Seven catchphrases Modi sarkar gifted India
The past two years have seen an unprecedented rise in people taking an interest in politics. Whether it be the BJP, the AAP, the JD(U) or the Congress, politicians and their statements have made politics more interesting than ever before. Often, politicians coin new terms and words, which become top Twitter trends and provide fodder for discussions on social media platforms. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an uncanny knack of being somehow linked to those innovative creations. Either he comes up with something really unique or his political opponents invent a new term to denigrate him. Here is a list of such words, which were either coined by Modi or aimed at him:
1. Shabd Wapsi: During his Parivartan rally in Muzzaffarpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, made the remark: "There seems to be some problem in his DNA because the DNA of democracy is not like that. In a democracy, you give respect even to your political rivals." In response, Nitish Kumar asked Modi to take it back, which he obviously didn't. Therefore, with an objective to leverage his remark for electoral gains similar to what Chaiwala and Mufflerman did for Modi and Kejriwal respectively, Nitish and Lalu launched the "ShabdWapasi" (TakeBackYourWords) campaign. The campaign involves people sending their hair and nail (DNA samples) to Modi to embarrass him.
2. Bazaaru Log: In January, prior to the Delhi Assembly elections earlier this year, most pre-poll surveys showed AAP having a clear lead over BJP following the saffron party's decision to project Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate backfired. In his last poll rally, Modi said, "Kuch Baazaru log survey kara rahe hai, survey (Some news traders are showing surveys)". The comment attracted huge criticism from media persons.
3. Suit Boot ki Sarkar: During a Parliament session in April, Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at Modi, saying, "Your government is not listening to farmers. It is a government of industrialists. Aapki suit boot ki sarkar hai." The jibe was a reference to the fancy suit Modi wore, with his name on it, during US President Obama's India visit.
4. JumlaBabu: Ever since BJP President Amit Shah said that the promise of bringing black money and depositing Rs 15 lakh in every account was an election Jumla, it has been used repeatedly for BJP's failed promises and U-turns on several issues. Last week, Nitish Kumar launched an audio campaign and called Modi a "JumlaBabu", which was also the top trend on Twitter that day.
5. RJD (Rozana Jungle Raj ka Darr) and JDU (Janata ka daman-utpidan): In his parivartan rally, Modi created innovative abbreviations for attacking Nitish and Lalu. He termed RJD as Rozana Jungle Raj ka Darr (Jungle Raj's fear every day). During his recent rally in Gaya, he followed it up with another: JDU as Janata ka daman utpidan (Oppression and suppression of people). In response to which, Nitish retorted that BJP meant "Bharatiya Jumla Party" and "Badka Jhutha Party (Party of big liars)".
6. Five-star activists: In April, while addressing Supreme Court judges and high court chief justices, Modi said, "The judiciary is not as fearless today as it used to be ten years back. Are five-star activists not driving the judiciary? Are they not attempting to do so? Judges fear what the reaction of five-star activists would be when they render justice as per law and as per Constitution." Ever since the BJP has come to power, it has cracked down on NGOs, especially those working environmental issues and opposing developmental projects, which seems to be rationale behind Modi's comment. Greenpeace is still battling the government over the issue of their blocked financial accounts and foreign funding.
7. 56-inch chest: During the 2014 election campaign, at a rally in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said that "a 56-inch chest" is a pre-requisite to convert India's most populous state into one as developed as Gujarat. Though this was coined before Modi became PM, but it has been repeatedly been used by parties and leaders to criticise him. Recently, Rahul Gandhi remarked "Land Acquisition Bill will not be passed in the Parliament. We will not let BJP acquire even an inch of land. Modi ji's 56-inch chest will become 5.6 inch".