Opposition’s bitter intolerant side is out in the open for everyone to see. The pseudo-secular brigade is silent. They don’t find it intolerant that a spokesperson of the BJP gets arrested for a tweet against Delhi chief minister. They don’t find anything unusual that the Rana couple has been arrested for the threat to recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of the residence of Maharashtra chief minister Udhav Thackeray.
It is not that this India intolerant brigade had anything to do with intolerance. They don’t mind when people pick up arms against the State whether in Kashmir in the form of terrorism or in other States in the form of Naxals. However, when the State asserts the combine will of the people to liquidate those who take up arms to settle score, these brigade comes up in arms on the pretext of Human rights or freedom of various sorts.
Their fangs are out only when such acts of intolerance happen in BJP ruled States. They oppose use of sedition against those who incite people against India, but are silent when political vendetta is being played out in broad daylight. Thanks God it is the BJP. Otherwise, their arguments can be put on their head and arrests can be made for using abusive language against many BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Many leaders have given obvious provocative narratives in front of Television camera. But strong actions have not been taken against them. Chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi is known for giving provocative statements. His recent communal remarks came in the context of survey of Gyanvapi Mosque which is being done on the orders of the Court. Owaisi on Saturday blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP and alleged that they were trying to rekindle the era of hatred as the one in the 1990s. This is not only defamatory but intended to create hatred.
Owaisi’s brother Akbaruddin is reported to have said in a speech: “If Police is removed for 15 minutes, We (Muslims) will finish 100 crore Hindus”. Nothing can be more provocative than this in a country that has close to 80 per cent population as Hindus. Special Court has dropped the charges against him but everyone knows what he said and its impact on communalization of politics.
Contesting on a Congress Lok Sabha ticket from Saharanpur in 2014, Imran Masood, had said he would “chop Modi into pieces”. He got promotion in the Congress party. He later joined the Samajwadi Party.
Bagga and Rana have become symptomatic of the frustrations in the anti-BJP camp for their failure to dethrone Modi from Delhi. First they tried to paint Modi in bad light but when he weathered all storms and made his ways to Delhi, the Lutyen’s Delhi has taken affront to this. The Prime Minister is not even coopting. Therefore, their banishment from the circle of power brokers is for a very long time to come.
They have become too feeble and Modi has emerged as India’s tallest leader and there is no sign of his waning anytime soon. All indicators point out that opposition parties have already surrendered their bid for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The frustrations are taking the form of Vendetta politics which we have seen practiced with aplomb in Kerala and West Bengal.
I cannot imagine that Lok Sabha member Navneet Rana and her MLA husband would be arrested under sedition charge for their public threat that they would recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of the chief minister’s residence. One is at one’s wit’s end to understand how can this create enmity between communities. At the most the police could have prevented them from doing so on the designated date, time and place and made token arrest and then released them. This is what happens in most political agitations. After all, this was their way to politically oppose Maharashtra Government’s Muslim appeasement policy.
Imagine what kind of statements have come out from the Shiv Sena against Muslims when it was not a part of the so-called secular alliance. Going by that court cases can be lodged against them. What the Shiv Sena has done is gross misuse and abuse of power. We already know how the Shiv Sena led Government tired to fix mediapersons through the fallen guy Parambir Singh who was the Commissioner of Police then.
Nobody from the so-called secular camp is losing sleep over such deviance by the State. On the contrary they are jubilant that the Shiv Sena, an erstwhile ally of the BJP, is trying to fix proponents of Hindutva. They had also not uttered a word when Kangana Ranaut’s office was being demolished by the BMC and a star journalist was harassed and sent to jail to satisfy the ego of those in power. But mark my words, they are exposing their own inconsistencies and preparing the ground for such actions by any other political dispensations.
About Arvind Kejriwal, the less said the better. Imagine he was let out without being bruised even after threatening to disrupt the Republic Day function in 2015. He actually showed what he could do by sitting on dharna on the eve of the Republic Day to oppose actions by Delhi police. He has proudly proclaimed that he is “an anarchist”. But the Union Government did not act tough.
Imagine this man gets a Delhi BJP leader arrested for a tweet that tried to expose Kejriwal’s inappropriate statement on the plight of Kashmiri Pundits depicted in film Kashmir Files by Vivek Agnihotri. Kejriwal had supposedly formed the Aam Aadmi Party to promote liberal democratic values in the Indian Constitution and for change in the system. Asking the Punjab police to lodge an FIR to get Bagga arrested is nothing but political vengeance. Technicalities apart one knows who is calling the shot.
Bagga defaulted on summons from Court and police came to arrest him on orders of the Court. The Punjab police must know that while acting in other States they lose their policing status and they must contact Delhi police to get summons honoured. State of one police cannot act like kidnappers. And the way they came in the wee hours on Saturday with all their might showed that the intention was not correct. The police reportedly misbehaved with Bagga’s family members and insulted Bagga. This was not expected and the police need to follow decorum.
It is good that this issue has been highlighted because police of other States often act in this manner to please vested interests. In most cases, the person would not know the reason for his arrest and transit. Local police would also not know. This is nothing but action like a gangster. Police is subject of law and hence they must follow the law and act strictly as per the Rule book. If the local police do not cooperate they can always approach the magistrate. But they should not act outside their jurisdiction. Law is above all.
If you ask for your freedom to criticize, you must uphold the freedom of others to criticize you. Should Kejriwal be reminded of the filthy language he used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Being a chief minister is not an excuse to be abusive and belligerent.
There is need for one and all to create an atmosphere of liberal values so that nobody suffers due to actions emanating from political vendetta. What if the Central Government tomorrow decides to act against Rahul Gandhi for his ill-temperate remarks. The BJP has enough number of States to make life hell for these leaders. But thank God we have a Prime Minister who does not act with a vengeance. The routes followed by the opposition parties and Left, liberal and Islamists to oppose the BJP would lead to chaos.
I cannot imagine that Lok Sabha member Navneet Rana and her MLA husband would be arrested under sedition charge for their public threat that they would recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of the chief minister’s residence. One is at one’s wit’s end to understand how can this create enmity between communities. At the most the police could have prevented them from doing so on the designated date, time and place and made token arrest and then released them. This is what happens in most political agitations. After all, this was their way to politically oppose Maharashtra government’s Muslim appeasement policy.
