PM Modi says he’s going forward with a positive attitude as a response to personal attacks

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, responding to the personal attacks against him, said he’s shocked at the abuses hurled at him or at his mother. “I am ashamed of this,” he said in an exclusive interview with Network 18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi.

“That means whatever abuses you are hurling, you are hurling them at the prime minister. To say things like we will bash the prime minister’s head or abuse my mother… I am shocked that even the president of India was insulted. I am ashamed of this,” said PM Modi.

He asserted that he is going forward with a positive attitude but leaves the responsibility on the media and the voters to deal with people (hurling abuses) as they deem fit.

In the most recent personal criticism of PM Modi, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav countered PM Modi’s frequent attacks against “parivaarvaad” (dynasty politics). During his rally on March 3, Yadav said, “First, you should tell why you do not have any children or family. For the people with more children, he (Modi) says that it is dynasty politics. You don’t have a family… You are not even a Hindu. Every Hindu tonsures their head to mourn their mother’s death. Answer why didn’t you get your hair and beard removed…”

In the following weeks, Modi retaliated at his rallies in Telangana and Tamil Nadu with “140 crore people of India are my family.” Following this, all the BJP leaders added ‘Modi Ka Parivar‘ after their names on social media platform X.

This is not the first time that BJP leaders have stood behind PM Modi by changing their names on X in response to Opposition action. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had raised the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hain’ slogan, alleging irregularities in the Rafale aircraft deal. Subsequently, all the BJP leaders added ‘Main bhi chowkidar‘ after their usernames on X (formerly Twitter). The slogan had emerged as PM Modi branded himself as a chowkidar who would protect the country’s wealth and assets.

In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, referring to the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as a “chaiwala” (tea-seller), mentioned that he would never become the prime minister. The BJP capitalised on this, launching the ‘Chai pe charcha’ (conversation over tea) campaign, to counter the Congress’ arch reference to Modi’s humble past.

On the claims made by Opposition parties about PM Modi and the BJP indulging in “match fixing” for elections, PM Modi said the general elections of such a big country cannot be fixed, it cannot even be fixed for a municipality.

Targeting the Opposition, PM Modi said, “They are just fooling the world. The sad thing is that instead of asking those people, the media asks us. For the past few days, the people of the I.N.D.I.A. (alliance) have become so disappointed that they are looking for excuses. Because even after defeat, you need to go in front of the people.”

Modi once again declared that he aims to make India the world’s third-largest economic superpower if he gets elected for the third consecutive term.

“This will be continuity after bringing the country from the 11th to the fifth spot (in terms of size of the economy). During Manmohan Singh’s tenure, we were at 11, we brought it to five after a lot of effort, and now we will put in some more effort and take the country to the third spot. So, we want to maintain continuity in every sector,” said PM Modi.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow