Congress party seems to be highly discontented over the fact that the exit polls have projected a big NDA victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Recently Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed over a debate on the exit polls said that North Indians are pliable and there is lack of education and literacy in the region. She further said that people in the Northern region do not question the policies of the government and follow the narratives that are propagated by the media.
Shama Mohamed criticized the people of North India, for letting the Modi government secure votes without judging their government tenure. Establishing a divisional narrative, she said that North has a larger chunk of illiterate and unaware people than South and the former is more reliant on the news through messaging apps like WhatsApp.
"North Indian voters are pliable, they are not as educated as the voters in the South, they listen to the media" This is what the @INCIndia spokesperson had to say .. If these are the excuses that Congress and their minions are hiding behind then they will never learn. pic.twitter.com/cBugLdiPEc
— Aadit Kapadia (@ask0704) May 21, 2019
Before making such remarks, the Congress spokesperson should have fact-checked the poll predictions of North East and South India as well. BJP has made gains in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala according to the predictions. However, it is a bit hard for the Congress party members to check their facts as the predictions of the exit polls are like a mini report card for their performance as well. The predictions do not portray a good picture for Congress party even in the states that it won the assembly elections recently. Since the exit polls are out, the party has been making excuses of why one should not believe the exit polls.
Shama Mohamed is trying to fill the shoes of Sam Pitroda by citing blunt excuses for Congress as it is known that the party is soon to face defeat. Offending the entire media industry, Shama went to an extent saying that Indian mainstream media was pliable and they did not question the government as per the protocols. She insulted the entire fraternity of journalists. Like her other party members, she even said that “questioning” Balakot and Uri strike was important.
Where @DrShamaMohd of Congress asks @_YogendraYadav why he advocated NOTA, didnt field candidates & now wants Congress to "die." She also draws a contentious distinction between voters of North being less educated, more vulnerable to fake news, than the South. Excerpt @newsHtn pic.twitter.com/eZVKnyfFKG
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) May 21, 2019
It is high time that Congress stopped playing either the communal card or the “north-south” game that it has been playing since the start of the elections. Shama Mohamed probably forgot the fact that during desperate times Congress party presidents run to the south when they are aware that they have no chance of securing seat in the north. From Indira to Sonia Gandhi and now Rahul, all have taken safe havens in South India. It was therefore highly disrespectful to call the people of North India, a bunch of gullible and illiterate people. Congress, which has always claimed to uphold the national integrity of the country, has members which are propagating regional division.
The comparison between South India and North India was not required as the country voted for a national government which would not discriminate the people and citizens based on which region they belonged. The statement of the spokesperson clearly depicts the fear that the Congress party has with the increasing strength of the BJP. Hence we can be assured of more such excuses, derogatory statements and silly arguments by Congress party members.