Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lashed out at I.N.D.I.A bloc for the CPI(M) manifesto which calls for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. Addressing an election rally in Barmer, Rajasthan, near the India-Pakistan border, Modi alleged that the opposition wanted to weaken India. He questioned the wisdom of such a move when India's neighbouring countries possess nuclear arms. The CPI(M) manifesto had promised to work for the "complete elimination of all nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons". Modi said, "This is a dangerous declaration against our country. When two of our neighbours are armed with nuclear weapons, should we destroy our nuclear weapons?" What Modi has red-flagged is correct. There can be no compromise on issues relating to national interest. India is a nuclear power and shall continue to remain so. India's atomic weapons are not meant for attacking any country, but for providing deterrence. India's nuclear weapons are meant to ensure peace in the entire region and to protect our borders. India's security interests are paramount, far above all political ideas and leanings. There is no need to elaborate who is being guided by other countries by questioning our nuclear might. Similarly, electoral promises have been made to revive Article 370 granting special powers to Jammu and Kashmir. Reviving Article 370 is useless and anti-national. Scrapping of Article 370 was a decision which many political leaders viewed as impossible. There were leaders in Kashmir who were predicting dire consequences by saying not a single Indian would be there in the Valley to hoist the tricolour if Article 370 was scrapped. Modi took a bold decision, the atmosphere in the Valley has completely changed and stone throwers have vanished. There is no dearth of Kashmiris who are holding the tricolour flag proudly.
MUGHAL MENTALITY
At his Udhampur election rally, Modi targeted the Congress and RJD for deliberately trying to hurt the sentiments of Hindus. He said, Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Yadav prepared a "Champaran mutton" dish together and consumed it in the month of Sawan last year, a time considered sacred by Hindus when they desist from consuming non-vegetarian food. "This echoes Mughal mentality and this act was deliberately meant to offend the sentiments of Hindus. I know they will be raining abuses at me, but as Prime Minister, I consider it my responsibility to bring this matter before the people", Modi said. The immediate provocation was the circulation of a video by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav consuming fish with his ally Mukesh Sahni inside a helicopter. Though Tejashwi claimed that the act took place a day before the sacred Navratra fasting began, BJP leaders took him to task for offending the sentiments of Hindus. Modi clarified in his speech that there was no restriction in India on whether people consume veg or non-veg food, but when some people deliberately post videos of consuming mutton and fish during the sacred period of Sawan and Navratra, considered auspicious by Hindus, it hurts their sentiments. I think Tejashwi Yadav is right when he says that "who eats what" cannot be an election issue, but the question is: who triggered the controversy by posting the fish-eating video during Navratra? The question is not about consuming fish. The question is about making a video of it and circulating it in public to deliberately hurt the sentiments of others. Such frivolous acts deflect the attention of people from the main issues and provide BJP leaders a handle. The opposition is yet to realize that Narendra Modi is a master of election campaigning. Any error made by any opposition leader is considered a full-toss ball and Modi does not hesitate to hit a sixer. When Rahul Gandhi said, there is a word called Shakti in Hinduism and we have to fight that Shakti, Modi picked this slip of the tongue and put Congress leaders on the backfoot. Modi has now made Tejashwi's fish-eating video an issue in the vast Hindi-speaking hinterland. RJD leaders are busy giving clarifications.
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