I don’t think he will ever call me, says Modi’s ‘wife’

Agencies/AhmedabadThe woman who calls herself the wife of Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said in a rare interview yesterday that she doesn’t “feel bad” he has cut her out of his life. Modi, 63, has never commented on numerous reports that he wed Jashodaben, 62, in a traditional arranged marriage when she was 17. The retired school teacher spoke to the Indian Express amid intense speculation about Modi’s personal life as he leads the BJP into general elections due by May. Jashodaben told the daily that she remains a big fan of the Gujarat chief minister, even though she says they split three years into their marriage and since he left “we have never been in touch.” “I know he will become PM (prime minister) one day,” she said. Jashodaben said she didn’t “feel bad” Modi has never acknowledged her as his wife, adding: “I know he is doing so due to destiny and bad times.” “In such situations, he has to say such things and also has to lie,” she said. Modi kept the wedding secret because it meant he would not be able to climb the ladder of the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a hardline Hindu group that frowns on key workers marrying, according to a recent Modi biography by author Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. The author also claimed the couple’s marriage was unconsummated. In 2009, a magazine tracked Jashodaben to the school where she taught but she refused to give an interview, saying she was afraid of her “powerful” husband. Modi is favoured by corporate leaders for his business-friendly politics. But he remains a polarising figure, accused by critics of turning a blind eye to anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002 in which as many as 2,000 died. He has denied any wrongdoing. Opinion surveys predict the BJP will get the most seats in the elections. Jashodaben gets a monthly government teacher’s pension of Rs14,000 and leads a reclusive life with a brother in a village in Gujarat. She said the couple “parted on good terms... there were never any fights,” adding: “In three years, we may have been together for all of three months.” She said she reads “everything (about him) I can get my hands on.” But, she added: “I don’t think he will ever call me.” l Security for Modi’s rally in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh today has been tightened, with an inspector general of police being made in charge of a political rally for the first time.The security has been stepped up in view of the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli in the state last year.A number of police personnel have been deployed. Besides bomb disposal squads, metal detectors have been set up to secure Modi’s rally, officials said.Political parties expect Modi to speak on the Muzaffarnagar communal riots that left 63 dead and thousands homeless.The state government has been slammed for poor rehabilitation and for its failure to contain the riots. The Samajwadi Party (SP) government has in turn blamed the BJP for inciting communal passions.The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress have alleged the riots were a result of an understanding between the BJP and the SP.Modi has so far maintained a studied silence on the riots and party sources say he might finally speak his mind at the rally. Former Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh, who quit service, may join the BJP at the rally.