Gautam Gambhir is fast turning out to be a massive burden on the BJP

Gautam Gambhir has off late been trying very hard to be perceived as a ‘secular’ and statesmanlike leader. For this very purpose, he has not been reluctant in playing into the hands of India’s liberals, only to impress some of them perhaps, and get validation from the cabal. Once again, before checking the facts on Delhi riots, the Cricketer turned politician has made an apologetic and cringeworthy statement on BJP leader Kapil Mishra, whom liberals tried to blame for riots wherein anti-CAA protesters have wreaked havoc in the streets of Delhi.

Playing into the hands of the sinister cabal’s manipulation of the truth, the BJP MP from East Delhi has said, “no matter who the person is, whether he is Kapil Mishra or anyone else, belonging to any party, if he has given any provoking speech then strict action should be taken against him.” Pouncing on the opportunity, several leftist portals used his statement to further the narrative that Kapil Mishra, who made a statement calling for protesters blocking the roads to be removed, is responsible for the violence.

Kapil Mishra has been an eysore for the opposition and liberals, who are reigning fire on him for speaking his mind. In a video that went viral, Kapil Mishra was seen speaking to a crowd and swearing cooperation to the police, however, with a caveat. He said that the police should insist upon the protestors to clear the Jaffrabad metro station road, failing which the people would do it themselves.

The plans of the protesters who later turned rioters were very clear from the beginning. They flooded into Jaffrabad, Chandhbagh and Maujpur to create more Shaheen Bagh-esque protests which would bring road traffic in these areas to a standstill. When they faced resistance from people who wanted them to clear the roads, and prevent their activity from escalating, stone-pelting and violence was witnessed against pro-CAA groups as well as the police.

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Facing outrage over the death of the Delhi Police Head Constable and serious injuries to a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) among attacks on several other police personnel, the anti-CAA lobby has now tried to shift the blame onto BJP legislator, Kapil Mishra. 

Hoowever, violence was predominantly carried out by anti-CAA groups, arson and stone pelting was witnessed in northeast Delhi and the riots soon took a communal turn. Vehicles and some buildings have been burnt down in the carnage as well. In all this, Gambhir thought it suitable to pin the blame on Kapil Mishra instead of defending his fellow BJP leader who was only calling for order in the streets of Delhi. Infact, far more incendiary language has been used by men and women in Shaheen Bagh or the entire anti-CAA cabal- from Sharjeel Imam calling for Muslims to amputate Northeast India from the rest of the land, to Waris Pathan saying that 15 crore Muslims will prove heavier or more dominant on 100 crore Hindus, inflammatory language has been deployed extensively by Islamists shielded by the left. None of these radicalising statements were blamed for the violence in Delhi by men who pelted stones, damaged property, attacked the police, and those like Shahrukh, who pulled a gun out and fired at a policeman.

While a sinister campaign against Kapil Mishra was on overdrive, BJP MP Gautam Gambhir, instead of condemning the violence and the lies propagated by the anti-CAA cabal, threw Kapil Mishra under the bus even when the latter is a more efficient leader and dedicated to ideology. Therefore, and rightly, Gautam Gambhir was taken to task by other rightwingers on social media and elsewhere, who called out his callous remarks and hypocrisy.

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However, this is not the first time Gautam Gambhir has let the right wing down. Gautam Gambhir seems to have forgotten what PM Modi instructed his MPs from the central hall of Parliament. He made it clear that BJP MPs should desist from wanting to give unnecessary and ill-informed sound bytes to the media. Gambhir looks in no mood to follow the same.

Last year, there was much furore over the roughing up of a Muslim man in Gurugram. The man, identified as Mohamad Barker Alam took the entire nation for a ride by claiming that he was beaten by a group of Hindus who said that wearing skull caps was not allowed in the area he was passing through (Sadar Bazar lane). He also claimed that the group tore his shirt, forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and eat pork. This later turned out to be fake news as the CCTV footage showed that there was a scuffle involving Alam wherein push came to shove and his skull cap fell off in this tussle. Alam was seen picking up the cap and keeping it in his pocket, while his shirt was not torn and the entire incident was over in a minute. The accuser’s claim of being asked to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was not even mentioned in his own statement while filing the FIR. The mainstream media, however, doing what it does best, ran this ludicrously fake narrative without any verification, but instead of waiting for the facts to arise, Gambhir jumped in with a statement, again playing into the hands of the sinister liberal narrative.

Gautam Gambhir said, “In Gurugram, Muslim man told to remove skullcap, chant Jai Shri Ram. It is deplorable. Exemplary action needed by Gurugram authorities. We are a secular nation where @Javedakhtarjadu (Javed Akhtar) writes “O Palan Haare, Nirgun aur Nyaare” and Rakeysh Om Mehra gave us the song “Arziyan” in Delhi 6.”

The MP was hounded for skipping a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development on air pollution in the National Capital Region. He skipped the meeting for attending cricket studio meets in Indore for commentary in an India-Bangladesh match. His absence drew a lot of flak from the AAP, which put up posters which said the MP was “missing” and was “last seen eating jalebis in Indore”. To this too, Gambhir sent out a very arrogant and defeatist reply, “If my eating jalebi led to the rise in pollution in the national capital then will stop eating jalebis forever. The work that I have done in my five months of tenure as an MP of Delhi is proof of my seriousness for the issue of pollution.” This partly did not make sense and partly reflected his ineptitude in countering political challenges.

It can suffice to say that Gautam Gambhir has worked more towards the detriment of the party and its politics than for its betterment. He has an apologetic, fact-free approach to his politics, dragging many along with him and hence we say that he brings no real political capital with him. The man won his East Delhi constituency in 2019 solely riding on the national phenomenon called Narendra Modi wave. Apart from perhaps being one of the few celebrity MPs who do not have a dismal parliamentary attendance, Gambhir, as a parliamentarian has till now not made his presence known. There has not been one strong and fiery speech by him which would befit a BJP MP. Instead, his energies are concentrated on attempting to be perceived as a secular when no such certificates are needed. If Gambhir does not initiate a course correction soon, the BJP is not likely to extend him with the courtesy of an East Delhi ticket in 2024. For all we know, Gambhir is proving to be a liability for the saffron party.