Wrong to Mock Modi’s Teleprompter Gaffe
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s teleprompter gaffe at the World Economic Forum where Modi seemingly struggled to deliver his speech after the teleprompter stopped working is being trolled on social media. These trolls contend that the Prime Minister cannot make a speech without looking at the teleprompter, which according to them is a weakness, and are using this incident to attack Modi. When the repeated blunders that Modi has made so far are before us, how right is it to project the teleprompter gaffe as a major problem and thereby the country’s failure? Adopting the Sangh Parivar’s strategy of repeating a lie till it becomes the truth would be akin to looking away from the real issues. Public discourse should be about presenting the real issues that the country is facing, not mocking at the Prime Minister’s colour, language, or his eloquence or lack of it.
First, the veracity of the fact that Modi stopped his speech midway due to the glitch in the teleprompter needs to be examined. Initially, when the Prime Minister was struggling for words people, assumed that the teleprompter stopped working and several websites were quick to share the videos. But the reality was something different. Modi had apparently stopped speaking not because of the teleprompter but because the event organizers had asked him to stop as the audience was unable to hear him that caused him to stutter a bit. But the initial misconception spread like wildfire in social media. True, if an incident like this had occurred when Dr Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, Sangh Parivar’s karyakarthas and trolls would have celebrated it. Even if we were to assume that Modi stammered due to the teleprompter’s malfunctioning, then the criticism should be directed against the quality of the teleprompter and the irresponsibility of the organizers, not against the Prime Minister.
Moreover, the question is whether it is absolutely necessary that a Prime Minister must be eloquent. These days, it appears that the more eloquent a leader is, the more dangerous it is to the country. Prime Minister Modi is an example. Good speakers mesmerize people through their words. The country has rarely found good, eloquent speakers who are also seasoned politicians. Of these, Jawaharlal Nehru stands out. With his words and programmes, Nehru contributed immensely not only to the country but also to the Third World. At the same time, although Manmohan Singh was not a great orator, the entire world respected his words as he is one of the tallest economists in the world. Prime Minister Modi has so far entertained people through his speeches but Modi’s bhakths are coming to know where the country has reached today. That Modi cannot deliver a speech without a teleprompter is not the issue at all. What needs to be discussed is whether, regardless of the presence of the teleprompter, his speeches have a vision. In the entire teleprompter fiasco, the lies that Modi delivered at the World Economic Forum about the state of the country were not discussed at all.
More than the appropriateness of a Prime Minister using a teleprompter, the compulsory use of a teleprompter by someone occupying a top position such as the Prime Minister’s office must be emphasised. Speaking from such a responsible position, it is important to ensure that words are used carefully as otherwise, words that are misunderstood or misconstrued could lead to dangerous situations. It is therefore important that the Prime Minister is well aware of what he is talking about, and he uses the help of different media to read his speeches. This is a good time to note that Modi’s blind followers are responsible for pushing him to this situation. They projected Modi’s speeches as the greatest gifts for the country instead of focusing on his administration. The behaviour of his followers is also responsible for the discussions around the teleprompter. It is high time Modi bhakths who are always focusing on the ‘positive energies’ in his speeches realize that the Prime Minister’s job is not only to deliver speeches but also to take the country on the path of development and start critiquing Modi’s administration.
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Theatre stampede: Allegations against me false, says Allu Arjun on Telangana CM's comments
Hyderabad, Dec 21: Actor Allu Arjun on Saturday said the incident in which a woman died and her son was hospitalised at a theatre here where 'Pushpa-2' was screened on December 4 was purely an accident and denied the allegations made by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on the roadshow.
Hours after Reddy slammed the actor for holding a roadshow and waving to the crowds at the theatre, without referring to anyone, the 'Pushpa 2' star refuted the allegations and said it was not a procession or a roadshow.
"There is a lot of misinformation that I behaved in a particular way. These are wrong allegations. It’s humiliating and a character assassination. There is a lot of misinformation going on, a lot of false allegations, especially character assassination," he told reporters in a hurriedly held press conference.
Describing the death of the woman as an accident, he said he was not blaming anyone as it is an unfortunate incident.
A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was hospitalised on December 4 during a stampede-like situation at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad when thousands of fans jostled to have a glimpse of the actor at the premiere of the blockbuster 'Pushpa 2'.
Following the incident, the city police registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under different sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station based on the complaint lodged by the deceased woman's family.
Allu Arjun was arrested by the city police in connection with the death of the woman on December 13. The Telangana High Court granted him a four-week interim bail on the same day and he was released from a prison here on December 14 morning.
