Modi stop tweeting, act against Hindu extremists please

Two more incidents in the last few days, in what has been an unending series post May 16, 2014, have yet again jolted the plural conscience of this nation: The gang rape of a 72 year old nun in West Bengal and the destruction of an under construction church near Hisar in Haryana. If testimonies of the priest and other witnesses are to be believed, the latter was carried out allegedly in collusion with activists of a Sangh affiliate namely the Bajrang Dal. The only reaction that these incidents evoked from the prime minister of India were a couple of tweets "expressing concern" and "seeking a report". And while one welcomes the PM speaking or tweeting on this issue, one wonders what prevented him from tweeting about the lynching of Sharifuddin Khan in Dimapur, an Indian who was falsely branded as an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant and accused of rape (which the Nagaland government report says could have been consensual sex)? I am bewildered about the selectiveness that Modi shows even while paying, what many people are beginning to feel, mere lip service.

And there is good reason why we feel that the prime minister isn't doing much, other than running with the secular hare and hunting with the communal hound. Each time he expresses his dismay or assures us of his commitment to upholding the Constitution and opposing religious bigotry and discrimination, somebody from his own ideological Parivar challenges his authority. And he always seems to fail in backing his eloquent words with actions, his showmanship with statesmanship.

Why else would he not expel Subramanian Swamy, an accused hate-monger out on bail in a previous case filed by me, who just a few days ago made the most outrageous comments justifying the demolition of mosques and churches. In his opinion "God only lived in temples". Isn't this the kind of hate and bigotry that incites the kind of attacks on churches that have taken place in Haryana and Delhi?

The mismatch between what Modi says and what his party and its ideological affiliates do, is a matter of concern. From the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, Modi spoke eloquently asking for a moratorium to be imposed on controversial and communal issues for a few years. Immediately thereafter BJP made "saffron poster boy" Yogi Adityanath its chief campaigner in the by-polls in Uttar Pradesh where he extensively campaigned on the issue of "Love Jihad". A little later, Modi was forced to apologise in Parliament for the communally invectives hurled by his own minister Sadhvi Jyoti. She was later on rewarded with VIP security cover by the government instead of being sacked. We then had an RSS backed group Dharm Jagran Manch stating how it would get rid of Muslims and Christians by 2021 and we had the members of the Modi government apologetically telling the nation once again that its agenda was "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" not Ghar Vapsi. Just before we could take this statement at face value, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat pledged his support for the controversial Ghar Vapsi programs and went to the extent of calling a bunch of people "chori ka maal". The next time Modi was forced to speak was after a series of attacks on churches in Delhi, six in just four months to be precise. And immediately after that Mohan Bhagwat, came out and questioned Mother Teresa and her motives.

So the question is will the real Modi please stand up? Is he the prime minister of 1.2 billion Indians or is he a pracharak of the kind of politics espoused by his ideological cousins, which frankly has no place in a secular country like ours? Was the Delhi verdict not a wake up call for him and his party?

There is a protection, I feel, being given to all kinds of loony right wing elements, who have been emboldened after Modi's victory last year. The culprits behind the church vandalism in Delhi continue to roam freely. This isn't about politics. It's about rule of law and our constitutional values of pluralism and secularism. We expect the prime minister of India to stand up for his citizens and take action against those behind these acts.