“Pawan Chamling is better than Modi for PM post”

New Delhi, September 4, 2013:

While Narendra Modi supporters on social networking sites are projecting him as the best Chief Minister of India and want to see him as the next Prime Minister of India, Modi critics are also not ready to give up. In a latest effort, the anti-Modi lobby has come up with a website pheku.in which questions Modi’s credibility as the ‘man of development’, as promoted by his supporters. Modi critics call him Pheku or Feku because they believe he exaggerates his achievements in Gujarat. This website is gradually getting popular through Facebook and Twitter. The articles claiming to expose “Modi’s lies” are being shared rigorously on these sites.

One such article in pheku.in compares Narendra Modi with Sikkim’s Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling. It says, “If ‘development’ is the main factor by which we should decide who will make a better Prime Minister, and growth rate is the judge, Pawan Kumar Chamling would be better”.

The website also compares the GDP growth figures of different Indian states over the last 7 years released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation in which Sikkim tops the chart. Gujarat comes ninth.

Sikkim is considered as the most peaceful state of India with zero communal riots’ record. The website also praises Pawan Chamling for his secular image. Comparing Chamling with Modi, it comments: “He (Chamling) didn’t have riots like Godhra to plague him!”

This sarcastic article against Modi which compares him with Pawan Chamling and many other CMs, is gaining popularity among Facebook and Twitter users all around. There were many people who knew very less about Sikkim’s success story under Chamling’s leadership, are now taking notice.

This website pheku.in has been developed by activists like Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad, whose NGO has been fighting for justice for the victims of the 2002 riots in Gujarat. A good number of secular scholars, activists and thinkers are associated with this website. Ashok Vajpaye (Poet), Mahesh Bhatt (Filmmaker), Mallika Sarabhai (Artist), Naseeruddin Shah (Actor), Ram Puniyani (Writer) and Seema Mustafa (Senior Journalist) are few of the well-known figures supporting the website and its contents.

Meanwhile Pawan Chamling’s admirers in Sikkim are happy to see their CM getting recognition from India’s top intellectuals. “I am sure Chamling Sir has no ambition of becoming the PM of India because he likes to serve the people of Sikkim but such thought brings a proud smile on our face. He truly deserves it,” said Kamal Rai, a Sikkimese student who feels happy on hearing this story.