Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hitherto known as Hindu fundamentalists’ mascot, has now donned a secular mantle. In the past few days he has embarked on a conscious exercise in image makeover and projected himself as a leader having an inclusive agenda with sole mission of development.

On Feb. 13, Modi summoned Delhi Police Commissioner B. S. Bassi and expressed his deep concern and anguish over rising number of criminal incidents directed at the Christian community.

It is rare for a prime minister to summon Delhi Police chief as normally this job is left to the home minister. But by making this unusual departure in protocol and summoning the police chief, Modi sent out a no-nonsense message that his government won’t tolerate incidents of religious intolerance.

He went a step further on Feb. 17 when he vowed to protect all religious groups at an event organized by the Christian community to celebrate the beatification of two priests from Kerala — itself a rarity of sorts as he seldom attends events organized by minority communities.

In his address at this event, Modi did not mince his words and sent out a strong message to the minorities that he was there to protect their interests.

Why this sudden image makeover from Modi? Is the leopard changing its spots?

Well, even the staunchest critics of Modi should give full marks to him of speaking his mind and taking an inclusive approach even though this won’t be music to the ears of rabid elements within his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the BJP’s ideologue Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

Here is a BJP leader who is trying to project a secular image as the country’s prime minister, something which the BJP’s tallest leader and former Premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee tried to do but with not much success.

Modi knows that he is more powerful than Vajpayee as he has the requisite clear majority in Parliament, a luxury that evaded Vajpayee, the only other Prime Minister the BJP produced before Modi.

But the million-dollar question is why now? Is it the direct fallout of the solid drubbing the BJP faced in recently concluded Delhi assembly elections?

This may well be so. After all, Modi had maintained stony silence on attacks on Christian community in the national capital during campaigning for Delhi polls.

He had kept silent even after United States President Barack Obama flagged the issue of religious intolerance in India twice — first on the last day of his India visit last month and then again from the American soil.

Expectedly, the Congress party promptly lambasted Modi and said there was “an element of doubt” in his remarks. Hours after his speech before the Christian gathering Congress leader P.C. Chacko said the prime minister ought to have made this solemn assurance in Parliament and not at a private function.

“Narendra Modi had assured in the meeting that India will be an inclusive society and all religions will be given its due share and respect. Any attack on any of the religion will not be tolerated. This statement is what people expected to hear from the prime minister in the Parliament. In spite of the fact that the Parliament was disturbed for many days, Modi refused to give the same statement in the Parliament. So there is an element of doubt in what he says.”

Modi will inevitably face impediments in implementing his inclusive politics agenda and the greatest threat he faces is from within. The RSS has been increasingly vocal since the Delhi polls humiliation. It has openly found fault in the BJP’s strategy of announcing controversial former top cop Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate for Delhi elections. Now there are signs that the RSS may get more pro-active in drafting strategy for Bihar assembly elections due later this year, implying that Modi’s clout may not go unchallenged as it has been for past nine months.

To make matters worse for Team Modi, prominent social activist Anna Hazare has roundly criticized Modi for failing to deliver on his tall promises. Hazare is now scheduled to begin a three-day agitation against the Modi government in the national capital from Feb. 23, albeit on other issues.

None other than Modi would be realizing the relevance of the famous Shakespearean quotable quote: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”