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Congress brings back Soft Hindutva

Ullas
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Congress brings back Soft Hindutva

Many intellectuals had analyzed that one of the main reason for PM Modi’s win in 2014 was due to the Hindutva factor. They may well be correct. Rather, they assume that they are correct. Because, if other factors are analysed, it is difficult for the Congress or its partners to initiate corrective measures. With the Uttar Pradesh elections on the horizon, it seems that the Congress has bought this argument fed to them by these intellectuals.

So, project “soft hindutva” is back on track – lest, Congress will end up fighting for the minority votes and being one of the many parties vying for the same. Congress is no stranger to Soft-Hindutva. In fact, Congress was the first party to ban cow slaughter in 1955. It is a different matter altogether that they are now busy appeasing the minority vote-bank.

Here are some of the decisions taken recently by the Congress, that incontrovertibly proves that they are bringing back Soft-Hindutva.

Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kedarnath Shrine
To be fair to Congress, Rahul had diagnosed the vote erosion among the electorate before Prashant Kishore joined him. It is no coincidence that Rahul undertook a yatra to Kedarnath Shrine on foot in 2015. No wonder he felt a “fire-like” energy when he visited the temple. His quote: “Aam taur par Mandir mein jata hun to mangata nahin hun. Main andar gaya, aag jaisi shakti mili“. Having seen Rahul on TV over the years, I am pretty sure he could not come up with this. Well, the first steps towards “soft hindutva” were taken. This also is a marked departure from his statement in 2014 saying: people who go to temples, molest women.

“Brahmin” Sheila Dixit’s anointment as UP CM candidate
A beneficiary of the 2014 election results was one Prashant Kishore. His words are now sacrosanct in the Congress. So, now the perennially minority appeasing Congress, has been convinced to name a Brahmin daughter-in-law – Sheila Dixit – as it’s CM candidate. The key word: Brahmin. If UP still votes on religion/caste basis, BJP must expect some erosion of its votes.

No pundit worth his salt, gives a chance for Congress to win UP elections. This means Mrs Dixit will not be the next UP CM, come hell or high water. The arithmetic is simple. SP retains the Muslim-Yadav combine. BSP gets its share of Dalit votes. The remaining Hindu-OBC-Dalit Modi coalition needs to be broken, so that another Mahagathbandhan can be formed, on the lines of Bihar model. Meanwhile, enjoy the silence of liberal intellectuals, who do not question Congress on why a muslim or dalit was not named a CM candidate by Congress.

For now, BJP seems to be obliging the strategy by neither naming a CM candidate nor talking decisively on the Ram Mandir issue. With the recent verbal diarrhoea between BJP and BSP leaders and workers, chances of a post-poll coalition between these parties also appears slim. So, unless Amit Shah smells the tea leaves, get ready for Maya-Akhilesh-Rahul coalition.

Raking up Dalit issues
It must be said that the atrocities on Dalits need to be condemned, without reservation.

PM Modi has diligently worked towards the dalit cause since he assumed office. Be it the #StandUpIndia initiative or his participation in the DICCI (Dalit Industrial Chambers of Commerce and Industry) event or the MUDRA scheme or the buying of the house where Ambedkar stayed in London for Rs 40Cr. He has been relentless. OpIndia’s related piece on Dalit politics can be read here.

In the recent months, atrocities on Dalits is getting lot of mainstream media coverage. However, the nuance isn’t lost among the voters. There is a definite plan to divide the Hindu-Dalit-OBC coalition that Modi built during 2014. Raking up every dalit issue in the parliament and linking it with the central government has become a trend. Also, some of the comments from the political parties have explicitly tried to blame Hindutva (and/or RSS) as the perpetrators of the crimes against Dalits. Update: Investigations are still ongoing, much like they were on going during the peak of the “Christians under attack” routine, which was later exposed.

Recent incident at Una in Gujarat is another notable marker. Who is backing them against the BJP? Of course, one of Congress’ primary vote-bank –  Jamiat-e-Ulema-Hind. Of course, the abetters in the media are happy to play along.

Sonia’s visit to Varanasi
One thing I will ever be thankful to Modi was, breaking the unwritten code or Omerta of not campaigning in other party’s bigwigs’ constituencies, by going to Amethi. That he did not campaign in Rae Bareli still hurts. Nevertheless, now we have Sonia visiting Varanasi. Before she cut short her trip due to illness, she was planning to visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple for the Aarti. This alone calls for a “Har-Har-Mahadev”. Who says Achche Din aren’t here?

I am pretty sure, a has-been anchor who desperately lobbies for an opportunity to be invited on Newshour debates on Times Now, would not have requested Sonia to visit the Gyanvapi Mosque. After all, mission “soft hindutva” cannot be polluted with small things like secularism.


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For 10 years of UPA rule, and for period long before, Iftar parties were the norm at Lutyens. No one accounted for how the taxpayers money was wasted on such social gatherings. In 2016, for the first time, UP Congress did not organize its own Iftar party for its primary vote bank. Sonia too did her bit by not hosting one in Delhi – apparently, she remembered the poor to whom the ration was distributed. Did someone say “soft hindutva”?

All you need to know about GST

Gaurav
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Inception

It all started in the year 2000 when then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee set up a committee which was mandated with facilitating the states to switch from sales tax to the value-added tax (VAT) regime. On April 1, 2005, state-level VAT replaced sales tax in many states. Subsequently, the committee was mandated with facilitating states to switch to Goods & Service Tax (GST), in consultation with the Centre. GST works on the exact same principles as VAT, hence in many countries it is in fact called VAT. Under the UPA, successive finance ministers promised GST in successive years, with the deadline being extended year on year without any headway.

Why the delay for so many years?

GST is a tax which subsumes many state and central taxes. In effect, it reduces the power of states to tax their citizens. Hence it was essential that all the states and the centre were on the same page at every stage of the GST Act. This did not happen during the UPA rule. Expectedly, states were worried that they would lose a big pie of their revenue by getting into GST.

Even till the fag end of 2013, nearing the end of UPA’s tenure, along with BJP states, few Congress states and few other states with Non-Congress Non-BJP Governments, were opposed to certain provisions in the UPA’s version of GST. Till the last discussion of GST under UPA in November 2013, the states had some major demands:

1. Keeping Petroleum out of GST ambit
2. Keeping Alcohol out of GST ambit
3. Keeping Entry Tax out of GST ambit
4. Some sort of guarantee from Centre for potential revenue loss

The UPA could not negotiate with the states on the above demands and hence even after being 10 years in power, GST could not be brought under the UPA rule.

