While India is celebrating democracy in action, it cannot forget the poison and rancour that came up due to the Congress’ inability to keep the campaign within norms of civilized behaviour. The abuses the party hurled against Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonstrated that the Congress has no love lost for democracy or the institution of the Prime Minister.
Gujarat voted for a new Assembly yesterday. Himachal Pradesh voted on 12 November. Two crucial votes i.e., for the municipal corporation of Delhi on 4 December and for the by-elections in Uttar Pradesh yesterday also took place. We will have to wait to know how people have voted and the next two days belong clearly to the pollsters with their predictions, claims and counter-claims on who is more accurate and why.
To call it celebration of democracy is the most apt description. Since polls have already taken place, the trend in one state would not be able to affect the trends in others. This shows no Indian state is living an isolated existence and there is better integration in terms of voters’ expectations and the mood. The Election Commission of India must be given full credit for conducting such a high-voltage campaign.
The same cannot be said for the Congress that has ruled the country for so long. It has brought down the political discourse by launching personal attacks against the Prime Minister. It was clear demonstration of its ways to concede defeat. Earlier too, the Congress had used expletives for Narendra Modi when it was faced with a certain defeat.
One expected that senior Congress leader and new party president Mallikarjun Kharge would bring some seriousness to the party due to his vast experience in public life. But he too has walked the wrong path and attested that he too belongs to the hate-Modi brigade and he would do the biding of Rahul Gandhi. Describing Narendra Modi as “Ravaan with hundred heads” must have shocked the nation’s conscience—the most popular Prime Minister being described this way.
The controversy had yet to die down when a Congress leader from Karnataka, V.S. Ugrappa, described Modu as “Bhasmasur”, a demon in Indian mythology. One should not forget that Sonia Gandhi had abused Modi in Gujarat in 2007 Assembly elections by calling him “maut ka saudagar”. Congress’ Lok Sabha candidate Imran Masood has declared during his campaign in 2014 that he would “chop Modi into tiny pieces”. The Congress later rewarded him by giving him important assignments and made him the AICC secretary.
We know how Rahul Gandhi created a fiction of scam in the Rafael deal and kept on abusing the Prime Minister as “Chowkidar Chor hai”. This had become his campaign theme during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He even misguided people by making it appear as if his criticism has the endorsement of the Supreme Court for which he had to apologise to the Court. People reprimanded Rahul Gandhi’s chicanery by giving Modi a much bigger mandate.
The Congress has tried to defend the recent attacks on Modi by citing his raincoat description for Dr Manmohan Singh when he was replying to issues raised during a debate in Parliament on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s speech in February 2017. Ex-Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has criticised the Modi government’s demonetization policy as “organised loot and legalised plunder”.
Modi responded by saying: “For the past 30-35 years, Manmohan Singhji has been directly associated with financial decisions. There were many scams around him, but his own image remained clean. Dr Sahab is the only person who knows the art of bathing in a bathroom with a raincoat on (bathroom me raincoat pehenke nahana sirf doctor saab jaante hain),” the PM said.
Modi’s was the most civilized way of putting his criticisms much better than the learned Dr Singh who was crass by calling it “loot” and “plunder”. But the Congress protested and walked out only to be reminded by Modi that they should have the guts to listen to criticisms when they use abusive language to describe the decision taken by another Prime Minister.
Modi during his campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections had condemned then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif for reportedly describing Dr Manmohan Singh as “dehati aurat”. “Nobody has the right to insult the Prime Minister who represents 125 crore people”, he had said. This shows Modi’s deep respect for the country and its institutions. Sharif had apparently said that Dr Singh used to complaint to the US President Barak Obama against Pakistan “like a dehati aurat”, a remark which Sharif later denied. However, the remark was reported widely till Modi raised the issue.
It is quite possible that at times such statements come in frustrations when one sees that the political fortunes are not picking up. But one can always make up by apologising for the momentary lapse of judgement. But the Congress has never been apologetic showing that the remarks are a part of the Congress thinking. As observed by Modi during his campaign in the Panchmahal district of Gujarat on 2 December:
“It does not surprise me that they have used such abusive words for me… But what surprises me is that the Congress party and their top leaders never officially apologise… Yes, one can say things in a fit of rage but an apology can follow…The Congress thinks it is its right to insult the Prime Minister of the country and downgrade the Prime Minister”.
“If they had any faith in democracy, they would not have done this. Their faith is not in democracy but in one family… There is a competition in Congress to abuse Modi. Every leader hopes to make the abuses bigger, more frequent, more acerbic… Recently, one of them said Modi will die a dog’s death, another said Modi will die like Hitler, then they were waiting for Pakistan to kill me… and then one said, ‘If I get a chance, I will kill Modi’… They call me Ravan, rakshas, and cockroach.”
The Congress must not forget that such pains from the Prime Minister would be the death knell for the party’s political future. It is their good luck that Modi suffers but does not retaliate; otherwise, there are numerous examples when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government tried all tricks to fix Modi and Amit Shah. Using their echo system, they tried to defame and break Modi but every time they conclude they have finished him, Modi has thrown surprise by emerging stronger.
We just need to recall how Rahul Gandhi after 2019 Lok Sabha polls has started talking like the Prime Minister in the waiting till the results showed a Modi tsunami. “Modi’s days are over” Rahul had declared and he had even said that he would order an inquiry into the Rafale deal.
Why should one grudge if Modi campaigns for municipal polls or Assembly polls or Lok Sabha elections? The BJP is fortunate to have such a charismatic leader and the party would use him wherever he is needed depending upon his time. The Congress would be right to criticise if they can prove that governance has suffered.
You can’t grudge if the BJP deploys the galaxy of leaders it has for electoral campaign. That can hardly be a ground for criticism if you know how a party functions. Considering that election times are testing times of the party’s strength and popularity, every party leader and worker wants to participate in the campaign. Elections are the time for public debates. All issues would crop up, including the ways the Congress has worked against the interests of Gujarat. Rather than trying to reply to those charges and fix the BJP on failures, the Congress indulges in abusing the Prime Minister.
