Since 2014, after coming to power, Modi has maintained his silence whenever the country landed in unrest. During his election speeches, he made fun of former prime minister Manmohan Singh for his quiet nature. It is not acceptable, especially considering the fact that he was so vocal, sometimes venomous, in criticising the then incumbent government. His speeches and tweets from that time are there for everyone to see. He criticised MMS even though he wasn’t really known to be a great talker before he became the PM. Modi’s silence is never understandable because people have seen him talking all the time during the election campaign. From the day he assented to the PM office, Modi has mastered the art of keeping mum.
The irony lies in the part that when a year before he condemned his forerunner as MaunMohan Singh and now Congress leaders address him as Maunendra Modi. Modi is known to be a man of few verses, quite contrary to his personality during his rallies and speeches in foreign countries. Having been continuously in power for four consecutive terms as the Chief Minister and being a seasoned politician, it’s surprising that Modi maintains a low note or silence on very important issues. When BJP was in opposition, his views would result in the mudslinging. All those leaders who made noises during UPA2 are silent on the same issues occurring in the BJP rule.
Since Modi came to power, many Muslims were converted to Hinduism in UP through the ‘Ghar Wapsi’ campaign. Similar instances occurred in Kerala, Goa, and Telangana. Even the US President Barrack Obama mentioned about the necessity to curb religious intolerance without making a direct reference to Modi. The Vyapam death scroll is now 44 and Supreme Court is currently monitoring the CBI probe. Modiji refused to speak about any of these issues.
It is not that Modi has never spoken on contentious issues. During the Land Acquisition Bill act talk in Lok Sabha, where he had oppositions from within, he made an apposite move and silenced everyone. Manmohan Singh was a prime minister with a clean image indolently watching the extravagance of his colleagues. It took him few years to attain that status and now with four years of governance, it is very likely that Modiji is following the footsteps of his predecessor.
We all know that this government is new and they don’t have much experience of ruling the nation. People are not asking for overnight solutions to the burning issues. But one of the hopes that Modi gave before elections was that of being a communicative PM, and that’s one thing that he has failed at till now. And he can be and should be criticised for it since it doesn’t depend on the time they’ve been in power. The PM has provided no reassurances on rising inflation, no strong words condemning cross-border violence, no comments on Sadiq Sheikh who died in Pune or the spate of violence against people from the Northeast in Delhi, no words on the ever-increasing number of rapes. Imagine if something like the Vaidik episode had happened in the UPA rule, how would Modi have reacted? Why is it different now when he’s the PM?
People also knew that the PM is not a magician. But at least he should tell people how would he settle all these issues, or at least what he feels about them! This is the result of basic human nature. Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi come from vastly different ideologies and represent two different things. Manmohan Singh was behind the sweeping economic reforms of the early 90s that enable us to achieve what we have achieved today. He is a quiet, educated person who preferred to work in the background. Giving stirring speeches, aggressive personality or punch lines are not his forte. In fact, that is the exact reason he was picked as the PM in 2004. The other person in the fray, Pranab Mukherjee was seen as ‘not so pliable’. So when Manmohan remained silent, he was perceived as being weak.
Modi shot into prominence after 2002 Gujarat riots. Before that, he was just one of the chief ministers of an Indian state. The fact that people in this nation came to know about him during such a tragic event has ensured that he is and will remain a polarising figure. As they say “the first impression is the best impression.”
It does not matter how much Modi does for the welfare of Muslims, he will still be considered as a Hindutva proponent representing a Hindu supremacist party.
So when Modi remains silent, he is perceived as being complicit in the happenings around him. The fact is, both Modi and Manmohan cannot do anything to change these perceptions. Modi knows that no matter he condemns these actions, his image is not going to change, nor is the image of his party- even the most devout bhakt knows that Modi is a polarising figure.
The BJP and the NDA are perceived as being strong on external affairs, terrorism and dealing with our enemies, the Congress is weak in dealing with this. The BJP government under Vajpayee meekly released five terrorists in return for IC 814 passengers. The Vajpayee government had to make a humiliating withdrawal from the front lines after deploying troops under operation Parakram after the Parliament attack. The Congress government under Indira Gandhi had no hesitation in storming the Golden Temple to get rid of the Sikh terrorists holed up there. Out of the four wars fought against Pakistan, three were when the government was under Congress.
While the entire nation was involved in the fight against the attack on freedom of speech, PM Modi was nowhere to be seen. What’s sadder is that the Prime Minister himself followed many of these people. Forget condemning the act, Modiji did not even speak about it. Other reports have also emerged about complaints and FIRs against Nirav Modi to the PMO and the Finance Minister. Although the PM did speak about the matter, we cannot confirm it because he did so in an extremely vague manner.
The Congress, however, alleged that the cost of each aircraft to be bought by this deal was thrice the price it had decided upon in 2012. It also raised questions about Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence Limited being unfairly picked to be the French firm’s Indian partner.
Recent issues where children are raped and women are molested, some community people are brutally killed on camera but PM is still silent. If he maintains this silence, one-day country will maintain silence over him.
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