Doubts surface on Modi’s leaked conversation with stationery shop owner

Could Gopalbhai Gohil, said to be a stationery shop owner in Vadodara, have recorded a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fed them to some of the premier news websites of the country? The transcript, translated from Gujarati into Hindi and English, read roughly as follows:

Gopal Gohil: Namaste, sir.

Prime Minister: Namaste, Gopal Bhai. How have you been?

GG: I am fine, sir. Happy Diwali, sir.

PM: Diwali greetings to your family members too.

GG: Thank you, sir. I extend Diwali greetings to you on behalf of the people of Vadodara, the cultural capital of Gujarat.

PM: I am indebted to Vadodara and overwhelmed by the love, affection and respect showered on me. Do you still have the stationery shop or have you started a new business?

GG: I and my wife still run the stationery shop close to the Braj Siddhi Tower, sir. I saw you on Rajmahal Road during your road show in Vadodara.

PM: I remember that day very well, dost.

GG: I wanted to ask you something, sir. In view of recent developments in Gujarat and Congress bad-mouthing us and coming out with abusive statements, how do we stop our workers from getting demoralised?

PM: Insults are written in our destiny since the Jan Sangh days. The moment we get into politics, we learn to suffer insults and cope with abuses. Can you cite a single election which has been unaffected by disinformation and malicious propaganda?

GG: You are right, sir. Congress has resorted to such abuses in the past as well.

PM: You do remember that Congress even called me ‘Mout ka Saudagar’?

GG: I do, sir.
PM: Now tell me, can there be anything worse than that? They abused me as murderer and said my hands were bloodied. But people are wise and they know the reality.
GG: Sir…
PM: Now disinformation is spread through WhatsApp. Let them spread falsehood. People will themselves find out what’s right and what’s wrong. Don’t pay attention to such disinformation and negative campaigns.
Neither of the two websites have authenticated the conversation or acknowledged the source. But with an operator heard saying, “You are now connected and you are not muted,” speculation is rife whether the conversation is yet another innovative campaign by the BJP or if it has been planted by the PMO. In any case it appears an unlikely Diwali greeting call from the Prime Minister to a fellow Gujarati.

The timing of the ‘leak’ or the ‘plant’ (it could also be paid advertorial) just ahead of the elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh also makes it suspect.
But what has amused most people is the Prime Minister’s reference to being at the receiving end of vilification and barbs. Observers recall narendra Modi saying at an election rally that ‘three AKs (AK Antony, Arvind Kejriwal and AK-47) were responsible for sustaining terrorism.

Nor have political observers forgotten Modi’s reference to the Congress president as a jersey cow and the Congress vice-president as a hybrid calf. His jibe at Sashi Tharoor’s former wife as a ‘50 crore girlfriend’ and Nitish Kumar’s political DNA are also of recent vintage.

His abuses directed at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,calling him the ‘night watchman’ of the Gandhi family and Singh as someone who liked to have his bath while clad in a raincoat etc. are probably deemed as valid compliments by him and his party ?