What changed?

The new BJP Government was desperate to get GST rolled out as soon as possible. So, it decided to accept some of the states demands, and give them some comfort, so that they can agree with the centre at other places. Out of the above 4 demands, 3 were accepted, and a bonus benefit was passed on to the state:

1. Petroleum was kept out of GST
2. Alcohol was kept out of GST
3. A proposal was sent to law ministry to work out a “Constitutional Guarantee” to compensate states
4. And the Bonus: The power to states of levying additional 1% tax levy, for maximum 2 years, to help augment state revenues

In exchange for this, the Centre convinced the states to allow Entry Tax to be subsumed into the GST ambit. All this was achieved some time in late 2014, barely 6 months into the tenure of the new Government.

Why the delay now?

With the states on board, the GST bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, where BJP had an absolute majority, in May 2015 itself. At that stage Congress walked out of the house before voting, demanding that the Bill be sent to the standing committee.

Later, although Congress states were on board, the Central leaders of Congress came up with new demands for GST, among which were the demand to scrap the additional 1% tax levy, and to peg the GST rate at 18%, that too in the Constitution Amendment Bill. Next, the bill had to be passed by a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP did not have the numbers.

What has changed now?

For one, the composition of the Rajya Sabha has slightly changed, with BJP having more seats than before. Further, on negotiations with states, it seems the Centre has accepted some of Congress’s demands. It is expected that the 1% additional levy will go, but the 18% cap in the bill itself may not be accepted. Despite this, it appears Congress will back GST.

Why is BJP hurrying with GST so much?

Right from day one, the new BJP Government has shown a lot of intent in getting GST cleared as soon as possible. There maybe 2 reasons for this. GST will be the biggest Indirect Tax Reform since Independence. With so many taxes getting subsumed, doing business in India will become easier. The Government has set itself extremely ambitious targets of moving up in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Rankings, and GST is expected to help in that direction.

Secondly, although GST will bring a lot of cheer for organised industries, it will, in the short run, be a disruptor for the unorganised sector. The GST implementation mechanism is largely network and computer based, and is targetted at minimising tax evasion. This will have a direct impact on all the traders and businessmen who have been avoiding taxes by hook or by crook. Bringing this section into the tax net will definitely harm the political support being received from them, and BJP is traditionally seen as being backed by traders and businessmen. Hence, it would make sense to get GST rolled out much before the 2019 Lok Sabha, so that whatever negativity arising from it, is diluted.

What will change under GST?

Think of it as a super-all-inclusive tax, which will eliminate most other Indirect taxes. Its aim is to standardise taxation across the country and remove cascading effect of taxes i.e. Tax on tax egs: VAT is charged on Excise too. GST is already in place in over 160 countries world wide, so India is late to the party. Experts say, GST could increase GDP by 1-2% and reduce costs of inputs by around 10%.

Untitled
taxes to be subsumed

With this, compliance will ease out, free flow of goods over state boundaries will increase. Credits for inputs will be more easily available, paving the way for reduction in costs. A common national market will emerge, where in less developed, but consumer driven states will benefit. Make in India will get a huge push, as also Ease of Doing Business.

So are we set? All is well?

Legally, we still have to wait for the Rajya Sabha to pass the GST Constitution  Amendment Bill, and at least half of the state assemblies will have to pass for the Constitution Amendments. The model GST Act will have to be finalised, along with the allied laws and rules.  Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have to pass the GST Bill (which is not the same as Constitution Amendment Bill) and the states have to pass their own GST bills. All of this needs to be done before April 2017 if we are looking at 1st April 2017 as the date for roll-out.

Successful implementation of GST will almost entirely depend on a robust IT system. As per reports, the IT network is ready and undergoing testing. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and we will have to see how one single system can take the load of assessees from Excise, Service Tax, Sales Tax etc.

The current GST is an improvement over the current scenario but it is not perfect. We still wont see a 100% free flow of credits due to the Dual-GST structure. Further, all goods need to be brought under GST, to reap full benefits, and one expects that after GST rolls out and stabilises, states will agree to bring in goods like Alcohol and Petrol.

The biggest question is obviously the rate of GST. While an average manufacturer pays a combined rate of 25-27% on goods, a Service provider pays only 15%, which itself seems high. Getting the rate right would be crucial, to avoid loss of revenue, as well as to avoid burden on consumers. Whatever the rate might be, there will be different rates for different classes of goods and services, hence the impact will be spread out:

1. Merit rate for essential goods and services
2. Standard rate for goods and services in general
3. Special rate for precious metals
4. NIL rate for certain goods and services
5. Floor rate with a small band of rates for standard rated goods or services

In the end, we must realise that although GST is a huge reform, the current version is an incremental reform, which shows us the path to the ultimate destination of having a perfect GST. It is hard to say whether Indian can achieve a perfect GST, given the inherent complexities of our structure, but going forward we must hope that we move closer and closer to the target.

New narrative is being shaped up as Uttar Pradesh elections are nearing

Prashant
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New narrative is being shaped up as Uttar Pradesh elections are nearing

Ray Bradbury, the famous American novelist, once said “I was not predicting the future, I was trying to prevent it”. Closer to home in India, driven by the hate for the man who broke Delhi’s Omerta code, media shops have taken this Bradbury maxim quite literally.

Traumatized with Modi’s astounding victory in the 2014 general elections and wounded further by the assembly results in Maharashtra and Haryana, where BJP tasted unprecedented success propelled by Modi Tsunami, media shops learned a key lesson nonetheless. The lesson was that if BJP was allowed to set the agenda (usually a potent mix of development and cultural nationalism) with the main opposition merely either trying to catch up or negate it, BJP will be unassailable. The media shops quickly recognised that an  agenda like this transcends all socio-economic barriers, appealing to a  much wider voter base. More importantly, it transforms the profile of a voter. A caste conscious voter becomes an aspirational voter.  Such a change causes a wide disruption on a predictable political canvass since pressure groups, nurtured for years by establishment forces to control social bases, cannot deliver anymore. They do not have the answers  sought by this new voter base looking beyond their immediate identity. A simple idea when associated with a doer like Narendra Modi could yield rich dividends.

Having decoded the success of BJP, the media shops along with their masters and sympathisers converged to devise strategies to arrest this growing tide of BJP.  Consequently, they concluded that the following must be done a) find ways to dismember the BJP´s new avatar as a development party, pinning it back as a Hindu party b) instead of viewing BJP´s victory as one big behemoth event, break it down to the incremental voters it added in the 2014 election in each state and try to wean them away c) change the political narrative for egs. development, clean government, etc where the BJP has somewhat good track record to showcase and replace it with a narrative where the BJP could be targeted much more easily d) strike like a guerrilla i.e. swoop down from all sides and then disappear quickly, leaving the BJP puzzled whom to respond.

