"The one who did not speak a word, his silence was deafening and the other
who spoke much and it was deafening," photographer Raghu Rai says of
Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi as he compares their personalities by using a
series of photographs in his new book. "The Tale of Two, An Outgoing and
An Incoming, Prime Minister", a self-published work (AuthorsUpFront),
brings together images of contrast of Singh and Modi in public and their
positions in their parties. According to Rai, since a prime minister is the
supreme leader of a nation, there is "no room for us to look for the
detractors who might have been the cause of his failure". He says in
Singh's case, his "failure to give us the kind of government we wanted
might have been because of the high command's final decision or the scams
caused, but the sole responsibility falls upon the prime minister of the
day". Rai says similarly when Narendra Modi takes over, "his
performance as prime minister will have to be judged by his actions and
decisions in performing his 'rajdharma." The veteran photograph themed his
book on two sessions of Congress and BJP held in the capital in January.
"It was after 25 long years, I found the courage to photograph once again
the sessions of two leading political parties during election season, the
Congress and the BJP," he says of the initiative. "Though it was the
month of January, the weather outside was pleasant but during those four hours
I spent inside, there was a strange kind of stuffiness in the arenas… A strange
kind of sycophancy and personality cult is entrenched in both the parties; as
if the other members are lesser beings who seem entirely accepting of their
lowly status," he writes. On January 17, Rai spent four hours at the All
India Congress Committee (AICC) session held at Talkatora stadium in the
capital and photographed the mood with a special focus on the then Prime
Minister Singh. The photographs used in the book were taken between 9.30 AM and
1.30 PM on that day. Next day when Rai went through the pictures on his
computer, he says he was "pained by what I saw". "Earlier on I
have photographed and experienced in various political sessions of leading
parties, relationships, manipulations, sycophancy and power play. But the prime
minister of the day used to be the focus of attention and interest and everyone
in the party looked up to him for an interaction or even a smile," he
writes.
"In
Mr Singh's case, he walks in behind Sonia Gandhi at 10.30 AM, and sits a few
feet away looking lonely and isolated. There is only a tinge of a reluctant
smile on his face when he stands between Sonia and Rahul Gandhi sharing a big
garland meant for the trio," Rai writes. He says that every moment he
photographed Singh, there was the "same fixed expression of gloom on his
face, as if he was living a nightmare". According to Rai, the other sad
part was, "in those few hours that I was there at the Congress session,
nobody came to discuss or share anything with him as if he did not matter
anymore. He looked isolated, ignored and deserted". Rai was then at the
BJP's National Council meeting at Ramlila Grounds on January 19 again from 9.30
AM to 1.30 PM. "All senior leaders of BJP were presiding under
larger-than-life headshots of Narendra Modi which formed the backdrop of the
main stage… Each of these leaders got up to speak, Modi's image looking out
over their heads. It was clear that Modi was to be the projection of the day.
"Then Modi stood up to speak. A newly programmed, well-designed,
well-worded campaign declamation came pouring out of him with proper emotional
punctuations. The audience listened spellbound. He projected himself as a
comprehensive and well-aware leader of a party that was missing ever since
Vajpayee withdrew from active political life," Rai recalls. "Now that
he takes over as the new prime minister, apart from his hardcore critics, many
in India have great hopes of him taking the country towards good
governance," he says.
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