edit | Why this spectre of foreign hand'?
Deccan ChronicleDoes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation that his political enemies are giving out bounties to malign him and that the “foreign hand” and its local collaborators are out to get him by hook or by crook somehow bring back memories of an Indira Gandhi smelling an international conspiracy at every step? The image of Mr Modi that his party, the BJP, and its public relations managers have nurtured over the years is one of a powerful leader of a confident nation. All nations listen when Mr Modi speaks on critical issues, such as food and energy security, primarily because he derives his authority from being the elected leader of the world’s largest democracy. Many have voiced fears that India’s democratic institutions are being weakened, the popular will as expressed through elections undermined and governmental machinery used to browbeat Opposition leaders into submission.