The benefits of this strategy were obvious; if implemented correctly, this could arrest the tectonic but so far only temporal shift of voters from identity based to development based politics, sap the BJP’s positive momentum generated by victory in 2014 and help escape the wrath of government in any one particular direction enabling them to live to fight another day (read election).

First it started with Delhi, petty news of theft in Churches were given wide coverage, creating a perception that Christians are under siege in the National capital. In no time, a non issue became a matter of life and death in the TV studios of media shops for every secularist worth his/her salt –  in a classical case of agenda setting. Overnight, BJP was bracketed as a communal party for no rhyme or reason. A political “hawa” was created by journalists, some of whom who were recently exposed, by fanning fires over Ghar Wapsi which involved a bunch of fanatics who had nothing to do with the BJP whatsoever. Result? A strong consolidation of minorities, particularly Muslims and Sikhs behind AAP. The entire narrative was shifted largely from development to secularism and somewhat to AAP´s freebies, whose morality in a free economy and need basis in a reasonably wealthy state like Delhi escaped any scrutiny. Moreover, media shops completely suppressed the massive infighting going in AAP (which came to fore almost immediately after the Delhi elections) in order to not weaken the crusader of their choice i.e Kejriwal. 

The strategy succeeded with AAP getting a massive mandate and media shops, their sweet revenge. The liberal troops were ordered back to barracks and no one heard a whimper over attacks on Christians thereafter. Suddenly, everyone was safe under the same dispensation and same police.

Predictably, the Delhi results emboldened the media shops and the next stage was set in Bihar. Earlier during the general elections, the BJP had made big strides in Bihar owing to the incremental vote from a large section of EBC as well Yadav voters i.e traditional voters of Nitish and Lalu. If Bihar was to be redeemed, then this vote base must be snatched back from the BJP. Therefore, as the Bihar elections approached besides usual secular rhetoric over Dadri beef tragedy and Award Wapsi, a narrative was spun portraying the BJP as anti-poor and anti-reservation. Media shops cleverly primed the voters by fronting Lalu as a champion of the downtrodden while projecting Nitish as the face of development pandering to the urban voters. One obscure statement after the other from Lalu and people close to him about how BJP was planning to get rid of reservations was pitched systematically as the election campaign proceeded, lending a sense of credibility to this utter falsehood.

BJP was found licking its wound and by the time it could get itself sorted out, the narrative has already changed from Vikaaswaad to Jaatiwaad. It was left defending reservation on one hand and disowning Dadri incident on the other. Consequence? Incremental voters that came with NDA forces during 2014 deserted it and along with Muslims, consolidated behind Lalu and Nitish, who were effectively projected as their messiahs.

The world has neither heard a whisper ever since about BJP´s plan to get rid of reservation nor about the Award Wapsi gang, who seem to be happy again with how things are in India, that is until the next elections. Perception won, reality lost.

Two out of two, media shops have now trained their eyes now on Uttar Pradesh. The strategy has been activated; scare away the incremental voters i.e. Dalits, change the narrative and frustrate BJP´s plans to build a grand coalition of castes and ability to set UP´s election agenda. When the time is ripe, other forces will be unleashed too. We should just get prepared for a huge propaganda onslaught.

Indeed, when every report becomes report worthy just because media shops can bring in the Dalit identity, then make no mistake that elections in UP are just round the corner!

Anti-Modi cop Sanjiv Bhatt caught spreading Anti-India propaganda on Twitter

OpIndia Staff
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Anti-Modi cop Sanjiv Bhatt caught spreading Anti-India propaganda on Twitter

Sanjiv Bhatt, the controversial IPS officer of Gujarat who made damaging but untenable accusations against the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, is now reduced to making damaging and downright false allegations against the security forces in Kashmir.

On Sunday, Bhatt tweeted the following picture from Kashmir claiming that it showed a local child aiming a slingshot to attack a policeman:

Screenshot of the tweet that Sanjiv Bhatt posted at 8:17 PM on 31 Jul 2016
Screenshot of the tweet that Sanjiv Bhatt posted at 8:17 PM on 31 Jul 2016

The picture was soon shared by thousands of people, many of them being Pakistanis, who showcased it as a “proof” of how India was illegally “occupying” Kashmir and that even a child hated the Indian security forces.

The picture was remarkably similar to many other viral images that often show a Palestinian child at odds with Israeli soldiers, and thus it was a goldmine for propagandists who equate India with Israel and exhort people to join Jihad against India.

And such propaganda was enabled by Sanjiv Bhatt because he made a sinister and false claim about the picture. It painted the Indian security forces as heartless beasts who are hated even by a child.

Within a couple of hours of the discredited cop posting the picture, many Twitter users pointed out that he was spreading false information, because the child was not aiming at the policemen, but playing with them:


Another picture of the same child smiling and sitting at ease behind a policeman can be seen here.

So a playful gesture from a Kashmiri child was presented as proof of state failure by Sanjiv Bhatt. What was more shocking is that despite his lie being called out, Bhatt didn’t bother to delete his tweet, which continued to be shared by anti-India propagandists.

Realizing that it could hurt India’s image, senior journalist and editor of ANI news agency Smita Prakash earlier today asked Sanjiv Bhatt to delete his tweet:


The suspended police officer had not removed the picture or tweeted any clarification till the time of filing this report. The tragedy is that even if he were to delete his tweet now – more than 24 hours after he posted it – the picture has now been spread at many places by miscreants to be used for anti-India and anti-Army propaganda.

Looks like Hafiz Saeed will next praise Sanjiv Bhatt for his “good work”.

Meenakshi Lekhi, BJP supporters and how not to react on social media

Editorial Desk
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Meenakshi Lekhi, BJP supporters and how not to react on social media

A few days back, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, lost her cool on Twitter. No, it was not due to some Congress trolls abusing her. Nor was it because some media house had published a hit-job on her. It was because a few BJP supporters questioned her.

It all started when the MP posted this picture from her Twitter account:


It was obviously a matter of pride and honour to be called as a guest at a function organised by our ex-army men. But there was one thing, or rather one person in the picture which perturbed her fans. Controversial journalist from NDTV, Barkha Dutt was also present in the pictures.

