Two contrasting events were witnessed from a political spectrum. One was the victory rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the party’s spectacular victory in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, and the second was Congress leader Raul Gandhi’s criticism of the Indian government at Cambridge University.
Rahul Gandhi’s address at Cambridge University reflected his desperation and frustrations at not being able to do much to oust the Modi government. The bad news of a washout in the three states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland was projected in the Exit Polls. The results that came later vindicated the Congress’ worst fear of a complete washout in states where it expected to perform better.
Rahul Gandhi’s baseless charges of being spied on by using Pegasus would invite questions as to why he did not get his mobile phone checked if he was so sure. Also, the Supreme Court-appointed committee that looked into the issue could not find anything to substantiate that Pegasus was used. Of the 29 phones that were investigated “malware or poor cyber hygiene” were found in five, but it could not be established if these were Pegasus.
The committee said that the government did not cooperate, but the government had maintained that there was no unauthorised snooping on anyone. It was the job of the committee of experts to probe any wrongdoings and not the government since the charges were against the latter. Rahul’s utterances showed that he would believe rumours and not facts.
Similarly, when the world is appreciating India’s vibrant democracy, a leader of the Opposition is saying that democracy is in danger. What has prevented Rahul Gandhi from going to the people and garnering support? No one stopped his Bharat Jodo Yatra from taking place. The very fact that he was frolicking in the snow in Kashmir with his sister testify that the situation in the Valley had become much better, reflecting a triumph of democracy.
He spoke about minorities being unsafe in India. This is contrary to facts. The record shows that minorities have benefited more from government schemes. The Minorities Affairs Ministry has asserted that of the 2.31 crore houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana: “31 percent were allocated in 25 minority-dominated areas, 33 percent beneficiary of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi were minorities, and out of the nine crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, 37 percent were from the minority communities.” This is not discrimination but more care for minorities without adopting the policy of appeasement.
All charges of Rahul Gandhi would prove to be politically motivated and mischievous and based on lies and misconceptions. It is more dangerous when such leaders try to sully the image of the Modi government through such irresponsible utterances. They forget that the Modi government represents the India of today. When the whole world is looking at India as an island of hope in terms of economic recovery and implementation of good governance practices, such statements merely end up helping anti-India forces.
While Rahul was projecting himself as a loser by attacking the Modi government in a foreign land, the Prime Minister was full of positivity about the party, the country and people in general. The BJP’s victory in the three states proves something which Modi’s detractors would not concede.
Describing the vote as one for progress and stability, Modi said that the secret to the BJP’s success lay in the new formula enshrined in the concept of Triveni (Amalgamation of Three streams). These were: (1) Work done by the BJP governments; (2) Ethics of the BJP governments; and (3) Helping nature of the BJP workers. This Triveni enhances the power of BJP by 1+1+1 which equals 111 times, he said.
Rahul should ask himself how many times he or anyone from the Gandhi family visited the Northeast to link with people even during the campaign. If he wishes to understand the Prime Minister, he should merely try to figure how many times he visited or addressed the people of Northeast. Between 2017 and 2022, Modi visited the Northeast 44 times. The landscape of the Northeast is changing with development indicators.
The victory is a vindication that if one works hard to provide solutions, people develop a stake in continuation of the government which is often termed pro-incumbency. Indian politics is becoming mature and only those who would work tirelessly to meet aspirations of people would survive. Political rhetoric or unnecessary criticisms or poison-laced abuses full of hatred would not give political dividends.
The writer is the convener of the media relations department of the BJP and represents the party as a spokesperson on TV debates. He has authored the book ‘Narendra Modi: The Game Changer’. The views expressed are personal.
Read all the Latest Opinions here
Comments
0 comment