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Does Narenda Modi Need To Apologize For 2002 Riots?; Flooding In Balkans Could Turn Deadly; West African Nations Declare War On Boko Haram; China Evacuates Workers From Vietnam; Forecast for Balkans Region After Deadly Flooding; Gunmen Attack Libyan Parliament; India Looks to the Future; Parting Shots: BJP's Big Victory; Indian Expats on Elections; Banking on the Polls; Treat from Radical Ideologies

Aired May 18, 2014 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: India may be a country with a new hope, but it faces many old challenges.

I'm Becky Anderson. I'm live in New Delhi as Narendra Modi gets set to take charge of the most populous democracy in the world.

Also ahead, China evacuates thousands of its citizens from Vietnam after protests there turn deadly. It's all over a Chinese oil rig in disputed water.

And total war -- that's what leaders from Nigeria and neighboring African countries are calling for to eradicate Boko Haram. We'll be live in Abu Dhabi -- in Abuja this hour.

Well, let's start with the flooding disaster in the Balkans this evening, which could take a more deadly turn, I'm afraid. There are fears landmines buried more than 20 years ago maybe washed away and could explode.

I'm going to get you the very latest at this point.

Dozens of people may have been killed already in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia when three months worth of rain, heavy rains fell in just three days. More than 16,000 people have been evacuated in Serbia alone.

Now officials worry warning signs placed around minefields were swept away along with the landmines. Volunteers in Bosnia and Herzegovina are using sandbags to hold back the rising waters along the Sava River.

Well, all eyes are on that river. In just a few hours water levels are expected to rise once again.

N1 correspondent Jadranska Bugansky (ph) now joins us on the line.

Firstly, this issue of landmines potentially being swept away, that sounds extremely frightening. What's the latest on that?

JADRANSKA BUGANSKY (ph), N1 CORRESPONDENT: Can you hear me? It's a big crowd here in Ranowicz (ph) where I am right now in Serbia where there are lots of people evacuating from this part of town. As you said, they're retreating the water is making a landslide, which is a huge problem, especially in Bosnia, as you said, because of the mines.

What I have to do now is to be very careful and cautious about what was going on because people don't know where are the mine fields. And they need all the experts and help that is needed.

For right now, we have to pray that the water level would not be much high. And all the civilians and the volunteers are making dams of sandbags and straighten them. But they say they are prepared, even if the new flood wave is going to rise -- Becky.

ANDERSON: All right.

And as we speak, we are watching the very latest pictures coming in. The emergency services, and just locals helping each other out as they try to escape that water. Thank you.

Well, anger festers in Turkey even as the government announces detentions in connection with last week's deadly coal mine disaster. The prime minister's office says 16 people have been taken into custody and a new report says they do include mine executives.

The search for victims of the fire and explosion ended yesterday with a death toll of 301. The disaster has triggered protests over what many see as a heartless response from the government of the prime minister there. Police using water cannon on demonstrators in Istanbul yesterday.

And it's to Istanbul that we go now. Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson covering the story. We're seeing pictures of water cannon being used against protesters as we learn news that some mine executives associated with the Soma mine now may have been taken into custody.

What's the latest on that?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. These re the first detentions since the mine disaster and the mysterious fire first erupted deep beneath a mountain in Soma on Tuesday. The government has pledged to investigate the causes of this disaster. Nobody knows how or why the fire broke out. And we know that at least 16 people have been detained thus far with Turkish media reporting that some of them are executives from the Soma Holding Company, which is the company that owns the subsidiary of the company that has owned and operated the mine in question since 2009.

Now executives from Soma Holding have insisted that they had the highest safety and health standards at this coal mine. The same as come from Turkish government officials who say that they inspected the mine as recently as last March.

However, during a raucous press conference this week, executives from Soma Holding Company did concede that there was no safe room at the deepest part of the mine where the miners were doing the bulk of their work. There had been a safe room, a place that miners could run to to presumably get gas masks and access to air tanks to protect them in the event of an accident, but that that had been decommissioned as the mine was expanding deeper into the mountain in search of more coal.

So presumably that's going to be a big question as investigators move forward to explain how Turkey has endured the worst mining disaster in its history with at least 301 people killed.

And as you can see huge flags over my shoulder in the heart of Istanbul. People have hung up flags all over this city. There are signs up, pictures of miners posted in shop windows. This is a diaster that has rippled out across this country and there are expressions of grief and sympathy coming from Turks of all different walks of life -- Becky.