Besides beingone of the reasons for lowering Indian media’s credibility, Barkha Dutt was in the crosshairs of many nationalists because of her latest sympathetic utterances towards slayed terrorist Burhan Wani. This was further heightened after Arnab Goswami mercilessly exposed her, without of course naming her. To add this, such a  personality coming to a function related to the armed forces was the last straw. In such a situation many people felt that Lekhi’s presence along with Barkha was untenable.

The natural, and initial assumption of social media users was that it was a program organised by MP Lekhi or the BJP, in which Barkha too was invited. This led to a barrage of tweets questioning Lekhi as to why she was giving importance to such a persona-non-grata at such an event. Some of the messages could have also been insulting to the MP.

Lekhi’s response to the outrage was astonishing. She started off by calling one of her party’s supporters an “idiot”. Another self avowed BJP voter was called a “Kejri supporter”. Then she proceeded to retweet troll tweets, such as images of PM Modi with Barkha and other unwanted people. Some people were called “lobbyists”. Another was likened to Ravana.

In all of the above, the main point, which was also stated, got completely drowned out. The event was apparently not organised by the MP. It was an event of South MCD, the elected councillor of the area was a Congressman and the area was part of Lekhi’s constituency. The MP did clarify this at multiple points, but these clarifications were interspersed with her rude replies to tweets, some of which may have been rude themselves.

Both sides erred in this episode. Social media supporters of BJP and Lekhi erred, in assuming that it was a BJP event. It was a natural misunderstanding which could have been resolved calmly and peacefully. The MP could have abstained from making abusive tweets and stuck to the point: Barkha was not invited by her. An MP should not abuse any person, especially not your own supporters.

Elected representatives to the Lok Sabha, and especially first-timers, should realise that they owe a large part, if not all, of their electoral success to the Modi wave. A large section of voters would have voted for them, just because they wanted to see Modi as the PM. Hence, taking such supporters for granted is a very bad idea.  Secondly, they must realise, BJP owes a large share of its success to its online supporters, especially on Twitter. Twitter may not have as many active users as Facebook, but this is where all memes originate, all jokes start, which target politicians, which mock leaders, which eventually percolate to whatsapp groups and email  chains. Antagonising your strength when a quiet word can do much better is harakiri.

Politicians must also realise it is far better to be surrounded by alert and frank supporters, rather than true-blue yes-men “Bhakts”. Finally, it is the supporters who make a politician and it is always good to have people who will call a spade a spade. What one must adjust to is tolerating the sometimes offensive tone and tenor, instead trying to find the message, and analysing whether it is relevant.

After Lekhi went off track, so did some over-enthusiastic supporters. One cannot expect that an MP will boycott a program with her voters just because one media person who is at loggerheads with her support base is present at the venue.

Social media supporters also must realise the predicament elected leaders, especially spokespersons are in. Social media users expect that some controversial journalists and their channels be boycotted. But it is not as simple. If this criteria is used, 80-90% of media houses would have to be boycotted. The result would be the party would be unrepresented at debates and there would be no one to counter the propaganda. Until and unless there are enough media houses and channels on the other side as well, it is a must that BJP leaders and spokesperson grace such channels and put forth their views.

Also, saying that leaders should individually snub media houses or persons is easier said than done. Media and politicians have an odd relationship. They are often at loggerheads on many issues, yet politicians depend on the media to get adequate publicity. Hence, they always have to strike a fine balance in being tough, yet not adversarial with media persons. Further, if they do get into fights with media persons, then they are inviting even more negative press for themselves and their party. This is the harsh reality which one must understand.

In sum total, while one can fault a section of social media users for unnecessary outrage, they cant be taken to task because at the end of they day they are not honourable MPs elected to the Parliament. An MP on the other hand must understand how to handle such tough situations with tact and patience, instead of making enemies out of friends.

P.S.: On a side note, these category of supporters who question their own leaders are also hilariously tagged as “Bhakts” by leftists.

Media indulges in malicious reporting of Parrikar’s speech on Aamir Khan

Gaurav
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Media indulges in malicious reporting of Parrikar’s speech on Aamir Khan

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was recently in Pune, for the release of the Marathi version of a book written by journalist-author Nitin Gokhale on Siachen. At the function, Parrikar gave a speech, which became the talking point for media houses

Most media reports claimed Parrikar blasted Aamir Khan for unpatriotic comments:

Parrikar blasts actor Aamir Khan for ‘unpatriotic’ comments last year

Parrikar says Aamir Khan’s remark ‘arrogant’

Manohar Parrikar Rakes Up Aamir Khan’s Controversial Remark, Dubs It ‘Arrogant’

Indian Express had a markedly different headline:

Parrikar takes swipe at actor (Aamir): those who speak like this must be taught lesson

The Indian Express claimed Parrikar said:

…anyone speaking against the country must be “taught a lesson” in the same way that an “actor” and an “online trading company” were taught.

“Some of our people are very smart, I know. There was a team which was working on this. They were telling people you order and return it… The company should learn a lesson, they had to pull his advertisement”

Some leftists journalist quickly latched on to the juicy parts to create a narrative. An abusive journalist tweeted this:


A journalist formerly with India Today used the quotes from the Indian Express story:


Sagarika Ghose too harped on the words “Our Team”


So did Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar really say this? The video of that portion of the speech is out for all to see, and it is clear as daylight. A transcript of that part is presented below:

How does someone dare to talk about ill of this country, wrong about Bharat Mata. I am not referring to Srinagar (incident), I am talking about Delhi (incident). How does anyone have guts to speak against the nation? How does he have the courage to speak like this? I am not talking about any university any organisation (audience laughs and claps). When anyone speaks like this, he has to be taught a lesson of his life. And people have done that, with people power…

One actor did this mistake, saying that his wife wants to go abroad and stay there, (audience laughs) It was an arrogant statement, However poor my family is, or however small my house is, I have to love my house and always aim to make a big bungalow out of it, through a right procedure. But you can’t feel ashamed of yourself.

Some things we take it the public in a wrong manner. I remember a story, once a boy was going to school. How, we sometimes (unclear) wrong things. How we have to often correct these things at home only.

When this actor did this, the company for which he was advertising, was an online trading company. Many people broke relations with that their company. Many people quit from the lease, and some over smart people ordered goods and sent them back. There was a team, which I know, which was working on this. They were telling people you order and return it, this company should learn a lesson. That to pull out his advertisement.

