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New Delhi: In 2013, less than a year before he became prime minister, Narendra Modi said that he never celebrates his birthdays, calling it a day on which he does not take any calls or meet anyone. A year later, just months after becoming prime minister for the first time, as devastating floods struck Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar, Modi once again struck a sombre note and issued a “humble request” by saying “do not celebrate my birthday” and instead “dedicate yourselves towards relief work in J&K through your time & resources.” 

Twelve years later, Modi in his third term as prime minister appeared to have forgotten his earlier statements and appeals as he turned 76 on Thursday (September 17), as his birthday celebrations, always grand for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took on an unprecedented nationwide scale. Such was the grandeur of celebrations to mark his birthday, 25 years of his public life and “good governance” that no mention was made of the fact that only two months ago for the first time a Union minister was forced to resign under sustained public pressure and nationwide youth-led protests against irregularities in competitive examinations.

Or that just last month, both Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah sat out the entire monsoon session of parliament amid opposition calls for a statement on the use of brute force including pellet guns on protesters in July. Neither was any mention made of the fact that just five months ago, the Modi government faced its first defeat in 12 years in parliament when a Constitution amendment bill it brought for its contentious women’s reservation linked Lok Sabha expansion plan was defeated. Or that facing rising questions from the public on the state of education, a controversial new “tax” on Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions amid rising inflation, up to 100% tariffs from the US, the Modi government has yet to bring its controversial legislations to parliament despite engineering defections to boost its numbers in parliament.

The party and the state subsumed together to become........

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