Bangalore: Jnanpith award winning writer Dr U.R. Ananthamurthy has said he has no option but to oppose BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as his name "evokes the same feeling as that of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini".
Interacting at a Meet the Press programme hosted by Press Club of Bangalore here on Tuesday, Ananthamurthy said: “If you cannot respond to violence immediately you never will. Violence after the Partition, the Sikh riots and the Gujarat carnage are all the same as the persons, who were responsible for them, carried out mass violence in a tactful manner.
"They made violence appear spontaneous so that no one gets punished. So, the debate is not about which party. It's about growing a heart and state of mind to oppose violence.
"Modi is a fascist and is treading the path of destructive politics, and his development is about making the Tatas and a few corporates bigger”, the writer said.
The noted writer said: “Modi is in a hurry to become PM and has forgotten that this is no presidential system.
" Modi is holding conferences with retired army officers, and what next? India will get over with it (Modi wave). He will not succeed. Modi is younger than Advani.
"Advani was any day better as I still remember that he got votes but preferred that Vajpayee become the Prime Minister” , Ananthamurthy said.
To the question, does India have a choice, Ananthamurthy said: "We have no leaders like Patel, Nehru or Ambedkar. Even the idea of development is flawed.
"A development-oriented society breeds corruption. It is time for creative politics and not Modi's destructive politics."
"Indian politics today needs Bheeshma's wisdom and political acumen", said the writer.
"What we need is ‘sarvodaya' (empowerment) and not development. Development can destroy life and nation. A government should work towards giving people ‘Nemmadi' (contentment) and not ‘Sukha' (happiness) as there is no limit to the pursuit of happiness. Creative politics brings change."
"When Dewan of Mysore Mirza Ismail introduced purdah in tongas in Mysore, it helped boost girls' education. The then Tamil Nadu CM M.G. Ramachandran's midday meal scheme or distribution of blankets was laughed at. But the schemes told the people untouched by the state that government existed.
"It is politics of presence. If you ask me if cheaper rice to the marginalized makes sense, it does. Our people are poor but not lethargic. The government should continue to provide as India has people who are needy, who seek and who are not disillusioned like others," he said.
He said, not just India but even the US and Europe should focus on upliftment of all. "Poverty and dejection plague people across the world. How else do you explain violence, depression and divorces? Development destroys man and the planet. IT brought destruction to Bangalore. I recall a talk I had with Narayana Murthy (Infosys founder). I wished he paid his engineers a little more than a lecturer as smaller salaries leave scope for quest for knowledge," says Ananthamurthy.
Asked whether Congress was his obvious choice, Ananthamurthy said: "I grew up in non-Congress politics. But I prefer the Congress."
He cited a poem by Gopalakrishna Adiga on Ganga as a river that never goes dry.
"Congress is like a Ganga, which never dries up and hence creativity is possible. May be, all the muck flows into Ganga, but it is still flowing and we can hope for new waters to flow in.
"Congress is the only party with a memory. So I believe there is scope for many possibilities. What I feel is that you don't need a genius to become PM but someone honest. It is alarming to see smaller parties wrest power and loot the country's wealth - land and minerals."
Asked about his personal views about Modi, the writer said: "I don't know if Modi shares my interest in music, books and women. I am happy for Modi as he belongs to a backward community and is aspiring to be PM.
" This speaks of a revolution India is witnessing. We dreamt of this and today Modi, Moily and Siddaramaiah have made it big".
