Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti – PM Modi please don’t be defensive
PM Modi must not let political blackmailers get the upper hand.
It was disconcerting to see the Prime Minister, his colleagues and practically the entire senior cadre of the BJP on the back foot during the recent brouhaha unleashed by the Opposition about an alleged “hate speech” by the first-time MP, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. The English MSM was, of course, screaming from the rooftops as if a major genocide had been committed. The decimated Opposition, ready to clutch at straws, embarked on a deliberately planned campaign to disrupt Parliament and stall urgent legislation.
Surely, this ruse should have been met with firmness and resolve, and not by vacillation and self-flagellation. If aggression by the opponent means raising the white flag or retreating behind the castle moat at the very first instance, then I am afraid the electorate that gave such a thumping majority to the BJP and its allies only a few months ago may start re-assessing their decision. They wanted a decisive and firm Government that would not shrink from bold decisions on a wide range of issues. They have seen little of firm and deft handling by the present Government on any number of issues; however, cringing withdrawal in the face of wild and aimless sniping is the last thing that people would have expected to see from NaMo and his team.
A bit of history is in order. The legendary French soldier Marshal Ferdinand Foch, was faced with relentless attacks from the invading German Army in 1914. Pitted against superior German forces, including massive artillery, the Marshal sent the following message to his headquarters: “My left flank is broken, my centre is crumbling, my right wavers. Situation excellent. I will attack!”. Foch went on to win an epic victory in the battle of the Marne. The moral of this is that a true leader does not crumble under attack. In fact, when he is under severe pressure, the leader starts a counter-offensive that catches the enemy unawares. There is a glorious example of this in recent Indian military history. When faced in September 1965, with a relentless Pakistani offensive in J&K, India opened a second front in Punjab to relieve the pressure and this proved to be a game-changer. That was the great Lal Bahadur Shastri’s bold gambit.
If an apposite military analogy is not enough for the PM and his team, let me remind them of the famous advice of Harry Truman, the no-nonsense American President: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”. This one is a verified quote; the other statement attributed to him is “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog!” All this is relevant for the present Government and offers most relevant guidelines about how to deal with the rag-tag Opposition in Parliament. The latter may be down in the dumps and dishevelled at this juncture but make no mistake — they are a ruthless band of operators with enormous financial resources and international links.
Moreover, they don’t respect the rules of civilised combat in politics. The civilian version of the Geneva Convention does not apply to them and they don’t take any prisoners. Any attempt to earn brownie points from this bunch is a futile exercise. If PM Modi and his senior colleagues think that being civilised with the likes of Signora Maino, Azam Khan, the Owaisi brothers, Mulayam Singh Yadav et al, will pacify them and make them respect the rules of conduct in a Parliamentary democracy, they are clearly living in a dream world.
Personally, I feel what the Sadhvi said may not have been couched in the fraudulent finesse of the salon chatterati in Delhi’s Lutyens zone, but it was hardly offensive by the standards of current desi political discourse; and certainly not treasonous and inflammatory like what junior Owaisi said some time back to the rapturous approval of his assembled supporters. Or what a “secular” TMC MP thundered recently, urging his followers to start sexual violence against women of opponent parties.
However, there is an icing on the cake here. This is Mamata Banerjee’s latest foray into colourful political prose. This is so crude and coarse that it should be recommended as study material for aspiring street hoodlums in Sicily’s slums. Why don’t the Delhi secular cognoscenti take up cudgels against Didi’s invectives? This is because they know that Mamata and her TMC gang are always useful allies in their war against the BJP-NDA Government. The Kolkata buddhijeevis seem to have had belated wisdom dawning on them and they are slowly mustering courage to take on Didi’s stormtroopers. After all, the Bengal Renaissance that served India so well and produced so many titans, never envisaged that the green and beautiful land would see the likes of Banerjee and her cabal calling the shots.
Therefore Mr Prime Minister, stop giving up territory to the gang that virtually hijacked our ancient country and did a halal job on our culture and civilisation. Not to mention our financial resources and capital. History does not treat losers and pushovers very kindly.
![]()
Jay Bhattacharjee
Jay Bhattacharjee is a Senior Advisor in Corporate Laws and Finance.
http://www.niticentral.com/2014/12/06/sadhvi-niranjan-jyoti-pm-modi-please-dont-defensive-248469.html