It is India’s misfortune that we don’t support our leaders who speak for the nation. We criticize our PM for his silence, for his undelivered promise within a country is fair but humiliating him on Social media platform asking other nations to insult him is really not fair. I’m also considering myself as a Modi’s critic but I hate when someone embarrasses him when he is representing India on foreign land. In social media, some people supported Pakistanis and Khalistanis’ protesters to denounce Modi’s visit to UK. After being banned from entering for 10 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached in the United Kingdom with critics disapproving moves against freedom of speech in India since his government took power, a year and half ago. Trade and defence deals worth billions of dollars are expected to be signed during Modi’s maiden visit.
Modi had been denied a visa for more than a decade by the UK government over his alleged involvement in 2002 religious violence, in which more than 1,000 people – mostly Muslims – were killed. Critics accuse Modi of doing nothing to stop the bloodshed when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat state. He has denied any involvement or wrongdoing. The word tolerance and intolerance are too vague. “No Indian is tolerant on religious comments that have divisive effect whether from leader of one community or other. Constitution protects freedom and thoughts of every individual,” said Modi. Yes he is right, we’re proud to be Indians and we’re pluralistic in nature. However, his colleagues in BJP are making communal statements and his election campaign was full of hatred rhetoric speeches. Modi told the British journalists that the Constitution protects the freedom and thoughts of every individual. Strangely, he was silent when his party men and those aggressive pushers of Hindutva in India were spitting furious statements. And again, he states the well-known fact that India is the land of Gandhi and Buddha and we are a tolerant society. If it is so, Dadri killing would not have occurred, some rationalists would not have lost their lives and the Delhi police would not have entered the Kerala House to find out what they are cooking in their canteen.
At the Royal Gallery of the British Parliament, PM Modi took a strong stand on terror and reaffirmed India’s stance on climate change. “We need a social movement against extremism in countries where they originate,” he said. This man has made this country proud and lifted its stature in the globe within a short span of time, but the local politicians are pulling his legs irrespective of party lines. However, somewhere BJP is full of moronic politicians with communal agenda which is not going in favour of Modi and his development agenda. He was asked many awkward questions by British media, on which there was no other option than keeping quiet.
Since Dadri killing happened, Modi maintained his dead silence over the issue. The state was burning in communal fights, but today in UK PM Modi said, “India is the land of Buddha and Gandhi, we will not accept any deviation from our values. Every such incident is serious. We won’t tolerate such incidents,’ adding, “The law will deal severely with such incidents. India is a vibrant democracy and we are committed to it.” This has shown his double standards for which he has to face criticism from the opposition. Several other blunt questions were thrown at the two Prime Ministers, with one journalist referring to a visa ban on Modi after the Gujarat riots of 2002, when he was chief minister of the state. Britain ended the boycott in 2012.
He did not answer a question on protests being staged during his three-day visit by some groups that have accused PM Modi of creating an “authoritarian culture” in India. Some 46 British MPs have signed a parliamentary motion urging Cameron to rise what they call human rights issues with the Indian government. Anyway, Modi might have sensed by now that his vitiating speeches against Nehru and Congress are not appreciated globally, because what he blabbered was not proven by any courts of India.
Modi said, “I will only say that many freedom fighters of India found their calling in the institutions of Britain. And, many makers of modern India, including several of my distinguished predecessors, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr. Manmohan Singh, passed through their doors,” he said amid criticism from the opposition that Modi in his speeches ignored the legacy of Nehru and the Congress party in India’s progress. Modi mentioning Manmohan to Nehru was very much surprising.
Meanwhile, many used the hash tag to criticize Modi for a failing economy and growing intolerance in the country. #KeepModiGiveKohinoor was trending on Twitter during PM Modi’s UK visit. Taken against Queen Elizabeth by a group of Indians over the Kohinoor diamond alleging it was stolen from India.
All these while, Indians are demanding the United Kingdom to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The diamond was, by force, made to be presented to Queen Victoria in 1850, by the Marquess of Dalhousie, the British governor-general of Punjab. Narendra Modi’s maiden visit to the United Kingdom as the prime minister of the country, during which he will also attend a dinner at the Buckingham Palace with the Queen, will coincide with this lawsuit demanding the return of Koh-i-Noor to India. After the Bihar election debacle, BJP-led NDA government at the center and PM Narendra Modi would gain some brownie points if Koh-i-Noor returns to India. However, the British government in 2013 rejected the demands for the return of Koh-i-Noor.
