Is Prime Minister’s language a slip of tongue?

Prime Minister Modi’s remarks against the Congress in an election rally in Rajasthan have shocked many. The Prime Minister appealed to Rajasthan voters to punish the Congress with a “death sentence by pressing the lotus button.” It was only natural that the Congress should complain to the Election Commission of India. The other day, the Prime Minister had coated controversy by terming Rahul Gandhi as “Moorkhon ka Sardar (the leader of fools)”. The interesting part is that the Prime Minister or his party never regrets such remarks. Most of the time, the BJP’s troll army becomes active on social media platforms. These acts show the style of politics the RSS and the BJP are attempting to promote. Another aspect also needs attention. Is it only a case of a slip of the tongue or a case of using foul language?

It is hardly a matter of language. A close look at these remarks reveals something more. It is the politics of exclusion. It is essentially violent in nature. This very language of politics shows the kind of politics one wants to practice. The language the Prime Minister has been using for his opponents reflects his ideology. The ideology that believes in decimating the opposition What the Prime Minister has expressed is the core of his ideology: that whoever opposes him is committing blasphemy. He has expressed the ideology of the RSS, which considers parliamentary democracy a Western model of governance. Here, there is no scope for dissidence. The two-decade rule of Prime Minister Modi has displayed in no uncertain terms that the kind of democracy he wants to install in India does not have any space for opposition. The opposition does not mean political parties alone. It includes all those non-political groups and individuals who criticize the government.

He never addressed any press conferences and put all kinds of barriers in front of those who spoke against the government. Many have suffered imprisonment as well. He almost hates the opposition. He hardly consults opposition leaders while taking vital decisions. He decided on a note-ban without taking the opposition parties into confidence. Same thing he did while imposing a lockdown during the pandemic. He is the only prime minister in India’s parliamentary history who does not care to answer questions in parliament and never bothers to listen to what the lawmakers are saying in parliament. How can he be expected to use humble language against the opposition parties when he considers them worthless?

Many analysts point out that the language the PM is using only shows his frustration. They claim that the BJP is facing electoral defeat in all five States that are undergoing polls. They say that the BJP is in contest only in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan but is unlikely to win.

Does his frustration not show his undemocratic attitude towards elections? How can he think of being in power forever? Should he not be prepared to leave the chair? The BJP has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for under twenty years and ruled Chhattisgarh for three terms. In Rajasthan, too, it has been in power every five years. The BJP’s unrestrained desire to remain in power led the party to engineer mass-scale defections in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

However, one more point needs to be considered to contextualize the whole issue. The roots of frustration for the Prime Minister should also be traced to his desire to continue after 2024. He has already declared in his Independence Day speech that he will hoist the flag at the next Independence Day celebrations. His other assertion in parliament that he alone is heavier than all of the lawmakers together is also revealing. These assertions only show how desperate he is to continue in power. His stint as Chief Minister of Gujarat also exhibits the same tendency. Even after becoming prime minister, he has kept all the powers in his hands. He, along with Amit Shah, rules the State from Delhi.

The results of the Karnataka elections have made him suspicious of the outcome in five poll-bound States. He had tried all his tricks in Karnataka, including invoking Bajrang Bali, and lost elections. However, he has not lost his faith in Hindutva as a savior in the polls. He and Amit Shah tried their best to use the religious card in the ongoing polls in the States. They tried to make the Ram Temple in Ayodhya a poll issue. The attempt seems to have failed. There seems to be no polarization on religious grounds. In an analysis of poll results in Karnataka, an RSS magazine cautioned the BJP that Hindutva and the image of the prime minister were not sufficient to win elections. The prescriptions could hardly affect the Prime Minister’s style of politics. He only continued with his style of campaigning. He seemed to have been on the back foot for a while but soon resumed his old style. No one other than himself has any place in his scheme of things. He declared once or twice that the party symbol, the lotus, was the face of the party in the assembly elections. But he soon reverted to his old style and started appealing for votes in his name. In an election rally, he asked people to go and give his message to the people that the prime minister had come to appeal for votes. He has been giving guarantees in his name. By now, he has sidelined all the top leaders in the States and grabbed all the limelight for himself. He is the only leader from the BJP side in the poll battle. Despite this, he has failed to make his narrative effective. The responses at the rallies are not very encouraging. When he tries to belittle Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, the audience hardly displays any enthusiasm. This is the reason for his frustration.

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)