In an exclusive Interview with News18 Network group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Modi said AFSPA was necessary in Jammu and Kashmir to protect the armed forces and to keep up their morale. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dubbed BSP chief Mayawati's outreach to Muslim electorate a "desperate attempt to save a sinking ship" alluding to her political fortunes. Her desperation was understandable, Modi added, but the silence of secular people has exposed their "selective outrage".