…any person if we were driving a car, we are a driver, and someone else is driving a car and we are sitting behind, even if a puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course, it is. If I am a Chief Minister or not, I am a human being. If someone bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad.”
said Mr Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat in reply to a question whether he regretted the Godhra riots in 2002.
Let alone tendering apology or owning the responsibility of the incidence at Godhra as he was heading the state as CM then, he hardly regretted the incident in which thousands of Muslims were killed, hundreds of women raped, children burn alive and lacs made homeless. The nation saw no tears, no regret, no remorse on this incident in him which rocked the nation, rather the statement uttered by Mr Modi added insult to the injury of the victims.
And today in 2016, the suicide of a Dalit research scholar in Hyderabad made our PM ‘ deeply moved’ and there were visible ‘tears’ in his eyes while offering condolence to Rohith Vemula in a convocation programme at a University in Lucknow . In PM Modi’s words “What his family members must be going through, Mother India has lost her son. Politics aside, the fact is that we have lost a son. I can understand the pain.”
He found the pain in him after four days of the incident when entire nation seemed to be talking about the suicide and his two cabinet Ministers were found to be involved in abetting in the suicide of Rohith Vemula.
Was the tears PM PM Modi not shed as he gauged the mood of the Dalit community and nation as a whole in view of the criticism at his cabinet Ministers role and moreover the impending state election due in Uttar Pradesh where Dalit constitute major share of vote?
Mr Modi is well aware that the drubbings in UP following the debacle in Bihar will prove last nail in the coffin of his popularity wave through which he came to power at the centre two years back. Can this late found pain and tears not be called political tears which seemed not to be genuine and only aimed at reaping political benefit?
In his home state of Gujarat several farmers are committing suicide and pan India situation of farmers is worse and a farmer commits suicie every 4 . In October last year two Dalit children were burnt alive in Faridabad. All these people were human beings and ‘sons and daughters of Mother India’ and ran the same blood. But hardly have we seen pain and tears in our PM, not even words of condolences.
Actually, the fact of the matter is that the ideology with which he has been attached consider Dalits and Muslims as untouchables and below human level hence the lives of these people are not worth more than ‘puppies’ and ‘cows’.
His tears will hold value in the eyes of the nation only when he takes strict actions against all those involved in the heinous crimes whether against Dalits or Minorities .
