How to liberate India from our blind leaders? Desperate people tell leaders: Go!
Modi is referred to as “the greatest exhibitionist India has seen”; like the Peacock he spreads out a colorfully crafted plumage to deceive. The writer speaks of infamous demonetisation, a "colossal policy failure" as some economists described it, and cites global papers like Guardian, Australian paper brutally tearing down Modi.
Pet projects, colossal waste!
He calls Modi’s pet project the construction of three secretariat buildings in the pet Modi scheme Project (total estimated cost Rs 20,000 crore), a total waste of precious money.
He asks How many hospitals, oxygen plants and vaccine manufacturing units could have been built with the money spent on the World’s Tallest Statue, World’s Largest Stadium, World’s Grandest Central Vista?
Small me with bloated ego!
It is small men who do things in the hope that their smallness will be seen as bigness. People have been hitting back, bringing Modi’s bloated ego several notches down. A retired professor in Punjab demanded the removal of Modi’s photo from Covid vaccination certificates.
Let us hope that independent and concerned voices from around the globe reach Modi’s ears and help him do the necessary course correction at least at this late stage to save millions of India’s poor suffering and dying. james kottoor(in Chicago} editor CCV.
Please read TJS George in Kolkatta Daily!
The Telegraph said what others hesitated to state openly. "It's best to state this simply," said the Kolkata daily. "Narendra Modi needs to go. Amit Shah needs to go. Ajay Mohan Bisht, aka Yogi Adityanath, needs to go."
This view is not new. What is new is that it is being publicly aired. The public mood in India has changed. Tired of the pretensions, and the proprietorial arrogance of the Government, people have found the courage to come out and openly attack Narendra Modi and his self-centred approach to administration.
Modi of course is the greatest exhibitionist India has seen. His histrionics have tried to give the impression that Indian history began with his rise to power. His public relations programme was a bit too obvious to make any impact. Remember the picture of him reading books with an obedient peacock standing nearby?
On the day India set a world record for the largest number of corona cases in a 24-hour period, his radio programme Mann Ki Baat talked mostly about toys and childhood. It's no wonder that a rudderless-nation hears calls for Modi-Shah-Bisht to go.
As India's most image-conscious prime minister, Modi must be particularly upset about the way the world has revised its estimates of him. But who can forget Modi claiming that his Goods and Services Tax solved all problems. That was reminiscent of his infamous demonetisation, a "colossal policy failure" as some economists described it.
Response to the current crisis has also been a colossal policy failure. The main plank of the response was to kickstart new programmes for the construction of three secretariat buildings in the pet Modi scheme called Central Vista Project (total estimated cost Rs 20,000 crore).
No minister heard people asking: How many hospitals, oxygen plants and vaccine manufacturing units could have been built with the money spent on the World’s Tallest Statue, World’s Largest Stadium, World’s Grandest Central Vista?
But oxygen plants cannot boost the ego as profoundly as the Tallest and the Largest can. It is small men who do things in the hope that their smallness will be seen as bigness. People have been hitting back, bringing Modi’s bloated ego several notches down.
A retired professor in Punjab demanded the removal of Modi’s photo from Covid vaccination certificates. In the south, these certificates did not carry Modi pictures. Obviously, the Big Man knew that South India was not Punjab. The Government's mishandling of the crisis was noted worldwide.
"A lethal, fast-paced second wave has brought India’s health care systems to the verge of collapse," said the director of the Centre for Disease Dynamics in Washington (who happens to be a man of Indian origin).
He went on to say: "India’s rapid slide into this unprecedented crisis is a direct result of complacency and lack of preparation by the Government." Saying that India is now a living hell, The Guardian said Modi "should make amends for mistakes that have caused enormous suffering".
The Australian newspaper said: "Arrogance, hypernationalism and bureaucratic incompetence have combined to create a crisis of epic proportions." Radio France was more downright. It said: "Health has collapsed in India. The main culprit is Narendra Modi."
Modi had the thick skin to claim that India was doing better than others in fighting COVID. Actually India was lagging behind as a direct result of official negligence. In 2020, India was the third highest in the world on COVID count and the lowest in testing.
In Delhi, a woman went from place to place looking for oxygen for her brother. No one helped and he died. The women cried out helplessly, before cameras: "Modi. Delhi Government. Who will reply? This Modi. For what did he take my vote? Why is he destroying the country?"
Recently a message purported to have been written by Mr. Sebastian Paul, ex-MP from Kerala made its round in whatsapp. He had won from Ernakulam as a LDF candidate. I quote from it:-
"It seems to me that the unbridled hatred and animosity of a section towards Prime Minister Modi is symptom of a kind of mental illness. When I was writing for the Congress, I also mocked Modi. Sorry about that. Modi is neither a superhero nor a Siddah. An ordinary man. He interacts with peope in his native language. People accept words spoken from the heart. So the people elected him Prime Minister. Her did not seize power or run for parliament. Those who accept democracy should also accept Modi as Prime Minister. I think the stand of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in this regard is welcome.
The BJP will also win the 2024 parliamentary elections. He is one hundred percent sure that he will come to power. No other party. The Congress will gadually disappear. Sonia Gandhi has long been entrusted with the task of helping the party. It is true that independence was achieved and Infdia was built. But that Congress does not exist now. There is only one spin company of Sonia Gandhi. What happened to Congress is what would happen if a political party became the property of only one family. It will take some time for ordinary Congressmen to understand this reality. It does not matter. It has been said that Modi will not be the next Prime Minister when the BJP comes to power. It might be Amit Shah sometimes. Then today's anti-Modi people will praise the same Modi then. Amit Shah will be hailed as terrible fascist and Modi as a relatively valid and warm hearted sattvik. There is no logic in any of this. Hatred and hatred are unreasonably ingrained in people's minds. Hindu communalism is a myth. Hindus are the majority in India. What's wrong with that? It does not harm other religions in any way. It does not rob anyone of their rights. Hindus cannot be excluded from the BJP on the grounds of Hindu communalism. Currently, the BJP Hindus consider themselves lucky to be in power and Hindus are politically united. Because Hindus are really afraind of what will happen if Muslims rule like this with a majority. Muslims need not fear Hindus; but Hindus should fear Muslims. This is well understood by Hindus today. Hindus also understand that threat is not organized Hindus but organized Islam. Hindus also understand that when it comes to religion the educated and high-ranking Muslims alike stand by the primitive beliefs of Islam. So it is good that at least Hindus understand that it is the need of the hour for Hindus to organize politicallly and that it is not against anyone or harming anyone".
My namkesake TJS better rid himself off the anti-Modi virus that seems to have taken over him. Do look for something good in PM Modi and if you cannot find any then stop at least womitting up things that have been written by umpteen people and umpteen number of times. Yes, I agree with Mr. Sebastian Paul that anti-Modism is sort of mental illness.