COVENTRY: In what is widely being interpreted as a popular verdict on Narendra Modi’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis in India, voters in West Bengal have returned the incumbent chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, and her regional Trinamool Congress .
One in particular, in The Australian – Australia’s influential national broadsheet newspaper – which stated that this “crisis of epic proportions” was due to “arrogance, hyper-nationalism and bureaucratic incompetence” irked the Indian government to the extent that the Indian high commission in Canberra sent a note to the paper’s editor urging him to print a retraction.
The best commentaries and analysis to better help you see beyond today’s news headlines. Subscribe to CNA’s Commentary newsletter.This service is not intended for persons residing in the EU. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp's partners.Withheld tweets included messages from a lawmaker, an opposition leader, a filmmaker and an Oxford law student.
This has meant that some of Modi’s followers have been encouraged to interpret legitimate political criticisms of the BJP administration as criticisms of the Indian nation itself. Meanwhile, when Modi made a speech to the country on April 20 about the growing crisis, he appeared to by trying to pass responsibility for action on to individual citizens.In his Maan ki Baat broadcast, Modi said: “I request young colleagues to create small committees in their societies, localities and apartments and help others in following the COVID discipline.”