'Stern facial expression the only sign of leader?': Vijay Rupani's daughter on his 'soft image'

The post was written by Radhika in response to some media reports indicating that her father’s soft-spoken image worked against him.

Former chief minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani's daughter Radhika Rupani hit out at those who who had opined that her father's "soft image" had led to his unseating. In an emotional post on Facebook, Rupani, who lives in London, questioned if sensitivity and decency are not the qualities that a politician should have.

“Should there not be sensitivity and grace in politicians? Isn’t it a necessary quality we need in a leader? He (Rupani) has taken stern steps and decisions like anti-land grabbing law, anti-love jihad, Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act (GujCTOC), CM Dashboard are evidence of this. Is wearing a stern facial expression the only sign of a leader?” Radhika Rupani asked.

Vijay Rupani stepped down as the CM on Saturday, passing the baton to Bhupendra Patel, a first-time MLA from Ahmedabad.

Also read: Gujarat CM-designate Bhupendra Patel meets Vijay Rupani ahead of swearing-in ceremony

In her post, Radhika emphasised how her father was always kind and considerate towards others and tried to instil the same values in the family. She added that her father was always the first to rush to help others. “My father was the first person to visit even before Modiji visited the premises,” she wrote citing the terror attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar in September 2002.

Sharing old family pictures, Radhika said that the Rupani family doubted if a simple person like her father could survive in Indian politics. “We would always discuss if a simple person (like my father) would survive in Indian politics where corruption and negativity is prevalent. My father would always say that the image of politics and politicians was influenced by Indian movies and age-old perception and that we had to change that. He never supported groupism and that was his specialty” her post read.

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