“It was still too early to tell, but the initial signs are encouraging.... An ambitious man, Modi appears to realize that if he wants to make a success of his government, he will have to lead the nation from the centre and not from the extreme right where he had built his base in the BJP,” he said.
Tharoor argued that just as Modi remade himself from a “hate-figure into an avatar of modernity and progress”, he was seeking to remake the BJP from a vehicle of Hindu chauvinism to a natural party of governance.
“This will mean a change in both language and tone, as he has demonstrated from day one,” he said.
Tharoor said that for an opposition Member of Parliament like himself, “it would be churlish not to acknowledge Modi 2.0's inclusive outreach and to welcome his more conciliatory statements and actions”.
He added that the moment Modi says or does something divisive or sectarian in the “Modi 1.0” mould, the Congress party will oppose him.