ANDERSON: What many believed to be a very heartless reaction from the government and its associates early on in this disaster, has the government extended any sort of fig leaf, as it were, in the way that it's reacting to this?

WATSON: Well, government officials have been coming out giving press conferences. They declared three days of mourning. The energy minister has been giving daily updates from the area of Soma. The government promising to get to the bottom of this and extending condolences and sympathies.

But they've also been sending this very strange mixed messages, Becky, where if people try to come out in public and hold a protest and chant in the name of the Soma miners, the Turkish riot police are very quick to use force to disperse those people and detain them. It happened here in Istanbul. Last night our own camera man Joe Duran (ph) was briefly detained, his arm twisted behind his back by plain-clothed police officers and it hurt his arm. He's OK now.

But we also saw that use of force expressed against residents of the town of Soma itself on Friday. I was tear gassed. I saw demonstrators dressed in black chanting, you know, don't forget our dead Soma. Remember them. And then I saw water cannon unleash on these people and knock a guy out right in front of me. It broke one of our cameras.

It's a very strange response.

And it goes one step further, the body guards of the Turkish prime minister himself, they beat up a coal miner, if you can believe it, in that town of Soma when he paid a visit there the day after the accident as the dead were still being pulled out from in the coal mine. His bodyguards were caught on camera beating up a coal miner and he was caught on camera threatening -- he basically was caught on camera saying if you boo the prime minister you'll get slapped. And he is alleged to have slapped a man, that same coal miner.

And one of his top advisers caught on camera kicking someone being held down by security officers in the town of Soma.

So explaining to Turkish citizens, to the rest of the world, how are you expressing condolences for these distraught people while also beating the hell out of them. It's a very mixed message the Turkish government has been sending, Becky.

ANDERSON: Ivan Watson for you in Istanbul, the rescue effort now called off in Soma, now officially over. The fallout, though, clearly continues.

Well, China sending ships to evacuate thousands of its citizens from Vietnam after anti-Chinese protests there took a violent turn.

Two Chinese citizens were killed and more than a 100 injured in last week's unrest.

Now these two countries are locked in a dispute over China's decision to send an oil rig into an area of the South China Sea claimed by both countries.

David McKenzie reporting for you tonight from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: By sending several vessels to Vietnam to evacuate more of its citizens, it appears that China is taking the threat very seriously indeed, and that the Vietnamese government was perhaps blindsided by both the scale and the violence of these protests last week.

The prime minister of Vietnam sent several text message to its citizens to tell them and warn them not to protest. They say they will prosecute several hundred involved in these protests, which saw two Chinese citizens killed and several seriously injured.

Despite the standoff, both sides appear to be digging in on their position. Earlier this month, China sent a deep water oil rig to the Paracel Islands. Now those islands are claimed by both China and Vietnam. That is the source of these troubles.

China says that it's going to suspend certain bilateral ties with Vietnam to punish them and at least one carrier says it will not fly into the country from China. Of course Vietnam depends heavily on foreign investment, particularly from China, so the economic pressure will continue to build.

David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, still to come tonight, he is promising to bring about a new India, but not everyone is convinced. We'll show you which large group is worried, or at least some of them are, about the prime minister elect.

And also ahead, we will go to Nigeria for you where the fight against Boko Haram may be about to enter a new stage. That, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching Connect the World with me Becky Anderson out of New Delhi for you this evening.

He has pulled off one tricky feat by securing a majority in parliament, but India's new prime minister faces some difficult tasks as he tries to live up to the expectations of the world's largest electorate.

Narendra Modi will be sworn in at some point in the week or so to come, taking the place of Manmohan Singh whose Congress Party suffered a crushing defeat after a decade in power.

Now Modi's victory may have been emphatic, but not everybody is celebrating. There are those in India's substantial Muslim community who will be suspicious of the prime minister in waiting. Sumnima Udas explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Living like refugees in their own country, thousands of people, mostly Muslims flee their homes after bloody sectarian clashes late September.

A few weeks after the riots, the memories are still raw.

"I saw them butcher my husband and so many others," she says. "Hindus and Muslims in our village have been living in harmony for generations. I never imagined they would hurt us.

Village after village in Musafa Naga (ph) district torched and ransacked after provocative political speeches sparked hate between communities.

