PM Modi and his government are quite popular for taking unpredictable decisions. Just where you expect the least, it is only there he will bring down the hammer. While the decisions are nothing short of a surprise, they turn into a tight slap on the face of Modi haters as PM Modi knows how to silence the left-liberal cabal with his actions and not just words.
In a similar move, the Modi government is back with yet another decision that might cause the opposition and liberal cabal to fume. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the president’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha of Ilaiyaraaja and it is indeed a poetic justice. Let’s find out why?
Ilaiyaraaja as Rajya Sabha MP
Ilaiyaraaja has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The music maestro and well-known composer Ilaiyaraaja hails from Tamil Nadu.
Apart from him, screenwriter and director V. Vijayendra Prasad, veteran athlete P.T. Usha and philanthropist Veerendra Heggade also have been nominated.
With such a decision, the Narendra Modi government has shot multiple birds with one stone. PM Modi, in a tweet, stated, “The creative genius of @ilaiyaraaja Ji has enthralled people across generations. His works beautifully reflect many emotions. What is equally inspiring is his life journey- he rose from a humble background and achieved so much. Glad that he has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.”
The creative genius of @ilaiyaraaja Ji has enthralled people across generations. His works beautifully reflect many emotions. What is equally inspiring is his life journey- he rose from a humble background and achieved so much. Glad that he has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/VH6wedLByC
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2022
Impact of Ilaiyaraaja’s nomination on BJP vote bank
Now, why Ilaiyaraaja’s nomination is being seen as a prominent decision? What is the hidden agenda of the BJP behind his nomination? Well, there are not one, not two but three reasons behind his induction as Rajya Sabha MP.
You might be shocked to know that it took 70 years for the Union government to nominate a Scheduled Caste artiste for the Rajya Sabha. Only PM Narendra Modi has been able to nominate a Dalit artiste to the Rajya Sabha. It is because he does not belong to the traditional power elite and knows what it actually takes to be a good leader.
Moreover, the BJP has always been projected as the party of the elite class which doesn’t include Dalit members. The Modi government, thus, worked to refurbish its image and brought the concept of ‘People’s Padma’, where many unsung heroes got this award.
Read more: Ilaiyaraaja belittled and Padma Awards mocked by Media!
The government claims that “stress was laid on identifying those amongst women, weaker sections of the society, SCs & STs, divyang persons and persons doing selfless service to the society.”
Similarly, the BJP also sent a decent number of SC, ST, and OBCs to the Rajya Sabha on its tickets. This year, the BJP’s list of Rajya Sabha candidates proves that the BJP is working hard.
Behind the move to induct Ilaiyaraaja as Rajya Sabha MP also lies PM Modi’s strategy to widen the BJP’s political base in the south. Tamil Nadu and Kerala have always remained a challenge for the BJP as it was termed as a party of the ‘Hindi Heartland’. But, since the Modi-Shah duo took over the helm of party affairs, it is slowly expanding to the Eastern, Northeastern, and Southern parts of the country.
It is imperative to note that BJP, for the first time, in the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, ended a more than decade-long wait to have its leaders in the Assembly.
Coming to the third reason, the government is trying to make art and cultural spaces inclusive. This was witnessed in the Padma Awards also when tribal artists Durga Bai Vyam and Sakini Ramachandraya were awarded this year in March.
When Ilaiyaraaja was targeted for praising PM Modi
A controversy broke out in April this year when Ilaiyaraaja compared PM Modi with BR Ambedkar in a write-up published as an introduction to a book titled “Ambedkar & Modi — Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementations.”
“Both these striking personalities succeeded against odds that people from socially disempowered sections of the society face. Both saw poverty and stifling social structures from close quarters and worked to dismantle them, but both are also practical men who believe in action rather than mere thought exercises,” the music great wrote.
The praise for PM Modi appeared made many critics speculate that any recognition from Delhi coming Ilaiyaraaja’s way. Despite being a supporter of communist members, he has always been praising BJP and PM Modi.
During his career, he has created around 7,000 songs in numerous Indian languages as a composer, vocalist, lyricist and instrumentalist. He is also Asia’s first symphony writer. In 1988, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi officially honoured him with the title “Isaignani”.
Ilaiyaraaja is a respectful artist who can help the BJP strengthen its political base in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, it can help the party get over the image of the party of the elite class. His induction will only bring positive consequences with itself and thus, it is indeed a poetic justice.
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