Narendra Modi can't lead India effectively, says New York Times

NEW YORK: Narendra Modi, BJP's prime ministerial candidate, cannot hope to lead India effectively if he inspires "fear" and "antipathy" among many of its people, the New York Times has commented in an unusual move.

"Mr Modi has shown no ability to work with opposition parties or tolerate dissent," the Editorial Board of the New York Times said in a stinging editorial on the 63-year-old.

India was a country with multiple religions and "Mr Modi cannot hope to lead it effectively if he inspires fear and antipathy among many of its people," it said while recalling that nearly 1,000 people died in the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

The editorial, published Saturday, questioned Modi's economic track record in Gujarat. The "economic record in Gujarat is not entirely admirable, either," it said.

"Muslims in Gujarat, for instance, are much more likely to be poor than Muslims in India as a whole, even though the state has a lower poverty rate than the country," the editorial said. "His rise to power is deeply troubling to many Indians, especially the country's 138 million Muslims."