1,300 Muslims used to live in this village. And now, as you can see, there's not a single sole around here. It looks like a ghost town.

State authorities accuse local Hindu nationalist politicians of fanning violence for votes.

The roof is gone. There's nothing here.

What happened here in late 2013, a stark reminder of the dangers of mixing religion and politics in a diver's country like India.

This nation has a second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. Like other voters, Indian Muslims, too, want development, jobs and better livelihoods. But many of them are frightened of the rise of this man, Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist BJP.

Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat when more than 1,000 people, largely Muslims, were killed. Critics say Modi enflamed the rioters and didn't do enough to stop the week's long carnage. Modi has repeatedly denied the charges.

A supreme court inquiry cleared him of wrongdoing, but the damage was already done among India's largest minority group.

"We all remember what he did in Gujarat," he says. "For Muslims, Modi represents death."

"He has blood on his hands. No Muslim wants Modi to be prime minister," he says.

Still, one leading Muslim legislator believes Modi is the solution.

NAJMA HEPTULLA, BJP LEGISLATOR: Can Muslim be more than what they are today? They have been frightened. This has been the fallacy of the so- called secular parties, you frighten them to keep them like in a kind of a cage.

UDAS: In Muzafannagur (ph), Ash Mohammed (ph) wants to show us what's left of his village. When we get there, the fear so overwhelming he can barely speak.

"This is where I went to school. This is where we prayed every day. This is our everything," he says.

Religious tolerance that took decades to cultivate uprooted here in an instant and fears over what the future could bring.

Sumnima Udas, CNN, Uttar Pradesh state, India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: So no matter how boisterous the weekend celebrations here in New Delhi and around the country have been, there is a dark cloud hanging over Modi's rise to power. BJP's senior member Najmal Heptula (ph) joins me now to discuss how Modi might go about lifting that cloud, as it were.

You are Muslim yourself. Please come in and join me here.

Doesn't Modi need to apologize for the 2002 Gujarat riots?

HEPTULLA: I don't think so.

ANDERSON: Even as a Muslim.

HEPTULLA: As a Muslim, of course. He doesn't have to apologize, because he has been not indicted by the court. He's been given a clean sheet. And why should he apologize?

Many chief ministers of the congress have done the same thing if they would apologize? Did Rajib Gandhi (ph) apologize for what happened in Delhi when the (inaudible). Nobody apologized.

ANDERSON: Let me just put this to you. He was the chief minister of the state at the time, whether he was involved or not. He's always denied any involvement. I just put it to you again, an apology might help.

HEPTULLA: No. I think his action is proof that he was not involved, because since then no riots have taken place in Gujarat. And the Muslims are very happy over there. And they are developing.

ANDERSON: The BJP claims to be an inclusive party, and yet there is no Muslim representative in the lower house. How does that stack up?

HEPTULLA: Because the Muslims always shunned BJP. If they had joined BJP, they would have representation.

ANDERSON: Well, that's because the BJP has always been representative of Hindu nationalism, which to some might be an oxymoron. Many would have thought it was Hindu separatism. So it's understandable, perhaps, in the past they wouldn't have voted.

HEPTULLA: I don't agree with it. I don't agree with it at all.

It is what the propaganda and the perception of the people, which was created by the so-called -- so-called secular people. And they only talked verbally, but they never in (inaudible) anything for the Muslims.

ANDERSON: All right.

So, you've got a man here who is a self-declared Hindu nationalist. I'm talking there about Narendra Modi, who grew up with the ideology of an organization that is known as the RSS. I mean, they are Hindu separatists at heart. Does he need to do something early for the Muslim community to indicate that he has their best interests at heart, do you think?

HEPTULLA: He did it. He did in Gujarat, the riots did take place, but it was not the first time that the riots took place in Gujarat. There have been hundreds of riots in Gujarat and Punjab (ph) and (inaudible). They'd been when the Congress was in power.

Since Modi, since the riots in 2002, there is no incident of killing in Gujarat. And the Muslims are happy. What more can anybody prove?

ANDERSON: Let me ask you one very simple question. You are a Muslim women member of the BJP. I have read the BJP's manifesto. It says practically nothing about women's rights. Does that not bother you?

HEPTULLA: It does bother me, but I think they will do -- there is no point in just writing about it, but the thing is in action. And I'm waiting for Mr. Modi and the entire party to do some action...

ANDERSON: Oh, that's interesting.

