Perils of not being a Modi Fan !

As India is slowly moving towards its next general elections, political alignments have boiled up ! The current Indian Government headed by Congress has failed at most fronts. Almost into their 10th year of governance, Congress has not been able to intelligently tackle recent economical, social and political situations. Their governance is marred by several scams and more importantly, their inability to communicate effectively with a common man.

BJP, India’s principal opposition party’s mascot, Narendra Modi is considered to be biggest contender for the top spot. His credentials as long serving, Chief Minster of Gujarat, are almost impeccable, with excellent development records, with stains of 2002 Hindu Muslim riots. Being a great orator in Hindi language and being technology and business enthusiast, he commands huge following on social media, largely youths of India.

But this article is not about Modi’s eulogy or Congress’s criticism. This is about my freedom of expression. Modi-Fans and Anti-Congressmen aren’t allowing people like me to freely express our viewpoints against Modi. No sooner, I write any statement against the Vikas-Purush Modi, than I am labeled as Pro-Congress, Anti-Hindu, Corrupt, Gullible, Anti-Nationalist etc. Any news, criticising Modi, if shared on social media, is considered as a ” Conspiracy by Paid Media” ! If any Anti-Modi views are discussed, they are doubly counterviewed by Anti-Congress views. Our Twitter and Facebook accounts are slammed with hate comments.

Its not only me who is suffering brunts of Modi-Mania ! Even L K Advani (Loh Purush), who was considered to be Modi’s mentor, was not spared, when he decided to go against Modi Fever. Highly respected politicians like Nitish Kumar are considered opportunist if they utter any anti-Modi statements. Old BJP loyalist, who dared to go against Modi, are shown exits. News channels like NDTV’s credibility, built brick by brick in 25yrs, has gone for a toss. Highly respected journalists few years back like Barkha Dutt, Karan Thapar etc.are now considered people with hidden agendas. In nutshell. Any and everybody, who questions Modi, should be ready to face heat from Modi Fanatics.

Today, on social media, when Indians openly question or criticise the actions and viewpoints of even the greatest men the world has seen, from Lord Rama to Mahatma Gandhi, from Sachin Tendulkar to M S Dhoni, from J L Nehru to Ambedkar, from our Parents to our Teachers. Why aren’t we allowed to even question/criticize Modi.

Where Corporates, Institutions, Laws and Rituals are subject to scrutiny, why aren’t we allowed to scrutinize Modi.

Today, I see jokes on Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru Family, Prime Minister, friends, families, religions and communities. But I am yet to see a joke on Narendra Modi, on any social/print/tv media.

I am afraid my dear friends, that we have created a demi-god of man named Narendra Bhai Modi. I am afraid,what if NaMo ends up being even worse than Manmohan, dooming all your hopes.
Germans voted in majority supporting Hitler with huge expectations. And once Hitler got the top spot, he unmasked himself to become the most dreaded man in political history.

How great he may be, allow us to review his actions, with a pinch of salt. Allow us to criticise and applaud any and every viewpoint, be it Congress or Modi, be it Secular or Extremist. Allow us to be fence-sitters, and not label us as Congressmen or a Modi Fan. We do not wish to take sides. Instead, we wish to dissect every news through our knife of cynicism.