Prime Minister Modi is perhaps the most scrutinized leader in independent India. Along with that, he has been subjected to personal abuses at regular intervals. The ‘Maut ka saudagar’ remark during 2007 assembly elections was a starter of sorts. It was followed by ‘Chai wala’ in 2014’. ‘Pakoda wala‘ barb and ‘Neech‘ are some of the more recent ones. His detractors have even tried to distort his image with respect to his wife and have also slandered his personal life by questioning his relation with his wife. His detractors tried to do his character assassination through a fictitious Snoopgate allegations. His detractors tried to question his educational qualifications by asking for his degree. But there is one thin that has emerged out of all these attacks. A Stronger and Meaner Modi. Another disgraceful remark has just been hurled at him, and this time it’s Naresh Agarwal who went a tad too personal in his criticism of PM Modi.
Naresh Agarwal, a controversial leader of the Samajwadi Party was addressing a meeting All India Vaishya Mahasammelan organized by the trader community. A person while raising concerns related to the same business community mentioned that both PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah also belonged to the same section of the society.
Naresh Agarwal was quick to respond, “Tell them to make laws in favour of the community…Amit Shah is from our community, but Modi is a “Teli”.
There is no doubt that Naresh Agarwal used the podium to take a swipe at the Prime Minister and make it unnecessary political. But the audience was in no mood to spare the Samajwadi Leader for insulting PM Modi. Naresh Agrawal’s casual racism caused unease amongst the audience and they immediately protested the same. It led to a commotion as some members in the event started demanding for an apology from Agarwal while he was still speaking from the stage. This didn’t unnerve a defiant Naresh Agrawal who refused to take back his comments. The organizers tried to restore decorum, but it was too late, and the ensuing discontent led to the abrupt of the meet. A livid Naresh Agarwal asked the media to leave but the damage was already done. As he stepped out of the meet, Naresh Agarwal stood by his statements and tried to spin his statement as an emphasis on the importance of caste in Indian politics.
People of this country voted for PM Modi not because he belonged to specific caste but because of his development work and strong leadership skills. Caste unfortunately remains a sad reality in our country, and parties like SP and politicians like Naresh Agarwal make sure that it stays forever.
Such comments make good media stories, but they have never affect PM Modi. In his twelve years tenure as the Gujarat CM, PM Modi was hounded by the media-ngo-opposition nexus. But he used the adversities to his advantages.
Attacking the Prime Minister or taking racist jibes at him amounts to infuriating the Janata. Sonia Gandhi learnt it the hard way after she called him a ‘Maut ka saudagar’. Mani Shanker Aiyar called him a chai wala and the electorate gave BJP its biggest ever mandate. Akhilesh Yadav mentioned Gujarat ke Gadhe in his speeches and look what became of SP after the UP Elections.
But the biggest positive that came out of this episode is the reaction of the audience. While Naresh Agrawal remained defiant to save himself from embarrassment, he saw a live demonstration of what happens when you insult the Prime Minister in Public. While it is stupid to expect sense from a Samajwadi Party leader but hope Naresh Agrawal takes this as a lesson and apologizes to the nation for taking a racist jibe at the Prime Minister of India.