Nowhere in this portion of the speech does Parrikar say “our people”. He only says that many people used a legal means of boycotting an organisation, and that he knew of a team of people who was also working on this. Even the organiser of the event tweeted saying that he never heard Parrikar say “our people”:


This completely goes against the narrative created by some media houses and some leftist journalists that BJP’s or Parrikar’s “own people” were behind the Snapdeal movement. This also reveals that most media houses did not even report that Parrikar spoke about the Delhi sloganeering as well as Aamir Khan, and hence not all his comments were attributed to Aamir Khan.

Hence, it may even be argued by some that the “taught a lesson” comment, was a sly reference to JNU, which he comically tried to deny. In fact, this was the exact interpretation of NDTV itself:

According to Mr Parrikar, when the actor made the statement last year, many people had protested against his remark and even uninstalled the mobile application of an online shopping site he was associated with, while the firm had also pulled out the advertisement featuring him.

In an oblique reference to the alleged anti-national sloganeering at JNU earlier this year, Mr Parrikar said those who speak against the nation need to be taught a lesson by people of this country.

The main question then to ask his, from where did the Indian Express report cook up the lines “our people”, which in turn led many to believe that BJP or the Defence Minister had spear headed this campaign, and thus, had the tacit or otherwise endorsement of BJP of the Defence Minister. Was there some other bit of the video which is yet unreleased? Or was this a figment of the Indian Express’s imagination, since no other media reported the “our people” line?

After Arnab’s veiled attack, a desperate Barkha begs and fights for support online

OpIndia Staff
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After Arnab’s veiled attack, a desperate Barkha begs and fights for support online

Just a few days back, in his customary fashion of being loud and over the top, Arnab Goswami launched a monologue against a set of “pseudo-liberals”. He did not name anyone, but asked questions of those “who have been trying to echo the Pakistani line, in the guise of backing Kashmiris”, those “who are using the killing of a terrorist, trying to project Burhan Wani, as an innocent son of an headmaster”, those “who give away operational details, of the movement, the logistical details of the armed forces when they are taking on terrorists”, those “who backed those who chanted Bharat ki Barbaadi in JNU”.

Barkha Dutt of NDTV ticked all the boxes and the informed viewers of Arnab’s show would have guessed the target. Barkha’s initial response came as a desperate spin, claiming that Arnab had asked for media to be “gagged”:


It took time, but people from her own fraternity and others began calling out her bluff:


Barkha tried to shift the goal-post but was caught again:


Eventually, though, Barkha was caught in her own trap. She admitted that the closest thing Arnab had said to “gagging the press”, was last year, when he had asked for censorship of Leslee Udwin’s documentary.


So, is Arnab’s alleged call for censoring a documentary equal to a call for gagging the media? This was Barkha Dutt’s first claim when she sparked off the controversy:


By that logic, did Barkha Dutt also indulge in “gagging” of the social media, when she sued a blogger Chaitanya Kunte, forced him to shut shop and disappear? Further, if the call for “gagging the media” was made last year, why did Barkha Dutt suddenly get so perturbed? Is it to deflect attention from Hafiz Saeed’s endorsement?

Or is she afraid of a “trial”? Why would an honest journalist be afraid of a trial by a judicial process, in her own country? Unless the said journalist is not honest, or doesn’t trust the judiciary…

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Barkha Dutt also claimed that she “didn’t give a toss” for Arnab’s opinion. Ironically this was claimed in a verbose Facebook post. But as we see now, Barkha did indeed get deeply affected by Arnab’s barbs.

Since then, Barkha has over 50 tweets dedicated to this issue, a blog on NDTV, and incessant re-plugging of the her Facebook and blog posts. And inspite of all this, it appears Barkha wants more support. She has now feuded with many journalists, in public, on social media, asking for more support.

First, she pontificated to CNN IBN anchor Bhupendra Chaubey, on how she expected him to cover her spat with Arnab, and how she expected his support:

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Then Barkha had a fight with ANI News editor Smita Prakash. While Prakash was trying to argue that the debate on Chaubey’s show was tilted towards Barkha, Barkha had a problem that there was even a debate! She expected complete and utter support!


So the great host of the great debate show “The Buck Stops Here”, does not even want a debate on her acts. Barkha in fact hadn’t even seen the concerned show and yet was hyper-ventilating online:


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Next she moved on to Rajdeep Sardesai. She hinted that by choosing to remain silent, Rajdeep was complicit in the attacks on her. Rajdeep had written a post on this issue, titled: “Why I will not speak on the Arnab-Barkha ‘war'”

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Rajdeep claimed that even without saying much, he had said a lot, but Barkha did not seem pleased:


Even non-journalists, were not spared by Barkha. Chetan Bhagat committed the great sin of asking whether he could like Arnab and Barkha both, but of course Barkha arm-twisted him into choosing her.


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This is the same Barkha Dutt, who accuses Right Wing leaders of summoning “twitter armies” whenever there is an argument, when in fact it is mostly ordinary user jumping in using their own free will. While, Barkha is admonishing, sermonising and egging other journalists to come and support her unequivocally, just because she thinks she is right.

Even as we report this, Barkha Dutt is still fixated on this issue, inspite of proclaiming that “she doesn’t give a toss” for Arnab. Clearly, Arnab Goswami has become one of the few journalists to break the code of Omerta, of silence, when it comes to questioning those within the media. And on this occasion, even without naming Barkha Dutt, he has managed to disturb her to an extent that she has been reduced to publicly fighting and begging for support from those within her fraternity.

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Why Barkha Dutt is attacking Arnab Goswami? The reasons go beyond TRPs

Rahul Roushan
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Why Barkha Dutt is attacking Arnab Goswami? The reasons go beyond TRPs

Controversial television journalist Barkha Dutt is on a mission these days. The Consulting Editor of NDTV, whose conversations with corporate and political lobbyist Niira Radia were leaked in 2010, is lobbying with fellow journalists to bring down Arnab Goswami, the always angry Editor-in-Chief of Times Now.

While one may think that it’s the TRPs – the metric to measure how popular a TV channel or a news show is – that is driving this jealousy as Arnab has garnered all TRPs, the reasons go much beyond that.

A sequence of events has led to the current hysterical state of Barkha Dutt, starting with the Indian Army killing Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani in Kashmir. The immediate reaction of Barkha to this big news was this:


This tweet itself brought criticism to Barkha as people pointed out that not only she skipped the word “terrorist” to define Burhan (instead calling him ‘commander’, as if he held some legitimate post), but painted him as a guy whose father was someone indulged in noble job of teaching and whose primary interest and involvement was within social media.