HEPTULLA: ..about the empowerment of the women.

You don't have to write everything. The Congress and other political parties have been writing a lot, but they didn't do it. So it's much better that they do practically something for them and not just writing about it.

ANDERSON: With that, we're going to leave it there, but Najma, thank you very much indeed. I know that you were part of Sumnima's report earlier on in the show. And we thank you for joining us here live on the show this evening. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Well, dealing with India's Muslim community isn't Narendra Modi's only challenge. Our New Delhi bureau chief Revi Arguwal (ph) has written a memo to the new prime minister which you can read by heading to CNN.com/international. You can also learn about Modi's past and what Indians hope to see from their new government. All that at CNN.com/international.

And Revi (ph) will be joining us a little later in the hour.

We're going to take a very short break. Live from New Delhi, this is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson.

Coming up, first there was talk. Now will we see action? African leaders head home from France after declaring war on Boko Haram. We'll go to Nigeria next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're back with us in New Delhi. I'm Becky Anderson. This is Connect the World.

There is still no word on 10 Chinese workers missing in Cameroon following an attack blamed on Boko Haram. African leaders met in France on Saturday to map out a unified strategy against the group following the capture of hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls more than month ago.

Nigeria's president says he is, and I quote, totally committed to finding the girls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOOLUCK JONATHAN, NIGERIAN PRESIDENT: Presently Nigeria's 20,000 troops in this part of the country, the northern part of the country, the (inaudible) part of the country where we have these terrorists. We are scanning the areas with surveillance aircraft, and of course also using local intelligence sources.

This has been complimented now by France, UK, U.S. and other countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, if they talk the talk can they walk the walk? CNN's Vladimir Duthiers has been following the story from the Nigerian capital Abuja where he joins us live tonight.

What's their strategy at this point, not only to find these girls, but to go outright to destroy this terror group?

VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Becky.

Well, one of the things that we learned from President Goodluck Jonathan's remarks yesterday in Paris is that the Nigerian military has some 20,000 troops deployed in northeastern Nigeria. Now presumably they are not all searching for these girls, but it does give a sense of how many soldiers are deployed to fight and to protect the people against Boko Haram.

But one of the challenges, Becky, that the Nigerian military has been facing is the fact that they are not adequately -- they are outgunned and outmanned when it comes to taking on Boko Haram. When Boko Haram comes in to raze a village, they typically are sporting rocket-propelled grenade launchers, they come in armored personnel vehicles. Many of those weapons that Boko Haram has, they've actually stolen from the Nigerian military.

And typically you only have half a dozen or a dozen Nigerian soldiers on the ground, bold and courageous to be sure, but not able to withstand that kind of firepower, Becky.

ANDERSON: You say that much of their equipment is possibly stolen from the Nigerian military. Where else do they get their equipment? How is this organization funded? And how about going to the pipe, as it were, and cutting off their money and their arms? Is that something that the Nigerian government has been talking about?

DUTHIERS: They have been saying, Becky, that all options are on the table not only when it comes to trying to secure the release of these 200 plus girls still in the clutches of Boko Haram, but that they are looking at many options with regards to crushing Boko Haram. And part of what we've heard yesterday from the French President Francois Hollande is that they will be helping the Nigerians along with Benin, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, all the countries within the sphere of west Africa will be looking to share intelligence gathering data, they'll be looking to do reconnaissance together. They've already undertaken surveillance of the area.

The President of France even said at some point that they will be there to assist Nigeria and other countries when it comes to elections, because they are typically violence around those elections typically from Boko Haram.

So there does seem now to be a concrete plan of action, regional plan of action. But when it comes to actually cutting off the money source, Becky, or when it comes to cutting off the supply of weapons that they are getting, so far Nigeria has not been able to accomplish that.

ANDERSON: Fascinating, given when you look at the map many of those countries in the region having their own problems with groups, even Boko Haram, which we're learning is a problem for Cameroon as well.

All right, Vlad, thank you for that.

The latest world news headlines are just ahead here on Connect the World with me Becky Anderson.

And after three days of massive flooding in the Balkans, is there any relief in sight? A complete weather forecast for the region is up next.

Also ahead, there are big expectations facing Narenda Modi as he gets set to take the reigns here in India. Coming up, a look ahead at his future as prime minister.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're with CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson in New Delhi for you this evening. The top stories this hour.

