With 5 phases of the Lok Sabha elections done and 2 being left, campaigning by the political parties is higher than ever. The opposition to the current government has teamed up together and is solely focusing on removing the NDA government. With so much at stake, all barriers have been crossed and there is no holding back. A couple of days ago, in the heat of the elections, PM Modi during one of his rallies in Uttar Pradesh, in reference to Rajiv Gandhi said that he was “bhrashtachari (corrupt) number 1”.
Congress-led opposition has been hell-bent on establishing that PM Modi is involved in corruption, something that they have been infamous for. Even though there isn’t any case proven against the prime minister, Rahul Gandhi led Congress has been chanting the slogan “Chowkidar Chor Hai”. In a retort to this, PM Modi stated, “Your father was termed ‘Mr Clean’ by his courtiers, but his life ended as ‘bhrashtachari number 1’”.
This particular statement has not only hit the opposition right in the bull’s eye, furthering PM Modi’s motive to build the Kaamdar vs. Naamdar anti-dynastic narrative, but has also successfully shifted the entire narrative to Rajiv Gandhi’s skeletons.
In light of the statement, the entire Congress clan has come out defending the statement. The entire focus of the opposition party has shifted from their earlier focus on garnering votes through the NYAY scheme and minority appeasement. They have left everything to defend Rajiv Gandhi. This includes senior Congress leaders vigorously tweeting and speaking about the comment, putting up a defensive stance.
Modi Ji,
The battle is over. Your Karma awaits you. Projecting your inner beliefs about yourself onto my father won’t protect you.
All my love and a huge hug.
Rahul
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 5, 2019
शहीदों के नाम पर वोट माँगकर उनकी शहादत को अपमानित करने वाले प्रधानमंत्री ने कल अपनी बेलगाम सनक में एक नेक और पाक इंसान की शहादत का निरादर किया। जवाब अमेठी की जनता देगी जिनके लिए राजीव गांधी ने अपनी जान दी। हाँ मोदीजी ‘यह देश धोकेबाज़ी को कभी माफ नहीं करता’।
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) May 5, 2019
The angst of Rajiv Gandhi’s children is understandable, however, other Congress leaders seem to have taken the comment quite personally too.
Mr Modi has crossed all limits of propriety and decency by defaming a man (Rajiv Gandhi) who died in 1991.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 5, 2019
Does Mr Modi read anything at all?
Does he know that the charge against Mr Rajiv Gandhi was thrown out by the High Court, Delhi as "completely baseless?".
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 5, 2019
'De mortuis nihil nisi bonum'. Of the dead, speaking nothing but the good.
Has the PM heard of this ancient wisdom?
Does any religion allow anyone to speak ill of the dead?
The PM's remarks on former PM Rajiv Gandhi show the extent of his desperation and fear of defeat.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 5, 2019
'De mortuis nihil nisi bonum'. Of the dead, speaking nothing but the good.
Has the PM heard of this ancient wisdom?
Does any religion allow anyone to speak ill of the dead?
The PM's remarks on former PM Rajiv Gandhi show the extent of his desperation and fear of defeat.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 5, 2019
Those whose nationalism is pseudo and whose politics is based on dividing people will never understand Rajiv Gandhi and his sacrifice for the nation
— Ahmed Patel Memorial (@ahmedpatel) May 5, 2019
Apart from tweeting, several Congress leaders including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Sam Pitroda have also spoken strongly on the statement. Also joining the list of perturbed Congressis is MNS chief Raj Thackeray, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Mehbooba Mufti and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav.
Whatever political disagreements people may have, those who are martyred deserve our respect and their families deserves our empathy. Election or not, this is basic humanity.
The statement by the PM indicates levels to which people can stoop for the sake of clinging on to power.
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) May 5, 2019
Sorry for my delayed response on this. I was campaigning. The comments made by ‘Expiry PM’ ModiJi against fmr PM Rajiv GandhiJi are very unfortunate. RajivJi dedicated himself & laid down his life for the motherland. I condemn the language used & the audacity of such a statement
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 5, 2019
#RajivGandhi lost his life serving our country. He was a true patriot who certainly doesn’t need a certificate from those who lynch in the name of religion. Malicious attempts to malign a person who’s passed away shows political discourse has reached its nadir.
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) May 5, 2019
These sob stories of the Congress leaders have been backlashed by the BJP leaders.
The Congress and its’ President can call an honest Prime Minister ‘Chor’. No Model Code of Conduct is preventing that. If the PM calls the Congress legacy as ‘Corrupt No. 1’ the Congress complains that the Model Code of Conduct is violated. Are there two Model Codes of Conduct?
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 6, 2019
Rahul Gandhi has been using the “Chowkidar Chor Hai” slogan when there is no corruption case against the PM proven in court. The Rafale deal, which is a personal favourite of the Congress heir, has been thrown out of the court after it gave a “clean chit” to the government. With Rahul Gandhi purporting false narratives of the Prime Minister being involved in corruption scandals, he is now quite rattled with PM Modi’s remark.
It now seems as though the entire Congress clan has shifted their focus entirely. Not only did PM Modi put an end to the “Chowkidar Chor Hai” slogan but has also made sure that the party is focusing on the Rajiv Gandhi issue, rather than campaigning in what the people are actually interested in. Earlier Congress had been trying to bait the poor people by offering 72,000 per year through their NYAY scheme, which was the high point of their election campaigning. Now, the grand old party has had to leave all these tactics behind and concentrate on “saving the father”. On the other hand, BJP is continuing its campaigning on the important fronts, namely, development, security and nationalism.
Apart from the Congress, the statement on Rajiv Gandhi has ruffled some feathers in the media as well. Since the past couple of days, ever since the comment was made, the media organizations have completely based its attention on Rajiv Gandhi, a person who is individually not related to the current issues the country is facing. Arnab Goswami had even scheduled a “Bhrashatachar debate” to discuss on why Congress was rattled by hard talk on corruption. The media attention on the statement might be perceived as a welcome move by Congress. But, what is now happening is that citizens and media are digging deeper into the statement. Apart from the Bofors deal, for which the Congress is claiming that Rajiv Gandhi received a “clean chit”, there are a number of other involvement and irregularities in Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure. However, now they are all being exposed.
This is exactly what PM Modi wanted. His narrative of “anti-dynastic” politics is gaining ground with people understanding that the entire dynasty has been corrupt, since the very start. Being in power since the past 60 years, and the communication channels not being this advanced, Rajiv Gandhi’s undue influence in his tenure had been hidden from the public eye. The entire bundle of irregularities and corruption acts, which occurred during his and Indira Gandhi’s tenure is now coming to light, essentially demolishing the entire base of the Congress party.
Moreover, being the ingenious statesman he is, apart from the obvious implications against the party, Congress has focused its entire attention on defending Rajiv Gandhi’s memory. The most crucial elections of Rahul Gandhi’s tenure are underway and he along with the rest of the Congress party; is having to suspend the actual campaigning and divert the attention. The citizens aren’t concerned about the memory of Congress leaders and are more concerned on the present, development front, which the Congress doesn’t seem to be paying any attention to.
