Modi had cast a spell on me too: Sushilkumar Shinde

Congress veteran

Sushilkumar Shinde said on Thursday that "a little Modi wave" still prevails in the country, and conceded that initially he himself had been impressed by the prime minister.

Things began to go downhill after Narendra Modi's first two years in office, he said.

Addressing party workers here, Shinde said the Congress succeeded in making the Shiv Sena -- a former BJP ally -- accept a common minimum program for running a coalition government in Maharashtra.

"We brought a secular government to power in Maharashtra and this is just a beginning," he said.

He further said that prime minister Modi still enjoys some public support.

 

"I know that a little Modi wave is still there. He had cast a spell on us. He had cast a spell on me too," the former Maharashtra chief minister said.

"During the initial two years, I too said that he was doing good work, but later the economic situation started deteriorating, misleading claims about employment were exposed, a rift was being created between communities and the situation in the country deteriorated due to some wrong decisions on religious lines," he said.

Commenting on Donald Trump's visit, Shinde said Modi's speech on the occasion was only about his friendship with the US president and nothing else.