Tharoor’s book on ‘paradoxical’ Modi to hit stands this month

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor yesterday said his new book The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India will hit the stands on October 26.“Narendra Modi is a paradoxical man. He says one thing and does another. He gives voice to a number of liberal ideas while at the same time pandering to some of the most illiberal elements in Indian society, on whom he depends for political support. Another paradox is how a prime minister who prides himself on effective governance has, through his silence, appeared to condone the worst aspects of misgovernance - communal riots, lynchings, the violence of gau-rakshaks and so on. A third paradox is his talk of soaring ambitions for the country when his government’s performance is underwhelming,” the publisher Aleph Book Company said in a statement.In the 400-page exhaustive work, Tharoor, who has authored 17 previous books, sets out to inquire “who is the real Narendra Modi”.The book is divided in five sections comprising 50 chapters.“A noble, selfless leader who acts effectively in the interests of all his countrymen or an autocratic, right-wing bigot who is interested only in power and converting plural India into a Hindu Rashtra? Or something in between?”The publisher has billed The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India as a “brilliant study of Modi and the effect he has had on our country”. Aleph said that the book answers questions about a leader who is “reviled and worshipped in equal measure”.