Key Points
CNN . . Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a new message for supporters on the campaign trail: God has chosen him.. . Im convinced that God has sent me for a purpose, and when that purpose is finished, my work will be done, he told local news channel NDTV in an interview last week..
This is why I have dedicated myself to God.. . Modi continued: God doesnt reveal his cards..
When he first contested elections a decade ago, Modi chose Indias spiritual capital Varanasi as his constituency, making the ancient city the perfect backdrop to meld his religious and political ambitions.. . Mother Ganga has called me to Varanasi, Modi said at the time, referring to the holy Ganges River, considered to be the body of the Hindu deity Ganga by many followers of the faith.. ..
God has, Modi said, made him nothing but an instrument.. . Modis grandest display of divinity was on display in January this year, when he consecrated the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a controversial Hindu temple that was built on the site of a destroyed mosque.. . Billboards celebrating the temples opening featured an image of Hindu deity Ram alongside Modis face, with the leader of his BJP evendubbingthe prime minister The King of Gods.. . Modi fasted for 11 days in a purification ritual before the event and visited temples across the country, performing customs sacramental to Indias majority faith..
During the election Modi has also sparked a row over hate speech when he accused Muslims who have been part of India for centuries of being infiltrators, and echoing a false conspiracy voiced by some Hindu nationalists that Muslims are displacing the countrys Hindu population by deliberately having large families.. ..
