President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi in his ability to communicate and carry the country with him. He also said that Mr. Modi had made some “epoch-making decisions” in his three years at the helm of affairs.

Speaking at the release of two books on the third anniversary of the Modi government — one on the Prime Minister’s radio programme entitled Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio by BlueKraft Digital Foundation, and another Marching with a Billion: Analysing Narendra Modi’s Government at Midterm by journalist Uday Mahurkar — the President said there was “no doubt” about Mr. Modi’s communication skills.

The book was released by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, in the presence of Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, among others.

Common factor

“An essential common factor in all successful Prime Ministers and Presidents is that they will have to be good communicators, for without it how do you expect people to follow your ideas, your views and implement programmes. No doubt, in the contemporary period, Prime Minister Modi is one of the most effective communicators and is comparable to illustrious prime ministers Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. To build a secular constitution after the events of partition was not easy, unless Nehru carried the people with him. Similarly, Indira Gandhi’s communication skills were instrumental in helping India’s case in shaping international opinion in 1971 and the liberation of Bangladesh,” Mr. Mukherjee said.

The President’s comparison of Mr. Modi with Indira Gandhi, however, wasn’t exactly music to the ears of BJP president Amit Shah who, when asked whether Opposition leaders being raided was reminiscent of the ways of a domineering Congress of the 1970s, strongly denied it.

“Indira Gandhi suspended the freedom of the press [during the Emergency], nothing of that sort is happening now. If the Opposition feels that they are being unfairly targeted, let them prove it. When leaders of the Trinamool are caught, shirtless, accepting bribes, doesn’t the government need to investigate,” he asked.