The Turkish prime minister's office says 16 people have been detained in connection with last week's deadly coal mine disaster. Now, news reports say they do include mine executives, 301 people were killed in the fire and explosion in Soma.

China is evacuating thousands of its citizens from Vietnam after last week's anti-Chinese violence. Tensions running high following China's decision to move an oil rig into a disputed section of the South China Sea.

A military officer's salute meant to express a rare public apology from North Korea's government. Pyongyang says poor supervision led to the collapse of a 23-story apartment under construction in the capital. Now, reports say hundreds of people may have been killed.

And residents along the Sava River in the Balkans are reinforcing sandbag barriers, hoping to hold back the rising waters expected tonight. Dozens have been killed in the last three days after the worst flooding in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia in more than a hundred years.

Let's get you a look at the forecast for the Balkans region and beyond. Samantha Mohr is at the World Weather Center. Samantha, we were speaking to one of our affiliate journalists earlier on, who said the water had been receding somewhat, but the expectations are now that levels may rise again. What's the forecast at this point?

SAMANTHA MOHR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we still have an unsettled pattern here, Becky. Things are looking better as we head towards the next two days, but in the past few days, we've had an incredible amount of rain.

So, even if you're not seeing rain at the moment, possibly upstream there is still rain that is moving into the rivers and funneling down to where you are. That's happening all over this region, as we've had incredible amounts of rain.

The past 72 hours, 233 millimeters of rain here in Tuzla. And amounts similar to that coming in all across the region as this area of low pressure continues to sit and spin in one place. So, this is Obrenovac, and the people who are stranded here, thousands and thousands of people stranded in buildings still being rescued by boat, some by helicopter.

Look at this crowd of folks on this boat escaping their housing, trying to get to safer ground. And this, of course, is going to be ongoing until they can get everyone to safety.

And you can see here on the water vapor satellite imagery, this tells us how much moisture is in the air. You can just see this plume of moisture moving around this area of low pressure, and it has literally been sitting and spinning in place for the last few days. It's cut off from the main flow of the jet stream.

And it looks like as we head into the next 24 to 36 hours, we're still going to see that threat of strong storms, some of which could be sever here, across the areas you see marked in orange and red.

Heavy rain, large hail, and tornadoes, and the most probable areas being here in the darker red from Minsk all the way down to the south and Pavlohrad. So, we'll be watching for that possibility as we head into the next day and a half.

So, here's the setup: we have that warm, moist air. Ahead of it, cold, dry air coming in, lifting up that warm, moist air and squeezing all of that moisture out. And as we said, that system just not going anywhere fast, and that's the problem when you get these patterns where funnel systems and lows are just stationary, you get a lot of moisture in here.

So, we continue to stay unsettled as we head into Tuesday, at least the first half of the day. The amounts are less than they have been, thank goodness. We're seeing less in the way of heavy, heavy rain. That's moving off towards Kiev. More spotty showers around, but with all that water that's draining in from all the tributaries, Becky, It's going to take a while before these floodwaters receded. Back to you.

ANDERSON: Yes, Samantha, thank you for that. News just coming into CNN as we're on air here. Libyan media reporting that armed men tried to storm the General National Congress headquarters in Tripoli. Now, heavy gunfire could be heard around the building. The parliament session was adjourned. Members had left prior to the incident.

Reports go on to say that the armed men blocked the road that leads to the GNC to prevent staff and lawmakers from entering the building and their offices. Now, no information has been provided about the identity of those attackers. As we get more on that story, of course you can rely on his here at CNN to get it to you as quickly as possible.

We've been in New Delhi for the past few days, witnessing what has been an historic election in India. More than half a billion people cast ballots. Ten years of Congress Party Rule has come to an end after a crushing defeat in these elections. Narendra Modi and the Hindu Nationalist BJP have now a resounding mandate in parliament.

Well, Modi is expected to take the oath of office in the coming days. CNN's Sumnima Udas gives us a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Normally a place of little interest, but as you can see, a large media presence and high security because the man who's all but set to be the country's next prime minister is staying here in the Gujarat Bhawan while he's in New Delhi.

The Gujarat Bhawan is almost like an embassy for the state of Gujarat, which is, of course, where Narendra Modi has been chief minister for the past 12 years, turning it into one of India's most successful states.

And this is where Narendra Modi will be living in the coming days, 7 Race Course Road. The area is so big, you can't actually even see the prime minister's residence, 5 bungalows spread over 12 acres in the center of Delhi.

