Bengaluru: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologised for the hardships caused by the lockdown which he announced on March 24 to arrest the spread of the dreaded coronavirus, he once again became the talking point of the town.

Headlines across different papers screamed that Narendra Modi had confessed his drawbacks while implementing the shutdown.

It is needless to say that his antagonists would have laughed the entire day as they perceived that the apology had caused his downfall and further exposed him in the world media.

Again, there are no prizes for guessing that they would have tried correlating this apology to the 2002 Godhra riots.

But a firm Modi has not apologised for it (2002 riots), simply because he is of the view that he had done nothing wrong during the riots.

He had said in 2014, "I am convinced that if there is even a grain of truth in the allegations, I feel for India's bright future and traditions, Modi should be hanged in the street square. There should be such exemplary punishment that no one dares to commit such a crime for 100 years.”

He had added, "If he has committed a crime, Modi should not be pardoned. What is this system of pardoning people through apology? There should be no apology. Modi should never be pardoned."

Additionally, a court of law had constituted an SIT to examine his role in it. It is history now that the SIT has exonerated him and he is free of any compunction.

Even the now deceased Arun Jaitley had ruled out any apology for the riots, adding that Modi should be prosecuted and not be let away by a mere mea culpa.

Modi’s willingness to apologise for the hardships is only an affirmation of his humility and also a trait that he is ready to take accountability for his actions.

That he is the CEO of the country and has to take harsh decisions, keeping in mind the welfare of the society in the long run is axiomatic.

Some do feel the expedient pain but the gains out of it are enjoyable in the future.

Let’s accept that Modi has been vilified for the last 18 years. Even his peccadilloes are magnified as felonies and he’s put to the noose on every occasion.

But a gentleman that he is, he has digested all the hate, all the abhorrence and all the abuses with characteristic aplomb and forbearance.