Voices

Dear BJP and Congress, elections are over

Written by : TNM

The NDA-led government at the centre has been in power for nearly a year, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi still appears to be in election mode and is eliciting an equally immature response from the Congress.During his visit to Canada, Modi addressed the Indian diaspora in Toronto in the presence of the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and said that his government had inherited a “scam India”, referring to the number of scams in which UPA members are embroiled.Modi seems to be in election mode, and his remarks appear to be an attempt to increase his following among the Indian diaspora, which is largely uncritical in its adulation of him. He also said: “Those who had to spread filth, have done so and gone, we are cleaning up behind them.”Earlier, in Germany, Modi had said that the previous UPA government had given away coal blocks as though they were "handkerchiefs". Let's not go into what BJP governments have done in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.These remarks have needless to say, raised the hackles of the Congress, which has not just criticized this politicking, but has responded in a puerile manner to what it considers a personal insult that requires the record to be set straight.Modi, addressing the Indian diaspora in Toronto, Canada.Responding to the remarks made in Toronto, former union minister and Congress leader Anand Sharma said: “Now wherever the prime minister does, out spokesperson will trail him and rebut him then and there.”Such immaturity in responding to the prime minister’s jibes is also telling of the Congress’ sheer lack of imagination in political rebuttal. Sharma also added: “We can’t take it any longer.”By taking jibes at the Congress, the prime minister is seeking to maintain a constituency of support for himself and the BJP, and the Indian diaspora in various countries, especially the United States is a significant contributor to the party.However, the NDA government must not lose sight of the fact that it is close to completing a year in office and the prime minister still appears to be in election mode when confronted with an Indian audience. Such remarks at an international forum in the presence of the head of the hosting country, are simply not becoming behaviour.The prime minister has visited 15 countries in less than 12 months and is scheduled to visit China, Mongolia, South Korea, Russia (twice), Turkmenistan, Turkey later this year, and Singapore which he has already visited.Is more of the same to be expected on other future visits too?

Prajwal Revanna

Who spread unblurred videos of women? SIT probe on Prajwal Revanna must find

BJP could be spending more crores than it declared, says report

Building homes through communities of care: A case study on trans accommodation from HCU

‘State-sanctioned casteism’: Madras HC on continuation of manual scavenging

‘Don’t need surgery certificate for binary change of gender in passports’: Indian govt