Seeking to puncture the narrative of ‘strong and muscular leader’ spun around Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress says “Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi are contrasting leaders; one is a true democrat while the other is authoritarian”.
“The last four years of the BJP rule has irrevocably established that the attempt of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impose the dubious Gujarat model on the rest of India has boomeranged. Delhi is not the same as Gandhinagar. It cannot be bulldozed into submission,” said Sanjay Jha, national spokesperson of Indian National Congress Party and president of All-India Professionals Congress (AIPC), Maharashtra.
Jha was addressing the AIPC Lucknow chapter on the theme “The myth of strong leaders: Why India needs a change’, in Lucknow on Sunday.
“It was ironical watching Narendra Modi during Gandhi Jayanti talking about Swachh Bharat, one of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite passions. But the Prime Minister conveniently forgets why Gandhiji is a global inspiration — because he espoused the idea of peace, non-violence, secularism, tolerance and inclusivity. The PM has called Vinayak Damodar Savarkar a true patriot; but didn’t the Hindu Mahasabha which Savarkar headed get indicted for the assassination of Gandhiji? This is pure political hypocrisy,” Jha said.
Comparing Rahul Gandhi to Narendra Modi, Jha said they were diametrically opposite to each other. “When Congress president Rahul Gandhi was asked if he wanted a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-mukt Bharat, he categorically said, No! He articulated that India was a multicultural, multilingual, plural, diverse society and in a free democracy there must be space for dialogue and deliberations with all prevalent ideologies. That we must respect each other even if we have differences. Dissent is at the core of our democratic values.”
Contrast this with the repeated pitch by PM Modi of Congress-mukt-Bharat, a call to destroy opposition, obliterate an opposing ideology and encourage virulent sentiments, Jha pointed out.
“Can one ever destroy the legacy of tall Congress leaders like Gandhiji, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel? Behind the strong man imagery, this betrays insecurity and Narendra Modi thrives in a polarising political climate, while Rahul Gandhi is an advocate of what I would call compassionate politics,”Jha argued.
“If Narendra Modi truly believes that he has delivered, what is the need to spend Rs 4,800 crore of tax payers’ money on promoting oneself? It is disconcerting to note that India’s ranking under World Press Freedom index has slipped further to 138,” Jha said.
“Opposing voices are brutally silenced like Gauri Lankesh. Anyone who criticises Modi and the government are promptly labelled as anti-national and told to take a train to Pakistan. It is becoming ridiculous. Why is this government so hypersensitive to criticism? Is that a sign of strong leader or a weak leader?” Jha asked.
He said that the handling of Kashmir by both the PDP-BJP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir and the Centre showed that Modi’s muscular policy had been a total failure leading to widespread alienation in the Kashmir valley.
Jha was particularly harsh on what he called the “shrinking chest of Mr 56” when it came to handling both difficult neighbours — Pakistan and China.
“India has seen record rise in cease-fire violations, killing of security forces and civilians since Modi became Prime Minister,” he said.
Repeating Rahul Gandhi’s jibe on Modi’s ‘hugoplomacy’, Jha said that the government’s flip-flop on Pakistan had made our foreign policy appear nothing more than hollow rhetoric.
Jha concluded by saying, “Narendra Modi believes we live in an economy, not in a society. Rahul Gandhi believes we live in a society before we live in an economy. Thus, Modi talks mostly of gross domestic production (GDP), Goods and Services Tax (GST), demonetisation, Digital India, Start-Up India, Ease of Doing Business etc. All these are important, but the Congress president stresses on education, health, poverty and inequality, communal peace, mutual respect, safety and security of women, freedom of expression, liberal values and the aspirations of the impoverished. Narendra Modi generates heat while Rahul Gandhi spreads love and compassion.