Deliberately or inadvertently, Barkha appeared to have indulged in harmful distortion. It was soon discovered that Burhan’s father was no ordinary school headmaster, but someone who held jihadist views. While Burhan’s activities went beyond social media and he played active role in many killings and threatened to carry out terror attacks.

Following Burhan’s killing, there were violent protests in Kashmir by separatists against security forces, and there were casualties on both sides. Once again, many felt that Barkha Dutt was soft on separatists in her reporting from the ground zero.

Barkha was, however, almost unperturbed by these criticisms. Until Hafiz Saeed spoke. In a TV interview, the mastermind of Mumbai Terror Attacks thanked Barkha Dutt and Congress leaders for their “good work” in Kashmir.

A note of thanks and recognition from a terrorist is the last thing someone would want. Also, what comprises “good work” in the scheme of things of a terrorist is a further troublesome idea. Barkha knew that this was something she needed to get off from her back.

And she found an alibi in Arnab.

Arnab didn’t really ask for any gag on media – something Barkha is claiming in her current tirade against him, and thus making it a case of press freedom (and giving cue to others to cry Emergency?). Yes, Arnab did ask some in the media to be exposed, investigated, and tried for their links with those in Pakistan who plot downfall of India.

What’s wrong with that? He didn’t name anyone. And it’s absolutely fair to demand that those in cahoots with the enemies of the nation should be investigated and tried. And if they happen to be in media, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be tried.

Remember that the same Arnab had gone ballistic against a Hindi journalist named Ved Pratap Vaidik, who had met Hafiz Saeed two years ago. Vaidik had claimed that he was a journalist and thus his meeting with Hafiz should be seen in different context, but Arnab was not ready to buy that argument.

So Arnab’s stand on this issue is consistent. He is not willing to give any concessions to anyone claiming to be a journalist as far as hobnobbing with the enemies of the state is concerned. And this time he didn’t really name anyone, but Barkha thought it was about her.

Barkha made it all about her (but under guise of defending press freedom) because she desperately wanted to get the Hafiz Saeed’s endorsement forgotten by the public. And the best way to do was to start a bigger controversy – make big statements like being ashamed of being in the same industry as Arnab Goswami and virtually calling him a “chamcha” (sycophant).

This appears to be working. People are no longer talking about why Hafiz Saeed thinks Barkha Dutt or Congress leaders do “good work” in Kashmir, but now it’s all about “good journalism” that Arnab Goswami is not supposed to be doing.

Apart from taking the focus off Hafiz Saeed’s statement, the attack on Arnab by Barkha and her friends serve another purpose – to show the journalists and media persons about who the real daddy is.

Those broadly subscribing to the left-liberal ideology have had a mafia like control on media for long. Arnab is someone who is not a typical left-liberal. Arnab is no right-winger as well, but he is definitely no Adarsh Liberal. He himself underlines that fact by terming the others as “Lutyens Media”.

And thus someone like Arnab ruling the media scene hurts the other side. They need excuses to attack him and to cut him to size, so that others get the message – if we didn’t leave Arnab, who are you? It is a signal to those in junior and middle level positions in journalism – be with us, or you’d be taught a lesson just like we are teaching Arnab a lesson.

So there won’t be easy end to this battle, as this goes beyond TRPs and personal egos of two former colleagues. Perhaps next in line will be a leaked letter or “sources” based story that many journalists in Times Group have written to the top management complaining about Arnab’s attack on press freedom, and that top management is upset with Arnab, and so on.

The nation wants to know what Arnab has thought about it, and how will he deal with this organized attack on him. Right now it seems that he doesn’t give a toss about it.

Barkha Dutt, you are not a terror sympathiser

Nitin Rivaldo
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Barkha Dutt, you are not a terror sympathiser

Times Now Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami opened a can of worms yesterday. He did not name anyone, but he made his target clear. He was on the aggressive, attacking “pseudo-liberals”, some of whom are within the media. He attacked those “who have been trying to echo the Pakistani line, in the guise of backing Kashmiris”, those “who are using the killing of a terrorist, trying to project Burhan Wani, as an innocent son of an headmaster”, those “who give away operational details, of the movement, the logistical details of the armed forces when they are taking on terrorists”, those “who backed those who chanted Bharat ki Barbaadi in JNU”.

Arnab did not name anyone, but Barkha Dutt, you made it clear that all fo the above applied to you, by reacting the way you did. Not only did your reaction make it clear, that he was targetting you, but on the one hand, you claimed that “you dont give a toss for his opinion” and on the other hand, wrote a lengthy Facebook post, and re-tweeted news stories covering that post through-out the day. Clearly, Barkha, you did give a toss and were deeply affected by Arnab’s attack.


You cry that Arnab has asked for a “gag” on some sections of the media, but all we could see is Arnab asking against people who break laws. Is that a crime?

You bask in the glory of your Facebook post having reached  1 million plus reach, but you fail to answer or acknowledge the comments on your Facebook post, which are from ordinary Indians, not from nameless, faceless trolls. These are the top comments on your post Barkha, and it is time for you to introspect why such comments have so much support from the unwashed masses:

Top Comments on Barkha's post
Top Comments on Barkha’s post

Barkha, you are not a terror sympathiser. You are someone whom terrorists like Hafeez Sayeed sympathise with. Why do you ask? Is it because both of you somehow seem to argue for the same causes, especially when it comes to Kashmir?

You are not an ISI agent. ISI collects information for their own country. You leak hostage locations during 26/11. You leak information for another country! You maintain a stoic silence for years, and then claim “it was a mistake” and try to blame the entire media for committing the same mistake and also put the onus on the Government for not warning you!

You are not a Pro Pakistan dove. You are a dove that will sell every domestic Jihadi as a victim. And blame the victim for his fate. A wanted terrorist of a known terror outfit is the “son of a headmaster” for you. Just look at how you blamed Kashmiri Pandit’s for the genocide. Even Pakistan has a concept of good Taliban & bad Taliban. But for you, every domestic Jihadi is a good Taliban, because in your book he is a victim wronged by us. It’s not Arnab’s comments that have stung you. It’s the endorsement from Hafiz Saeed. You are in the good books of the bad people!

I just wonder if you were reporting about Direct Action day by Jinnah in 1946. How would u have done it:

“What provoked a peaceful, patriot like Jinnah into coming up with two nation theory? Some say it was Gandhi who provoked Jinnah into announcing direct action day by Non-Violence & Fasting. Or was it the Kashmiri Pandit (Nehru) who monopolised all posts leaving Jinnah with no option but the Partition?”

