What’s being ‘fortunate’ or ‘unfortunate’?
Usually words such as loss, tragic or unfortunate are used to express feelings when accidents or mishaps or natural disasters occur. May be even to describe when hundreds of people die in a train or bus accidents or something. But if the leaders of the nation use such words, it indicates things that happened were due to evil forces or something similar. Can a leader escape his responsibility by using that word?
Finally, and thankfully so, the PM has broken his silence on incidents of lynch mobs having claimed lives of 12 people in the country. All he has said is ‘it’s unfortunate’. Whose bad fortune was that? Of the PM, or the nation or that of the dead ones? He hasn’t made that clear in his speech.
Instead of speaking strongly against those people in lynch mobs who incited the hatred and caused the deaths, he has spoken against political parties that have been criticizing such incidents and blaming the government for it. He has called the political parties vested interests for wanting action against lynch mobs. And there is a reason and a pattern to his response. Instead of issuing a stern warning to attackers, he has ridiculed the parties that have spoken against this.
One does not understand whether mob violence increases owing to fortune or misfortune. But when the law implementation is done effectively, and the agencies work with due diligence, instances of crime and violence comes down.
When the whole system is weak, the unruly mobs go on a rampage. The police department works according to the stance government adopts against particular issues. Because, after all, the police department is part of the government itself!
Ever since Modi govt came to power, the rate of crime has increased in the country. UP government would soon be issuing lynch mobs an Id card and circumvent the democratic ideals the governments should work on. When this happens, how does one assume the incidents are merely ‘unfortunate’?
One can understand the govt pandering to these mobs, when you see how many members of the mobs have been arrested or being acted against. And this will explain why the incidents are on a rise in India. Who are they who get violent in groups? Are they common people who turn into flash mobs and get violent at the spur of the moment?
The PM surely knows they are not commoners. One clearly knows the party that brings pressure to let off the violent group member when they are arrested by cops. Cops killed a cow trader in Udupi and threw his body in a tribal settlement. Then they pretended to trace the body and said he had died of heart attack. After there was a widespread demand to investigate the death, the accused people and cops were held. The local goons who belong to Sangh Parivar were main accused in the case. Immediately after they were held, BJP MP and leader Shobha Karandlaje took to streets demanding for the release of these Sangh Parivar members. Does this not indicate that the mobs and party politics are hand in glove?
On one hand Modi says these lynch mobs are unfortunate. On the other, their own party members are defending these crimes. Who should be trusted? Another incident occurred in Jharkhand some time ago. People beat up a cow trader and cops arrested them. Eventually the culprits were released on bail and Union minister Jayant Sinha accorded them honour by garlanding them. One cannot dismiss this as ‘unfortunate’ and maintain silence. This is an encouragement to those who lynch. The minister should have been criticized or at least told some words of advice to not engage with such elements.
The word ‘unfortunate’ should have been used against incidents such as this one. But the PM chose not to speak at that time. Many instances are such that even cops are hand in glove with the culprits. The government has sponsored such acts by being party to it in some sense. Since BJP is the beneficiary of this violence, the country is indeed going through an unfortunate time.
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'Warm and engaging atmosphere reigned', Shashi Tharoor on Putin banquet
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who on Friday attended a banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, on Saturday described the atmosphere there as "warm" and "engaging", and said he enjoyed his conversations with many of the attendees.
Tharoo’s remarks came a day after President Droupadi Murmu hosted a banquet for the visiting Russian president at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
“Attended the @rashtrapatibhvn banquet for President Putin last night. A warm and engaging atmosphere reigned. Enjoyed my conversations with many of the attendees, especially my dining companions from the Russian delegation!" Tharoor said in a social media post.
Murmu, while welcoming President Putin and his delegation at the banquet, had said that his visit marked an important milestone -- the 25th anniversary of the India-Russia strategic partnership, which was established in October 2000 during his first visit to the country as president.
Murmu also appreciated Putin's support and personal commitment to the India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership.
The Congress on Friday said that the leaders of the opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet, and took a swipe at Tharoor for accepting the invite.
The party’s media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
“There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise, but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government,” Khera said on Friday.
Asked about Tharoor accepting the invite for the banquet, Khera said, "Ask Mr Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable, and those who accept such an invite are also questionable."
“We would have listened to our voice of conscience,” he added.
Earlier, Tharoor had said that there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited, but that practice seems to have stopped some years ago.
On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the leader of opposition due to its "insecurity".
His remarks came hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.
