Bhubaneswar: From Sonia Gandhi’s 'maut ka saudagar' comment on PM Modi, scorpion jibe by Shashi Tharoor or Mamata Banerjee’s ‘sala’ remark at the public rallies to the instances of foot soldiers using offensive language on social media, PM Modi has always been at the receiving end.
Here are some instances.
Year 2016: A grocery shop owner, Tariq Anwar (29), was arrested by Aapakudal police in Erode for allegedly depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poor light on social media. Police said Tariq Anwar had uploaded a portrait of the Prime Minister with a garland made of footwear on Facebook.
Year 2023: Pune city police booked a 21-year-old man for allegedly posting abusive and obscene comments about Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Hindu gods on a social media network, as per police.
In the backdrop, Zeordha CEO cum podcaster Nikhil Kamath has asked PM Modi on Social media role in politics and sought some advice about this to a youth who wants to become a politician, how to use it.
Recalling his meetings with school children of 8-9th grade, Prime Minister Modi said some asks me that you get abused so much day and night, how do you feel, then I tell them a joke, I say that I am an Ahmedabadi and our Ahmedabadi people have a distinct identity.
PM than told a popular joke.
“I said an Ahmedabadi was going on a scooter and he collided with someone, the person in front got angry and an argument started , he started abusing, this Ahmedabadi kept standing with his scooter, the other one kept abusing, meanwhile someone came and said friend brother what kind of a person are you, he is abusing and you are just standing like this, then he is saying brother he is abusing, I am not taking anything, this is typical Ahmedabadi, he is not taking anything,” the PM said and added that so I also made up my mind that okay brother he is abusing, he will give whatever he has, whatever I have I will give. But you should be on the ground of truth, there should not be any sin in your heart.
Terming abuse a trait of society, PM Modi then said, “someone please tell me, sir, you are not in politics, you work in an office, does this not happen in that office, you have a big family and there too, if there is some tension between two brothers, does it happen or not, then this happens in every sphere of life, in more or less quantity, but it does happen and hence, we should not think of having a thick skin on the basis of that.”
The PM added, “One should be extremely sensitive, without sensitivity in public life, you cannot do good to people. And I believe that social media is a great power of democracy. Earlier, only a few people used to serve you, you used to believe that to be the truth, even then you were trapped, you did not have the time to verify that if someone said that 1 lakh people died, then you used to believe that 100,000 people died. Today you have an alternate, you can verify that if this news has come, then where will it come, where will it come here. Everything is available in your mobile phone. Pay a little attention, you can reach the truth very easily and that is why the work of strengthening democracy can be done through social media.”
Modi further added that those who are doing something wrong today were due to distortions.
BOTTOMLINE: The podcast shows Modi’s way of calling the bluff of political abusers. Abusing is a sort of mind game and tactics to unsettle the rival in politics, PM Modi’s statement in the podcast tells that you are giving you state of mind, I am not taking anything, rather enjoying at the rival’s frustration.
