“Modi sahab jo khaate hai, woh aap nahi kha sakte. Kyonki woh gareebon ka khana nahi. Toh maine poocha ‘woh aisa kya khate hain’? Bole woh toh mushroom khate hain. Maine kaha ‘toh aisa kya hua? Mushroom toh milta hai yahan pe’. Tum log jo khate ho, woh unko achha nahi lagta. Woh toh Taiwan se aata hai. Aur Taiwan se jo mushroom aata hai, uske ek ka keemat 80,000 rupiya hai… aur Modi sahab har roz ke paanch mushroom kha jaate hain,” proclaimed Gujarat OBC leader Alpesh Thakor at a recent rally.
Thakor’s jibe did not end there. Aside from alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi consumes Rs four lakh worth of mushrooms on a daily basis, he wondered if this was, perhaps, the reason behind the PM’s clearer skin and strong physique, adding that he remembered Modi (as erstwhile Gujarat CM) being as dark as himself.
#WATCH Modi Ji eats mushrooms from Taiwan, one mushroom costs Rs 80 thousand & he eats 5 mushrooms a day. He was dark like me but he became fair because of imported mushrooms: Alpesh Thakor, activist & Congress leader #GujaratElection2017 pic.twitter.com/jh5QPN27SD
— ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2017
The Gujarat elections have witnessed, quite possibly, the death of discourse. After all, the land of supposed development, during the elections, has seen Narendra Modi alleging that India’s former PM, Manmohan Singh, conspired with Pakistan to rig the polls. But this statement definitely takes the cake; or the mushroom.
Thakor’s jibe soon became the butt of all jokes on social media.
OK, Gujarat elections are now properly wild. Congress politician says Narendra Modi eats $200,000 of imported mushrooms a month to lighten his complexion. I'm sure he has proof... pic.twitter.com/6dfYSrsKCr
— Stanley Pignal (@spignal) December 12, 2017
Mushrooms being imported by IRCTC for Narendra Modi's Dinner in order to make him White like the way he did to Black Money. (2017) pic.twitter.com/VNS8cdy1w1
— History of India (@RealHistoryPic) December 12, 2017
To cook up the story of Rs 80,000 worth imported mushrooms from Taiwan that turns the dark into fair, you have to be on mushrooms. Magic mushrooms.
— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) December 12, 2017
Fair & Lovely just lost its business to imported mushrooms!
— Bharti Jain (@bhartijainTOI) December 12, 2017
dunno about the PM but this guy is surely on Mushrooms. The other kind. https://t.co/nmHNO9w7sl
— Rohit Shah (@rohshah07) December 12, 2017
It was not at all surprising that people conflated Thakor’s mushroom jibe with him taking magic mushrooms (LSD), and hallucinating over the entire thing. But one has to wonder why the youth leader would even utter such an inane statement. As it turns out, this is not the first time Modi and mushrooms have been uttered in the same sentence.
And yes, this is to news media's credit.
On September 16, 2016, Dainik Bhaskar had published the article, “Revealed! PM Modi Keeps Himself Healthy by Eating These Mushrooms Which Cost Rs 30,000 per Kg”. Even keeping in mind inflation, it is hard to imagine the prices of these amazing mushrooms skyrocketing from Rs 30,000 per kg to Rs 80,000 per piece, but facts, it seems, have no part to play in election speeches.
According to the Dainik Bhaskar piece, it was PM Modi himself who had revealed this dietary secret, claiming that he has been eating these mushrooms since he was BJP national secretary for party activities in Himachal Pradesh, reportedly saying: “The secret of my good health is mushrooms of Himachal Pradesh. They have various health benefits.”
The report adds that these mushrooms, known as morchella esculenta, are generally found in Himachal Pradesh, and have a huge demand globally. But it wasn’t just Bhaskar that reported this. In fact, even before them, it was reported by Aaj Tak Tez.
In an 11-minute-long television report, the channel went on to elaborate the secret to Modi’s health.
Of course, the veracity of either claim is questionable. Maybe Modi does eat really expensive mushrooms. Maybe they are from Taiwan. Maybe they are from Himachal. Maybe they cost Rs 30,000 per kilo. Maybe they cost Rs 80,000 per piece. What matters not is the multitude of facts that contradict each other.
What matters is a wonderful sound bite. And that, sadly, is what elections in India are. No one in Gujarat seems to care about the state, its dismal show in social indicators, or even its economy, which seems to have taken a hit — and not just because of demonetisation and the GST regime.
All that matters is leaders need to be in the spotlight, whatever it may take.