The Prime Minister’s podcast to a friendly interviewer was a master class in how to attempt to set a narrative. Soft questions. No follow-ups. A popcorn Q&A, then coated with caramel and served up by news platforms falling over each other to please the Masterchef. The key words from the podcast were then plated, garnished and impeccably presented as headlines, tweets and tickers across the media smorgasbord.
Let’s take up some of these keywords (the eight crossheads in this column) from that sugary podcast, and present an alternate view.
1. Himalayas (embracing the solitude of the mountains)
- The Prime Minister gave a ten minute answer on the podcast where he explained how he sought the higher purpose of living – testing his bodily strength in that pursuit. All very noble.
Now the reality: between 2014 and 2023, 736 people died cleaning sewers and septic tanks. Sixty-seven lakh children go without food every day. Thirty farmers commit suicide every day.
- The Prime Minister shared that, as a child, he chose to skip a family wedding to take care of a Swamiji who was on fast. Very thoughtful.
Today. Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a hunger strike for over 100 days demanding MSP and other rights for farmers. Yet, the Prime Minister has not met him. For over a year, protesting farmers sat on the borders of Delhi; 750 lost their lives.
2. RSS (shaped my life)
- While banning RSS, Sardar Patel had famously said, “Undesirable and even dangerous activities have been carried out by members of the Sangh. It has been found that in several parts of the country, individual members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have indulged in acts of violence involving arson, robbery, dacoity, and murder and have collected illicit arms and ammunition.”
- When Mahatma Gandhi initiated the Dandi March and Quit India Movement, RSS founder K. B. Hedgewar declared that the organisation would not take part.
- Savarkar justified rape as a political weapon. He apologised no less than four times to the British.
3. Criticism (is the soul of democracy)
- Since PM Modi came to power in 2014, how many press conferences has he addressed?
- Since 2014, the Prime Minister has not answered even a single parliamentary question under his name. No question has been balloted for the Prime Minister since 2016 in Rajya Sabha and since 2019 in Lok Sabha.
- Under his watch, critics and activists have been arrested under laws like UAPA. Conviction rate, though, of only 2.54% between 2014 and 2022.
- Siddique Kappan. Father Stan Swamy. Umar Khalid.
4. Heritage (I grasped the depth of our heritage)
- “Rationalization” of textbooks erases Muslims from India’s history. Mughal history in grades 7 to 12 is now severely limited, with minimal coverage of its emperors and historical texts.
- The 11th-grade History textbook included the sentence, “Mahatma Gandhi was convinced that any attempt to make India into a country only for Hindus would destroy India,” but it was subsequently removed. The explanation offered: “The contents of textbooks have been modified to help students build a positive mindset to develop an innate understanding of the drivers of social changes…”
- In 2022, when activists protested against communal remarks made by BJP leaders, the Uttar Pradesh government responded by demolishing homes. The Chief Minister’s media adviser shared an image of a home being demolished and tweeted: “Unruly elements remember, every Friday is followed by a Saturday.”
5. Education (children are not trophies)
- Half of Class VIII students in rural areas across the country struggle with basic division, a skill typically taught in Classes III-IV.
- The Union government’s expenditure on education in this budget has been 0.37% of GDP. This is way below the target of 6% set in the much touted New Education Policy.
6. Youth (our greatest asset)
- 80% of those unemployed are youth.
- 75 lakh youth enter the labour force every year. However, only four out of ten possess formal skills. Half of all graduates are not immediately employable.
7. Gujarat Riots (the perception that these were the biggest riots ever is actually misinformation)
- Fact 1: In April 2004, the Supreme Court said, “Modi was like a modern day Nero who looks the other side when helpless children and innocent women are burned.”
- Fact 2: 1,000 were killed, 223 more people reported missing and another 2,500 injured.
- Fact 3: Bilkis Bano’s rapists were even released by the Gujarat Government.
8. Trump connect (both put nation first)
Enough said.
(Derek O’Brien, MP, leads the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
