In 1991 Congress President Sonia Gandhi was offered the post of Prime Minister of India by her party. What were her qualifications? Zero days as Chief Minister. Zero days as MP. Zero days as a government official. Zero days as party functionary.
Then on what basis was she offered the most important post in the country? Isn’t this a clear example of blind devotion or “bhakti”? It’s probably called the biggest example of blind faith in India’s political history!
So why wasn’t the term SoniaBhakt used for senior party leaders? The SoniaBhakts finally made her party President in 1998. In 1996 Atal Bihari Vajpayee was toppled by other parties in 13 days despite having 161 seats in the Lok Sabha.
In contrast these same parties allowed Sonia and Manmohan Singh to rule for 5 years despite having a much lesser 145 seats with the BJP close behind at 138. Why are all other parties eager to prop up Congress and topple the BJP?
Are there SoniaBhakts/DynastyBhakts/CongressBhakts among their senior leaders?
There is no denying that the Sonia/Manmohan regime saw a record number of scams in Independent India’s history and there was a terrible policy paralysis. And yet the media is still petrified of attacking Sonia. Why aren’t they called SoniaBhakts?
In 2009 Rahul Gandhi was presented as a knight in shining armour and the future Prime Minister despite having zero experience in government. Why did senior Congress leaders and senior editors in the mainstream media back him to the hilt?
This was another case of blind faith and blind devotion or “bhakti”. So why aren’t all these people being called RahulBhakts or PappuBhakts? Gandhi was called the Mahatma. Sardar Vallabhai Patel the Iron Man.
That Rahul is called more often as Pappu should itself tell a story. The media failed in 2011-12 but still propped him up in 2014. They failed and tried to prop him up in 2015. Why isn’t this blind devotion highlighted and all these people called PappuBhakts?
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal also had no political experience in 2013. He had never been MP and MLA when he faced the polls at that time. He filled his party with journalists and activists. He gave a retrograde Communist Manifesto.
Yet he got 28 seats enough for him to grab the CM’s chair. The 49-day rule was a Grade I disaster. Vigilante crowds heckled hospital staff and the climax was the Khirki Extension raid. Kejri’s midnight dharna was a disgusting nadir in the local politics of Delhi.
And yet he got 67/70 seats in the subsequent elections! So far his second term is only full of controversies and he is on course for turning New Delhi 2019 the Bihar of the 1990s. That’s another example of blind devotion. So why aren’t his supporters called KejriBhakts?
Now let’s come to the case of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi had very little support outside Gujarat in the period from 2001 to 2012. He was attacked viciously by the media, unpopular among many BJP leaders and treated badly by most leaders from other political party.
His support base started increasing only after 2012 by which time he had won three Assembly elections and things like electricity reforms and roadmaking projects in Gujarat caught the imagination of many Indians.
People admired his governance style and were quite impressed by his oratory. He had been observed for a decade and that’s why his support was concrete and practical and not some sort of blind devotion.
And yet his supporters were dubbed ModiBhakts. That’s a brilliant piece of successful propaganda by Modi Haters. If you hire a person who has a blank resume then you could be called a Bhakt.
If you hire a person with a string of achievements you can’t be called a Bhakt. The whole discourse of India has been turned upside down.
Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world and somehow it is associated with only one party now. Yoga has been appreciated by many for thousands of years. But now since the Prime Minister supports it, it has to be rubbished.
Till the 19th century cow slaughter ban was supported by most Hindu and Sikh rulers. In the 20th century Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and inaugural President Rajendra Prasad promised a ban on cow slaughter after Independence. Yet today it is presented as solely an RSS demand.
Even something fun and positive like #SelfieWithDaughter was vitiated by Modi haters. Finally it is ironical that SoniaBhakts, PappuBhakts, DynastyBhakts, CongressBhakts and KejriBhakts are the ones who use the term ModiBhakt the most!