For a man who grew up selling tea at a railway station, this is really not a bad change. Unlike 10 Downing Street or the White House, this is not where the prime minister's office is, but there's plenty of space for key meetings.

The presidential palace. This is where the swearing in ceremony will take place. The president of India actually administers the process. Narendra Modi will take an oath office. So, too, will his cabinet of ministers, and then finally the national anthem.

Sumnima Udas, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, that is what we certainly expect in the coming days. Let's take a look at how India arrived here, because this was, indeed, an historic election in an awful lot of ways. Let's bring in our New Delhi bureau chief, Ragi -- Ragi, I did that -- sorry, Ravi. Ravi Agrawal, your reflections, if you will.

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Becky, you and I have been talking about this all week now, but one of the things that I thought was absolutely stunning was this great reversal of a trend that we'd been seeing for many years in India, where India's such a vast country, and there's been a localization.

So, you've got castes voting for their own castes. You've got new parties being created with each passing year that cater to a particular demographic. This year, what you've seen is all of India uniting to vote for one man, one vision, one party. That is a reversal of a trend that we'd been seeing for decades. That is huge.

ANDERSON: This is, as described by "The Economic Times" in India today, "a truly pan-Indian mandate" for Mr. Modi, which includes the near 170-odd Muslims who live here, who wouldn't be natural supporters of this government. But as one of our guests pointed out tonight, they also want a better economy. This is what one BJP member had to say to us today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIYUSH GOYAL, NATIONAL TREASURER, BJP: I think first and foremost, it's important to get the confidence back in India. Not only international investors, but domestic investors were shying away from the India growth story.

I think Mr. Modi's first challenge, I would say would have been getting the confidence back, but from what we see, I think the confidence is already coming back. You see in the last two months, ever since it became evident that Mr. Modi is going to be the next prime minister, opinion polls and then the exit polls, and now the result, all reflect that Mr. Modi is going to be the prime minister.

And that has been witnessed in terms of the soaring SENSEX, in terms of the flood of funds coming in from international sources.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: BJP national treasurer, Piyush Goyal. And talking about the first thing he believes Modi will get up to, everybody's talking about that. What's Modi going to do first? What will the biggest challenges for him be? Let's also remember that there was a huge youth vote here, which was quite unique, wasn't it, in India?

AGRAWAL: It's absolutely amazing. The average in India is 28. But 100-plus million voters are new voters. That means they turned 18 after the last election. These are all voters and Indians who -- they have a vision for what they want India to be.

And it seems like they've bought into Mr. Modi's vision of what that India could be. And so, when he talks about reform, when he talks about infrastructure, when he talks about getting things done, that's what these young Indians want.

ANDERSON: Remind our viewers, just finally, what we know about this man. Because you talk to highly-connected people here, and very few people actually know very much about him, aside from the fact that he was, effectively, the CEO of a western state which has been very successful.

AGRAWAL: Exactly. He grew Gujarat 10 percent year-on-year for a decade. These are Chinese levels of growth. Now, they're going to want him to do that at a national stage.

What we don't know is whether he can do that, because India works very different from the way a state works. He's going to have to deal with different cultures, with different regions, with powerful state chief ministers, like he was before, and he's going to have to bring them onboard.

ANDERSON: Interesting times, as somebody once said. Thank you very much, Ravi Agrawal, your bureau chief here in New Delhi.

And in tonight's Parting Shots, we leave you with images taken by CNN's New Delhi intern Omar Kahn, who captured the mood of BJP supporters after their party's landslide victory. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(DRUMS, CELEBRATION MUSIC)

OMAR KAHN, CNN NEW DELHI INTERN (voice-over): Modi mania has taken the country by storm, and the landslide victory clearly shows that sentiment. One of Delhi's biggest bands added music to the celebration.

From being a tea seller and now to be India's next prime minister, the Narendra Modi tea, or NaMo Chai, is popular amongst his supporters. Dressed in colorful costumes, people joined in the celebration.

The supporters' view on the victory wall is clear: for them, he is the one- man army. Smeared in saffron, the color of the BJP, the youth celebrate, looking ahead with hope for a better future.

CROWD (chanting): Modi! Modi! Modi! Modi! Modi! Modi!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That is a wrap for us from New Delhi over the past couple of days. I hope you've enjoyed CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, on what has been a quite remarkable turn of events here for India, the world's biggest democratic exercise. They have a new man in charge going forward. Let's watch for what he does next.