I wonder how would u have covered Sardar Patel’s efforts of unifying India?:

“Why is this Xenophobic, Hyper-nationalistic Sardar Patel sending tanks into Nizam’s Hyderabad? Isn’t Patriotism the last refuge of a scoundrel? Is it not an Indian occupation of Hyderabad? Won’t this create many more Jinnah’s? Won’t this alienate the future generations?”

Be ashamed of the troughs you have fallen to in search of those crests Barkha! I hope I will not be another Chaitanya Kunte for expressing my rage.

Culture of abuse and misogyny in Indian politics: A Reality Check

nehasri
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Culture of abuse and misogyny in Indian politics: A Reality Check

It is no secret that a culture of verbal abuse and misogyny prevails in Indian politics, rather shamelessly so. We, the voters, have learnt to live with it.Women from across the political spectrum are subjected to the crass misogyny that passes for discourse in Indian politics, from Mamata Banerjee to Smriti Irani, there is hardly a woman politician who hasn’t been targeted.

For some, its overt, in the form of public abuse by other leaders, mostly opposition but sometimes even from their own party, while for others, its covert, in the form of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances and sometimes even requests for sexual favours. If you are a woman who wants a career in politics, you have to deal with this, is the underlying message. Of course women aren’t the only targets and men are subjected to verbal abuse as well. If one was to receive a paisa for every abuse hurled their way, I suspect PM Narendra Modi would be the richest man in the world, but lets not digress.

In the recent past, two prominent cases of sexist verbal abuse in Indian politics have come to light. First was, Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani being subjected to everything from vulgar innuendos by Assam Congress leader to plain-old-sexist/body-shaming statements by journalists and media houses [Telegraph editorial headlines (1 and 2), controversial journalist known for her sexism in the Twitterverse, Rajyasree’s new low] Second incident was the shameful comment by UP BJP Vice-President Dayashankar Singh on Dalit leader Mayawati, calling her worse than a prostitute, for which he was expelled from the party and is now facing arrest.

What is notably perplexing is the impunity with which politicians do it, and the confusing morality of those who defend it when the offender is one of their own or the target is on the opposition side. Take the case of Smriti Irani here, when Telegraph came out with the obviously sexist headlines against her, most journalists who fancy themselves as feminists, remained silent. Priyanka Chaturvedi, controversial Congress spokesperson and recently self-anointed crusader for online misogyny, went one step further and defended the Telegraph headlines as “not-sexist” (even though such an article would never have been written for a male politician). It is notable that this is not out of character for Priyanka Chaturvedi to endorse sexism against women who don’t agree with her politics as not too long ago, she found the term “Hate Hags” for women supporters of Modi, as “perfect”

You’d think that’s the limit, but you’d be wrong. Self-styled feminist, Barkha Dutt went even further. Smriti, she argued, has never stood by other victims of sexism and therefore, she herself is to be blamed and shamed for the fate that had befallen her. Even though Barkha is known for her subtle  use of conjunctions & innuendos to do the blaming and shaming (e.g. Curious use of “but” to subtly say Charlie Hebdo had it coming ), this author didn’t expect this from her.

This isn’t the first foray of journalists, who fancy themselves as feminists, into defending misogyny. Not only have they defended molesters and paedophiles, just because they happened to be part of the coterie, they’ve even launched full-frontal attacks on the rape-victims. Outlook magazine and Telegraph seem to be competing amongst each other to see who can hit the misogynistic abyss sooner, but the sexism dripping from even seemingly innocuous pieces, often by female writers like Saba Naqvi, is quite too transparent I’m afraid.

Now lets take a look at the recent case, when prominent Dalit leader Mayawati was abused. Not only did all prominent news channels devote their primetime to debating the sexist comments of the ex-BJP VP, newspapers made their front page headlines. There were nationwide protests organized by BSP, a very heated Parliament debate which led to an apology from the Home Minister, and the offender, Dayashankar Singh was expelled from the party and a FIR registered against him.

All of this was perfectly justified, until BSP leaders took to the streets of Lucknow and started abusing the wife and 12-year old daughter of Dayashankar Singh in extremely disgusting language. In Rajya Sabha, Mayawati, gave a very eloquent speech about need for decency in public life. “It is a battle of ideas, where one should never stoop down to disgusting levels”, she said. Decency would dictate that, having gone through what she did, Mayawati would condemn the attacks by her party members, but lo and behold, she instead defended the attacks on Dayashankar’s female relatives!

Misogynist statements from BSP aren’t anything new. Founder of BSP, Kanshi Ram, had once used the same language against the owner of Dainik Jagran when the paper published an unfavorable news against BSP. What is unacceptable is that despite being a woman, BSP Supremo chose to defend the same misogyny when it was directed at someone other than herself. It was only when Dayashankar Singh’s wife stood her ground, and fought for her daughter, with the BJP backing her, did BSP call off the nationwide protests they had initiated on the remarks.

When it comes to treating women as easy targets, no party has their hands clean. There have been several cases where BJP leaders have used some extremely despicable language to attack their opponents and have been pulled up for the same. Often rightly so. However, some leaders, like Madhya Pradesh Minister Babulal Gaur despite being repeat offenders, haven’t been punished. But are the “non-Right Wing” politicians “better” in this regard as they claim to be? Hardly.

After listening to the grandstanding by quite a few non-RW leaders on primetime debates about the culture of abuse in Right-Wing, on several occasions, this author decided to search instances of “non-Right Wing” politicians resorting to abuse.

Please note, due to the sheer volume of the results of this seemingly innocuous query, I’ve limited my search to:

  • only major parties, national or regional
  • only MLAs, MPs or prominent leaders
  • only verbal abuse (have not covered accusations of rape, murder, sexual harassment etc).
  • have included results where targets are female

This by no means is a complete list since this author was only able to search what was electronically available in the two languages known to her, English and Hindi. This author is sure there are instances that were covered in regional media but never made their way to English ones. If you think we’ve missed something, please feel free to tweet the references to me (@neha_aks) or use the comments section below. So here is what we found.

