The politics of memory: Why Modi backed CPR

PRIME minister Narendra Modi's elephantine memory is legendary in the BJP, evoking reverence and fear because he is said to never forget either detractors or supporters in equal measure. CP Radhakrishnan (CPR), the BJP-helmed NDA's vice-presidential candidate, seems to be a beneficiary of the unqualified backing he offered Modi after the 2002 Godhra and Gujarat carnage. For a while, the BJP took its cue from former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. At a press conference in Gandhinagar, Vajpayee counselled Modi, then the state Chief Minister, to abide by ‘raj dharma" (righteous and impartial rule). The party was in a dilemma whether to endorse or negate the killings and loot in Gujarat because it couldn't annoy Vajpayee. Of course, the quandary was settled after Modi's offer to resign was rejected by the BJP's national executive in Panaji in April 2002, where Vajpayee was heavily outnumbered.