Modi to EC: Why are BJP and I being troubled?

Against the backdrop of denial of permission for his rally in Varanasi, Narendra Modi on Thursday said that he and the Bharatiya Janata Party were being "troubled" by the Election Commission and wanted the poll body to "answer".

"It is up to the Election Commission to answer why we are being troubled. Specifically, why is a single party being troubled, why is Modi being troubled? A lot has happened to me, but I don't want to get into it right now. Let the EC take a decision," the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate said.

His comment came a day after the EC denied permission for his rally in Varanasi where he is contesting for the Lok Sabha polls.

At the same time, he insisted that he was not targeting the EC, saying he has not uttered a single word. He said it is his party BJP which has written letters to the EC, giving a detailed explanation.

"I cannot say much about this (anger at EC) because the developments are taking place in Varanasi," he told Times Now, referring to the protests being staged by his colleagues, including Arun Jaitley, in Varanasi against the denial of permission for his rally.

Jaitley, a close Modi aide, has been in the forefront of the BJP's attack on the local EC officials and has written to the EC a number of times on the issue.

EC on Thursday dismissed the allegations of the "lack of neutrality".

Asked why he gave a caste-spin to Priyanka Gandhi's neech rajniti (low-level politics) barb at him, he clarified that the meaning of the word in Gujarati, the language he was most "familiar" with, approximates with the response he has given.

"Let's assume I was misunderstood. But even their intention behind such usage of the words was wrong," Modi said targeting Priyanka.

The BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate said he had acted "tough" internally against party leaders like his close aide Amit Shah and Bihar leader Giriraj Singh for their remarks targeting Muslims, saying that is why such statements have stopped.

"I was tough against this and that is why it stopped. If I didn't oppose it through the internal mechanism, don't you think it would have continued? Hasn't it stopped? Did it stop or not? That means I have taken action and you can understand," he said.

Asked if his attacks on the likes of Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, Jayalalithaa during campaign might have harmed any future alliance with them in case BJP-led NDA does not get a majority, he said, "Politics isn't conducted on the basis of what is said in the course of election campaigns."

He, however, insisted that BJP will get a clear majority and form the "strongest and most stable government" since Rajiv Gandhi's government in 1984.

Modi rejected allegations that he was discriminating among people seeking shelter in India on religious grounds.

The BJP manifesto's mention of India being a "natural home to persecuted Hindus" included people of different faiths, but of Indian origin, as Hinduism was not a religion but "a way of life", he argued quoting a Supreme Court judgement.

"Hindus were mentioned as it is in the SC's judgment. Hinduism is as a way of life and not a religion. We have nothing to do with it. We don't expect that Hinduism is a religion. Hinduism is a way of life."

Hinting at taking a tough stand against Pakistan if he becomes the Prime Minister, he said it is not possible to have discussions amidst bomb blasts and gunshots.

"Do you think it is possible to have a discussion amidst the deafening noise of bomb blasts and gunshots? So to have a reasonable discussion, first the blasts and gunshots have to stop," he said.

Complete Coverage: Lok Sabha Election 2014