Ironically, many of the leaders who feature in this list, claim to be defenders of women’s rights and give long sermons about decency in public life, but fail to lead by example:

  1. Smriti Irani is illegitimate wife of Narendra Modi: Assam Cong leader Nilamoni Sen Deka hits a new low in Indian politics.
  2. UP Congress leader and ex-President Rita Bahuguna Joshi asks what price do people need to pay to rape Mayawati, since she pays Rs 25,000 as compensation to rape victims
  3. When AAP activist was molested by AAP leader, Party Chief and Delhi CM told her to “compromise”. The activist later killed herself
  4. CPM leader from Kerala declared on Facebook that some women in Congress, strip for male colleagues to get election tickets
  5. Congress Kerala unit’s official Twitter handle shames a victim because she filed a case against Kerala ex-CM Oommen Chandy for sexual harassment. Calls her, “Woman with loose morality”. The tweet has been deleted, screenshot available here.
  6. TN Congress Chief EVKS Elangovan uses a vulgar remark linking TN CM Jayalalitha and PM Modi.
  7. Journalist-cum-Congress leader Amaresh Mishra, who used to attend national TV debates as Congress representative from UP, was so abusive towards supporters of other political parties on Twitter, that his twitter account got suspended. He was later arrested for threatening to kill Narendra Modi. Some specimen of his tweets are storified here.
  8.  Congress spokesperson who became a crusader against online misogyny, Priyanka Chaturvedi, found the term “hate hags” coined by Outlook magazine for women supporters of Modi, a perfect term to describe vocal women who disagreed with her politics. This tweet too has been deleted, however, a screenshot can be found here.
  9. Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal said he would ask his “boys” to go and rape CPM women members.
  10. Congress leader, ex-CM of Delhi and UP CM hopeful Sheila Dixit reacted to a journalist’s rape and murder by saying, “women should not be too adventurous”.
  11. Samajwadi leader Mulayam Singh Yadav declared that since “rural women are ugly, they won’t benefit from Women’s Reservation Bill”.
  12. National President of JD-U and veteran MP Sharad Yadav said that ‘South (Indian) women are drak but they are beautiful as their bodies are well developed.. we don’t see it here.. they know dance”. He repeatedly refused to apologize for his remarks, claiming they weren’t racist or sexist.
  13. When discussing Bill on stalking, National President of JDU and veteran MP Sharad Yadav said, “Who among us here have not followed women?”
  14. When Mayawati accused Mulayam’s men for a failed rape attempt, Mulayam defended himself with “Is she so pretty that any would want to rape her?”
  15. Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav made a personal jibe at Mayawati saying he doesn’t know if he should call her Mrs or Miss.
  16. Lohiyaite JDU leader Ali Anwar said, “Good Smriti Irani has been made Textiles Minister, it will help her cover her body.”
  17. Another Lohiyaite, Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav questions Mayawati’s character, her relationship with Kanshi Ram, and calls her mad.
  18. Sexist AAP leader, Kumar Vishwas, on Sania Mirza: “She wasn’t able to play any field properly, so decided to try out in another. We’re sad that she collected fame from India but husband from Pakistan.”
  19. Congress leader Vyalar Ravi, when questioned about molestation charges against PJ Kurien, asked the reporter if she had a similar experience (molestation) with Kurien.
  20. TMC leader Abdul Rezzak Mollah calls Rupa Ganguly, a real-life Draupadi. Says he knows the length of the cigarette she smokes and who she lives with.
  21. CPM MP Anil Basu: She (Mamata Banerjee) should have been pulled by hair, dragged home to Kalighat & given a lesson for blocking a national highway.
  22. CPM’s Subhas Chakraborty on Mamata’s Maa-Maat-Manush slogan: “She is an infertile woman; what does she know about Maa?”
  23. CPM’s Anil Biswas used the phrase “Jomero Aruchi” for Mamata which means “even the devil won’t touch her.
  24. CPM’s Anil Basu on Mamata Banerjee: “Which bhatar (male patron) is funding her?” while making a reference to Sonagachi sex workers.
  25. TRS Chief KCR said he would drag Sonia Gandhi “to the bazaar” if Telangana was not created.
  26. CPM leader Anisur Rehman asks Mamata what her fee would be considering she gave Rs 20,000 to rape victim.
  27. AAP Leader and Cabinet Minister of Delhi, Kapil Misra made a vulgar innuendo about Modi & Smriti Irani. Now deleted. Screenshot can be found here.
  28. BSP’s Naseemuddin Siddiqui wanted expelled BJP VP Dayashankar Singh’s wife and daughter be “presented” (vulgar innuendo).
  29. Congress leader and ex-Union minister of women and child development, Renuka Chowdhary, calls female Cabinet minister in Modi Govt, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, “kachra” (garbage).

And just as a side note, here are some times when even the male politicians had to face puerile language:

  1. Racist TN Congress chief EVKS Elangovan mocks PM Modi’s dark looks and is bowled over by the fair beauty of the Gandhis.
  2. Dalit man alleged senior Congress leader & Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken abused and threatened to kill his son if he came anywhere near AICC.
  3. Dayashankar Singh is an ‘illegitimate child’, says BSP MLA Usha Choudhary.
  4. BSP Chandigarh Unit chief Jannat Jahan announces reward of Rs 50 lakh for Daya Shankar Singh’s tongue.
  5. Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia makes Modi the target of his directed abuse, comments on his personal life, calls him a failed husband.
  6. “Suave” Congress leader and ex-Cabinet Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar declared Modi is a snake, scorpion and a dirty man.
  7. Congress MP Soma Ganda Patel uses a casteist slur against OBC Narendra Modi who is of Ghanchi caste against OBC Narendra Modi who is of Ghanchi caste
  8. Ghulam Nabi Azad, a Congress leader and former union minister, uses casteist slur against Modi, calls him “Gangu Teli”.
  9. Then Union Minister and Senior Cong leader Beni Prasad Verma declares Modi is a man-eater (aadamkhor).
  10. Congress senior leader Beni Prasad Verma calls Modi a “RSS goon” and Rajnath Singh his “slave”.
  11. Repeat offender Beni Prasad Verma, calls Modi an “animal who needs to be controlled with a whip”.
  12. Veteran Kerala CPI(M) leader VS Achuthanandan calls Narendra Modi a “slaughterer”.
  13. Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia compares PM Modi to medieval tyrant Aurangzeb: (His party has since started considering Aurangzeb a secular icon, but we’re going to assume he didn’t mean it as a compliment)
  14. NC leader and alliance partner of Indira Gandhi, Farooq Abdullah, calls Narendra Modi, a “dictator”.
  15. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, calls Modi, “Maut ka saudagar” (merchant of death).
  16. Suave Cong MP Tharoor calls Modi  “bleeder” (incorrect usage of the term) & therefore clarified meaning as “someone who bleeds the nation”.
  17. UP Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiwal declared that “cricket victories are like old wives, not as fun as they used to be.”
  18. TMC chief Mamata Banerjee threatens Amit Shah & makes obscene references about bamboos and backsides.
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