It was a spectacle of sorts to witness the “MODI” masks in the 2014 general elections. “Modi” masks gained currency and became popular during and after the general elections. In fact it also attracted global attention as well as votes from the Indian voters and gave BJP an unprecedented win the mandate to govern India for the next five years. While opposition parties have always claimed that BJP had a hidden agenda what they missed out was the “Masked” agenda of “Modi”s many masks.
Only after assuming power at centre these masks have been revealing themselves one at a time and sometimes collectively too. Let us begin with the first of “Modi” mask in the persona of Smt Sadvi Niranjan Jyoti Union Minister who in December 2014 allegedly made communal remarks that voters of Delhi should choose between “Ram’s sons” and “illegitimate sons” and using an expletive in an election rally, leaving the BJP and the government embarrassed as an angry Opposition demanded in Parliament that she be sacked, following which Jyoti expressed “deep regret” and apologised for her actions and said she did not intend to hurt anyone’s feelings. While the PM Modi appealed to the parliament to pardon her as she was the first time Minister from a disadvantaged section of the society did not admonish her at all which emboldened many other Masks to be revealed to the country.
The other prominent and controversial “Modi” mask Shri Yogi Adityanath MP was caught in the middle of a political storm after an undated video purportedly showing him making an incendiary speech vowing that for “every Hindu converted, 100 Muslim girls will be converted as retaliation,” among other provocative comments.
Then came, a hidden mask, in the form of Sakshi Maharaj, BJP MP from Unnao. He made a controversial and divisive statement that “children studying in Madrassas are trained to become terrorists.” Coming immediately after BJP campaign against ‘love jihad’ a word coined by certain sections of the BJP during an election campaign leaves much to desired as far as the unity, peace and harmony in the society as a whole, creating communal polarisation by spreading “canard”.
The master “Mask” Giriraj Singh, Union minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises, came out with a venomous statement “Had Rajiv Gandhi married a Nigerian woman and if she was not a white-skinned woman, would the Congress have then accepted her (Sonia’s) leadership,” According to many TV reports, PM Narendra Modi had met Shri Giriraj Singh over the latter’s controversial remarks on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, where Shri Giriraj Singh reportedly broke down after the PMs reprimand on the issue which was denied by Shri GirirajSsingh himself later, which begs the question are these hot headed BJP masks are reprimanded or praised for their efforts in polarising the society? However Shri Giriraj Singh was made to apologise in the Loksabha amid vociferous protests by the opposition. It should be mentioned here that Shri Giriraj Sigh was the person who refused to reclaim Rs 1.14 crore of currency as also US dollars recovered by police after apprehending those who committed a theft in his house. After that incident he was duly appointed a minister in the Modi’s cabinet. Is it not prudent to draw a conclusion that others will get embolden to make such controversial statements which are not only divisive in nature but also harm the harmony in particular
On the same afternoon, the Acting High Commissioner of Nigeria, O B Okongor, said the minister’s comments were “in very bad taste” and “unacceptable” and demanded withdrawal of comments and apologise to people of Nigeria and stated that the High Commission would formally complain to the Ministry of External Affairs. Such incidents only lead to tarnishing the secular and tolerant image of India globally.
Amidst all this revealing MODI masks one more mask in Goa was unmasked when Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s allegedly advised the agitating nurses that they should not be out in the sun because it would make them “dark” and “ruin their marital prospects”, revealing a particular mind set, which has not gone down well with the BJP top brass who said, “Some of these comments are avoidable, one should be careful about making statements.”
The ultimate crowning glory of all masks is that of Shri Subramanya Swamy, who has been made a MP from BJP for all his oracles, latest being the character assassination of Finance Ministry officials including RBI Governor. Shri Subramanya Swamy must come out in the open what kind of blood bath he meant if he is not following party discipline, in response to Shri Arun Jaitly’s twitter comment about party discipline. Despite the PM indirectly rebuking Shri Swamy he has gone ballistic again stating that Shri Rajan is not economist at all. It is common sense that no one will be so embolden to speak on camera unless he has the backing of the party apparatus, as claimed by Swamy himself.
Public memory is still afresh about the resignations of two very acclaimed scientists and academics from the Board of directors of IIT Bombay and Director IIT Delhi respectively due to interferences by the overzealous self proclaimed modi mask HRD Minister in to autonomy of IITs. Prof. Raghunath K. Shevgaonkar, a competent administrator, academic and a gentleman who had a cordial relationship with his faculty resigned as Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, on 22 December 2014 and Nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar resigned as the chairman of the board of governors of IIT Bombay in March 2015 and now Rajan being hounded by a BJP MP does show the ugly side of the BJP that it does not tolerate disagreeing intellectuals, academics and scientists which does not augur well for the healthy growth of society in general. On the onehand PM exalsts talented NRIs to come to India and serve the mother country on the other hand once they come in they are hounded as less Indians..alas what a contrast..then the question is whom to TRUST??
The moot point is whenever such masks are revealed there is neither admonition nor the individuals are reprimanded publicly and directly by either the party bosses or the PM himself. Hence one is compelled to believe that these brazen acts are supported and nourished by the powers that be, which is quite dangerous to the peace and harmony in the long run.
Therefore, a time has come that, the PM himself should take the lead and unmask all these masks for a healthier and peaceful India, as in the absence of any clarification one tends to believe they are after all MODI masks, in different moulds.
I Love my India
Jai Hind