Thank you for being with us here on CNN. A very good evening from New Delhi.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, HOST: This week on MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, India's six- week marathon election comes to a close. With 814 million eligible voters, it's the world's largest demonstration of democracy. We spoke with some members of the UAE's huge expat community to find out their views on the polls.

And former British prime minister Tony Blair on radical Islam and where Egypt goes after the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Welcome to MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST. There are more than 2 million Indians living here in the UAE, sending back more than $8 billion each year in remittances. Logistical reasons may stand in the way of them voting, but they have a whole lot to say about this landmark poll.

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LEONE LAKHANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was once the heart of Dubai's business activity, Dubai Creek, where boats and barges sail daily, transporting goods and people to ports nearby.

Much of it went to and from India. Over time, it became the United Arab Emirates' largest trading partner. In the 1970s, trade between the two countries amounted to $180 million a year. Today, it's $75 billion.

LAKHANI (on camera): With growing business ties, many Indians moved here in search of work and opportunity. Today, they make up nearly a third of any of the population, outnumbering any other nationality, including UAE citizens. And they contribute to almost every aspect of the economy.

SHEKHAR PATNI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, JEWEL TRADING LLC: This is the silver jewelry.

LAKHANI (voice-over): Shekhar Patni is one of almost 2 million Indians in the UAE, trading in silver, diamonds, and gold bullion. He moved here more than 30 years ago. He decided it was a good place to set up his jewelry business.

PATNI: The culture -- mixed culture of India and the Middle East, this is more important for us. And this is very close to India.

LAKHANI: He says his business is now worth $20 million, with his wife and family firmly rooted here in the UAE. But now, as his native country embraces the outcome of parliamentary elections, he's watching events closely, even though he couldn't vote from overseas.

PATNI: I am the national of India, and I hope to invest something there also if, suppose, I want to go back home.

LAKHANI: So, planning for the future, Patni says he sends a huge portion of his earnings home for his family, business, and investments. He's not alone.

Krishnan Ramachandran runs a wealth management group in Dubai that manages $400 million worth of assets belonging to Indians living in the UAE. The majority is reinvested in India.,

KRISHNAN RAMACHANDRAN, CEO, BARJEEL GEOJIT SECURITIES: It is always the aspiration of any expat Indian coming to this region to save and send as much as possible back home. So, we are, on an average, the target is moving 40 to 50 percent of their earnings here is what they would like to send back home.

LAKHANI: That's because most of his clients intend to go back one day, he says.

MUKESH SHARMA, INVESTOR: I'm in the UAE for the last over ten years. And I've been working in the construction industry. We keep transferring the money through exchanges and all. It plans to grow maybe after two or three years.

LAKHANI: Remittances from overseas Indians like Sharma amounted to $71 billion last year, according to the World Bank, more than any other country in the world. That gives them tremendous economic clout, even without a vote in the elections.

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DEFTERIOS: Leone Lakhani getting insight from the Indian community here. Now, an Indian banker's view. V. Shankar is one of the top bankers in the region. He's the regional CEO for Standard Chartered Bank. He joins a long list of Indian expats who have made their way throughout the Middle East. He shares his insights on the Indian election and what needs to be done with the economy.

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V. SHANKAR, CEO, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK EMEA & AMERICA: This is an interesting election, John, because you have over 800 million voters, but roughly 20 percent of them are first-time voters. And also roughly half the voters are under the age of 35.

This is a very young population, and if you look at the turnout, it's one of the highest ever, well over 65 percent.

I think this is indicative, reflective of the mood for change. If you take India over the last several years, it's been afflicted with policy paralysis, political drift, slow economic growth, and issues around governance and corruption. And I think the people of India want change.

DEFTERIOS: The growth is less than half what it was in 2010, when they were growing 10 percent a year. The two or three critical ingredients to unlock growth again, and can you get to that level?

SHANKAR: It'll take a while to get. Let's not underestimate the challenges. Mr. Modi does not have a magic wand. He has the momentum. So, it'll take a few years to get it going, but what does he need to do?

Clearly, I think he will be focused on most important, restoring confidence. Indian businessman have not been investing in India. If you look at growth in manufacturing, it's actually been negative for a few quarters. So, restoring confidence in the business community is going to be a very important ingredient of that. Also, restoring confidence among foreign investors.

