Day 24 reeks of chota-mota violence. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal was attacked by an unidentified person at a rally in Haryana. No sooner had he dealt one blow on Kejriwal’s neck, that he was nabbed and trashed by AAP supporters. What else did he expect? In today’s scenario, if anyone feels he can harm Kejriwal by attacking him, sorry to say that he is horribly wrong.
Any violence on AAP cadre today is seen as a retaliation to their growing strength. This violence will also go down as an act by a weakened opposition or some disgruntled members who can’t help but burn with jealously over AAP’s growing popularity. No wonder Kejriwal said, “This kind of violent reaction is expected of them. It only shows their true character.” He went on to appeal to the people to maintain calm and not to resort to any type of violence.
Talking about violence, check out this verbal violence. “If Modi tries to make Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat, then we will chop him into tiny pieces…” These were the exact words of Imran Masood, a Congress candidate from Saharanpur. He was referring to BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi who is contesting the General Elections from Varanasi. He later apologized by saying that he had made the statement in the heat of the moment. (But one has to give it to him that for a while, he had people imagine Modi as a white goat, ready to be butchered.)
Apologies have a great role to play in politics. Whenever an unwarranted thing is said about someone by a certain party, the Opposition jumps in asking for apology – Parliament sessions have come to a halt with parties demanding apologies.
This makes one wonder how credible is an apology? Does a person apologize because he is actually regretting the words he uttered it or is it just to save the situation? When Imran apologized, was he actually in a regretful mood? We may not be able to confirm it but we know of one thing – Words once uttered cannot be taken back – with or without apology…and in many cases it attracts the wrath of lawmakers…like in this case where Imran has been booked under many sections for the remark.
In another incident, actor-turned-politician Nagma slapped a man who allegedly groped her at a public meeting in Meerut. Of late, she has been facing this kind of harassment during her campaigns. Last week, Congress legislator Gajraj Singh had apparently kissed her in public and no action has been taken against him so far. This makes us wonder – if a Congress candidate can be exposed to such harassment, does the party actually have the capability to ensure security for common women!
Where security has always been a concern, political parties are trying to secure their win by pitching ek-se-badkar-ek candidate against each other. The BJP is planning to put up actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, and veteran BJP leader Uma Bharati against Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli. However, Bharati wants to retain her Jhansi seat as well. So, it remains to be seen how the BJP is going to tackle the situation.
In another development senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has severely criticized the induction of expelled Janata Dal (United) leader, Sabir Ali, into the party. He said that now it is a terrorist’s friend who has made the entry, next it would be underworld don Dawood.
Entry and exits are an integral part of pre-election mania. While, there has been an entry in BJP, there has been an exit too. Former Bihar Chief Minister Satish Prasad Singh has quit BJP after seven months of joining the party. He was earlier with the Congress. He said that he took the decision to quit because of the inadequate representation of the Kushwaha Samaj during ticket distribution.
Away from entry and exits, actor Aamir Khan wrote to the Election Commission that he is not endorsing or supporting any political party.
Meanwhile, Modi at a rally in Madhya Pradesh screamed that Congress’ arrogance is on seventh heaven and the party is evading accountability. “Shouldn’t the government in Delhi give an account of their work? Those who don’t care about the people have no right to rule India,” he declared.
As if in answer, Rahul Gandhi, too at a rally in Madhya Pradesh, shouted words of advice to people, asking them to refrain from voting for the BJP. He said, BJP’s ideology is one man rule and said, “Make me the watchman of India, and I will end theft. We want to make crores of people watchmen. We want benefits for them.”
Now, what does that mean? If he had said, “We want to make crores of people crorepati”…that would have made more sense and sounded more appealing. Watchmen, nah! He also promised that if Congress was voted to power, he will give the poor a right to roof and also the right to health by opening more hospital doors.
Talking about hospitals, Information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari, has been admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences and is expected to undergo a surgery tomorrow.
The election tension is mounting…there will be more angry spats, more verbal diarrhoea, more…, more…stay tuned with us as we capture this madness every day.
Related Information
Parliamentary Election Results
Uttar Pradesh Election Results
