'Jitni Meri Umar Nahi…' Former JNU Student Leader Explains Why Support for PM Modi is Not a 'U-Turn'

Shehla Rashid said Viksit Bharat is a concrete model of governance for the next 25 years. (News18)

Former JNU students’ union leader Shehla Rashid on Tuesday defended her “support” to the Narendra Modi government, after years of being a fierce critic, saying it was not she but the situation in Kashmir that had changed.

“We saw how common Kashmiris were lining up for PM Modi’s rally recently. My agenda is not to butter up the regime. I agree that there are still issues to resolve, such as constant power cuts. But, this in itself is a change that there are issues related to roads and power cuts now. Years ago, the only burning issue was the demand for freedom. It’s not that the Valley is chanting the prime minister’s name constantly, but people are now raising complaints to a government that they consider their own,” she said at CNN-News18’s Rising Bharat Summit.

Explaining the change in her stance further, she said it was during the Covid-19 pandemic that her views changed. “I realised that sometimes, we were opposing crucial issues like masking up, vaccines, and lockdown. Your opposition sometimes is because of camps that are created. The government had a diff theory of change and we had one too. For instance, 10 years ago, we were opposing Aadhaar on issues of surveillance. But now, we use apps like Digi Yatra and Digi Locker.”

She added: “Viksit Bharat is a concrete model of governance for the next 25 years. Sometimes, there is no harm in listening to what the elders have to say. Jitni meri umar nahi hai, utna PM Modi ka experience hai [PM Modi’s experience is far beyond my age].”

Rashid was earlier often seen as part of the “tukde tukde gang” and was trolled on social media for being an “anti-national”.

Speaking to news agency ANI earlier, she said the prime minister has taken “radical decisions at the cost of his popularity”. “Right now, we see a really well-intentioned administration. The prime minister — he doesn’t care about criticism. He has taken so many radical decisions, even at the cost of his popularity. He doesn’t care about criticism. He is a selfless man who works for the national interest,” she added.

Earlier, Rashid also heaped in praise for union home minister Amit Shah and said he has “ensured peace in Kashmir” regardless of who was critical of him. She attributed the “change” in Jammu and Kashmir to Prime Minister Modi and Shah. “All of those things, somebody needed to break the ice, and for that, I would like to credit the present government, especially the prime minister and the home minister,” she was quoted as saying.