DEFTERIOS: If you look back at the relationship, for example, between the UAE and India, two things happen simultaneously. The creation of the Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, which fostered the trade, and then the liberalization in India, 1991. Those forces came together, and as a result, the bilateral trade has skyrocketed between the two.

SHANKAR: Unbelievable, isn't it? For UAE, India is its largest trading partner. And for India, UAE is the largest export destination, as well as its second-largest trading partner. That's a sea change from what it was 20, 30 years ago.

But interestingly, the trade is very concentrated in petroleum, precious stones, and gold and jewelry. So there is, I think, scope for more diversification of that.

DEFTERIOS: Many look back now and say, let's stack up China versus India. Same population size, very similar. But that's where it ends, in a sense, right?

SHANKAR: India and China were almost even-Stevens. If anything, India had the edge on China those days. And then they diverged.

If you look at China's GDP today, it's $9 trillion, versus India's $1.8. It's five times. China is growing at north of 7 percent, and India has faltered, the last eight quarters under 5 percent.

The more interesting thing is that China, at a $9 trillion economy growing at 7, 7.5 percent, produces an India every three years. That's phenomenal. I think India can learn a lot from China.

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DEFTERIOS: V. Shankar of Standard Chartered Bank sharing his thoughts on the Indian economy. Coming up, what could be the biggest threat to global security and potentially, growth in the region. My interview with former UK prime minister Tony Blair is just ahead.

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DEFTERIOS: Welcome back to MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST. Last month, British prime minister Tony Blair gave a speech which raised some eyebrows, suggesting that the greatest threat to global security is coming from radical Islam.

We know the impact it's had on the Middle East, for example, in Iraq. More recently, we've seen the threat in Nigeria from Boko Haram. I asked Blair if the world is ill-equipped for radical Islam.

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TONY BLAIR, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: We tend to treat each of the arenas in which this Islamism is doing its work as separate, whereas I think yes, there are all sorts of separate, local characteristics, there are issues to do with tradition and history and drive and so on that go to create the problem.

But the unifying element is an ideology based on an abuse of religion, which causes people to act in a fanatical and extreme way, and makes it very hard for countries to make progress where this type of ideology takes root.

And what is necessary is for us to say very clearly that you can be a devout Muslim in the same way you can be a devout Christian or Jew or Hindu, without taking your religion into a position of dominance in politics.

DEFTERIOS: The response in Egypt has been a very heavy one, some 1200 people, now, sent to death row in a reaction to the Muslim Brotherhood. So, that's not inclusive as a response. Is that the only response in the 21st century to crack down that heavily to get stability, or could it have been a different path?

BLAIR: No, look, you've got to have proper judicial process, and you've got to distinguish between those people engaged in violence and those people you disagree with. And I think there are a lot of people in Egypt who think those court decisions can't be justified.

However, the question is whether we're also prepared to combat intellectually, politically, the ideology that I think is really incompatible with the modern world and with proper democratic rights, which is an ideology that is based an exclusivist view of religion. In other words, if you don't share my view of the way religion works, then you're not an equal citizen.

For a country like Egypt, which after all has got 8 to 10 million Christians in it, and a country that is devoutly Muslim, but it's a country that wants to be proud of its traditional values, its ancient civilization, and does not want to be taken over by an ideology like the Brotherhood, which is going to take it in the wrong direction.

When you come to debating this ideology, I think there's a feeling in the West sometimes that the Muslim Brotherhood is kind of like a normal political party, like the Labour Party in Britain, or the Christian Democrats, say, in Germany.

But it isn't. It's essentially an ideological cult or movement that is more, really, akin to the old revolutionary Communist or Fascist parties.

DEFTERIOS: The Gulf States were very quick to support -- almost $20 billion to the interim government in transition right here. Will this come back to haunt those states that backed this government who overthrew the Morsy governments?

BLAIR: What's the best hope of moving the country forward? I think the best hope is to put in place a government and a president that's got genuine popular support. I think this will happen.

And then, for the country, with full international support, to engage in a reform program that changes the way the country works, makes the necessary economic and social reforms, rule of law reforms, that allow Egypt to take its place, as it should be, as one of the great nations of the 21st century.

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DEFTERIOS: Former British prime minister and Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair here in Abu Dhabi. And that's all for this edition of CNN MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST. I'm John Defterios. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next week.

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