PRIME Minister Narendra Modi betrays a sense of desperation in the shrill campaign that he is conducting in these general elections. Earlier, in a speech at Latur in Maharashtra, he called for people to vote for the BJP in the name of the Pulwama martyrs. The Election Commission’s action against this speech is still awaited. On April 21, the last day of campaigning in Gujarat, Modi said, had Pakistan not returned the Indian Air Force pilot, then it would have been a qatal ki raat (night of slaughter).