How Rahul Gandhi's Pidi tweet got BJP's goat
Twitter is usually less acrimonious and considerably diminished in its acerbic exchanges on Sunday. I guess even the usually frenetic keyboard-addicts in the shape of anonymous eggheads or fake photos need a temporary respite from the mindless toxicity. Thus, seeing Pidi , rather adroitly follow his masters' command was the most charming intrusion in an otherwise undulating between bland and boisterous day on social media.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's prepossessing, self-deprecating wit is clearly unprecedented in Indian politics, suffused as it (the latter) is with a stuffed-up halo of self-importance, bordering on near-megalomania. Several politicians in India consider themselves paragons of invincibility that would make Spiderman recoil in prodigious embarrassment. It is hardly astonishing that leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi actually invoke it in its glorious physical manifestations, such as the 56-inch muscular machismo. Animal spirits, folks, is not just an economic policy catchphrase.
It is evident that Rahul's freewheeling, tongue-in-cheek, sardonic tweets have got the BJP's sound-byte factory gobsmacked. It is altering rather dramatically the otherwise dull, dark and depressing political discourse, often exacerbated by hugely polarised and politically prejudiced hashtags that a number of mainstream media TV channels trend daily. It is absolutely hilarious to see how Pidi was promptly attacked by the right-wing chauvinists, clearly overwhelmed by the popularity of man's best friend.
Ppl been asking who tweets for this guy..I'm coming clean..it's me..Pidi..I'm way ???? than him. Look what I can do with a tweet..oops..treat! pic.twitter.com/fkQwye94a5
— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) 29 October 2017
They only ended up tying themselves in an inextricable knot and looking silly. The BJP actually got so flustered, they came up with a spoof using a Bollywood actor's (with sympathetic predilections towards them) forthcoming film. Senior BJP leaders, unaccustomed to such captivating humour, tried to hit back with snide remarks. They seemed totally at sea. Little Pidi had left them nonplussed. I am sure, deep down, even they were admiring Rahul for his refreshing candour and the smart deployment of the social media arsenal. Ironically, BJP practises the dog-eat-dog world of politics rather brilliantly. The hard truth is that those with bigoted ideology are so preoccupied with divisive and hate messaging, their humour quotient is irretrievably damaged. Have you ever tried cracking a joke when you are shaking with uncontrollable irascibility? Don't even try.
Pidi लाओ, Congress बचाओ.. pic.twitter.com/A677QSIvah
— Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) October 29, 2017
You can't. At best, you will make a fool of yourself. The choleric can never be cool. They are too thin-skinned to be light-hearted.
Rahul's springy tweets must be seen in the context of a dreary, distressing environment that has gradually mushroomed into a gigantic ball all over India. Freedom of expression appears to be in peril, precariously close to the precipice. Everyone is easily offended by the slightest insinuation of dissent. What is particularly disconcerting is that the government is sending out an unambiguous broadcast that if they are criticised, they will not respond with much magnanimity.
Threats of criminal defamation suits are often uttered with casual nonchalance. The Wire broke a story on Amit Shah's son Jay Shah's spectacular non-linear growth in business fortunes, and then an abrupt closure of the same. It is palpably fishy, even a kindergarten kid would be wonderstruck. But guess what? The entire government machinery was mounted with military finesse to prevent further public disclosures.
Gauri Lankesh, was of course, killed in cold-blood, even as several despicable hate-mongers celebrated her brutal slaying. A Star Plus comedian's outstanding mimicry of Narendra Modi was met by disgruntled fury. The programme was eventually edited out. Big Brother is hypersensitive to even the fleeting butterfly's shadow. Mersal, the Tamil film, saw a mighty brouhaha since the film thought that GST was an Amazonian catastrophe.
The local BJP unit tried to asphyxiate the film producers' creative freedom. Ultimately, judicial intervention saved the day. A Maharashtra constable critical of Modi was suspended. It seems as if we are living in a grotesque afterworld in a twisted futuristic science fiction film. Nothing makes any sense.
By sheer coincidence, I was on popular stand-up comic artist Sorabh Pant's #TheRant show last week. There was not a dog's chance that the BJP would attend. Pant did the usual fun stuff with professional panache, but it was great fun interacting with the youth of India in an unrestrained, flippant, frivolous chat show, but which addressed core political issues with equal gravitas.
The fact that Vir Das had to post a message asking what was kosher for comedy and what was taboo, was symptomatic of the I-will-throttle-you threat that is regularly dished out at creative talent. It is a tragic commentary of our times that India's Prime Minister has not addressed a single press conference, and he is in his fourth year of his five-year term, albeit he specialises in hurling single-sided ballistic missiles. But then anyone can do that.
The fact is that Rahul Gandhi is an outlier in Indian politics. His chilled out demeanour, shorn of the standard image sandbagging done by most, is elevating. His breathtaking candour and smart wisecracks have floored most, while constipated carping cynics grumble their distaste, as if Rahul had committed an apostasy. Seriously funny that. Whatever floats your boat, my friends. Pidi, for sure, has got BJP's goat.