Four phrases that will haunt Modi in time to come
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first year in power is almost over. While political analysts are out to make sense of Modi government's achievements and failures in the first year, I feel at least four phrases sum up the year in a far more conclusive way than imagined. Semantics apart, these phrases created a perception that the government is either arrogant, anti-poor or doesn't intend to keep its poll promises, or all of it.
1. Chunaavi jumla: The term was used by none other than BJP chief and Modi's Man Friday, Amit Shah, barely two days before the crucial Delhi elections. When asked about Modi's election promise of getting black money back and depositing Rs 15 lakh in every person's account, the BJP president said it was only a "chunaavi jumla" (election speech not to be taken seriously). Modi's voters perhaps never expected a princely sum of Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts once he won, but Shah's statement showed something worse: that the BJP lacked the intent to fulfil big poll promises. Lack of intent is a serious charge. The BJP won only three of the 70 seats in Delhi, suffering a shocking defeat at the hands of a resurgent Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). With slogans now playing a major role in a hypermediated environment, the "chunaavi jumla" faux pas is bound to haunt Modi and his government for its entire tenure.
2. Suit-boot ki sarkar: After 60 days of his much-talked about sabbatical, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi returned to active politics with another slogan with far-reaching implications. Attacking the Modi government in Parliament over the contentious Land Bill, Rahul called the Modi dispensation a "suit-boot ki sarkar", catching the BJP completely off-guard. India had still not forgotten the monogrammed pin-striped Rs 10 lakh designer suit that Modi wore on the reception for US President Barack Obama. The jibe resonated even more with a perception slowly gaining ground that the government is more interested in the interest of a few industrialists and not India's poor. The phrase, like "chunaavi jumla", is bound to haunt the Modi regime in future too.
3. Presstitute: Miffed with the media's alleged uneven coverage of his works, former Army chief and minister of state for external affairs VK Singh slammed the entire press fraternity by calling them "presstitutes". Misogyny apart, the statement triggered outrage for its contempt for an independent press. Though Singh apologised later, in today's digital era, once you have spoken a word, it remains there to haunt you forever. Time and again, #presstitute trends on Twitter, reminding us of its controversial speaker, one of Modi's chosen men.
4. Bazaaru media: Not to be left behind by his subordinate, even Modi could not resist the urge to attack the press. In the run-up to the charged up Delhi elections, he called the pollsters who predicted a rout for his party "bazaaru". Not only was it unbecoming of a prime minister to shoot the medium rather than reading the message, he soon had to eat his unfortunate words when the BJP actually suffered one of its most humiliating defeats in the national capital. However, Modi was perhaps too big to apologise. I won't be surprised if the phrase returns as a hashtag to haunt him.
The above list is in no way conclusive in a year that was marked by massive acrimony between the ruling combine and the opposition and the unleashing of a divisive Hindutva campaign on the ground by Modi's close associates, whether it was Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's "Haraamzaade" shame, Giriraj Singh's racist remarks against Sonia Gandhi, or Sakshi Maharaj's call for four Hindu kids in every family.
For the remaining four years, these words and phrases are bound to haunt Modi as his detractors will milk them dry to their advantage. Remember, perception and not reality drives contemporary politics. Modi still has at least 80 per cent of his time in power with him. That is a great opportunity to correct the course and elevate political discourse. Isn't clean India also about language?