When veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar jabbed Narendra Modi as a “tea seller” ahead of the 2014 General Elections, it boomeranged on the party. He said in January 2014 that Modi can never become the Prime Minister and he can sell tea outside the AICC office.
Although the party distanced itself from Aiyar’s statement, the damage was done. People did not like such personal attacks on Modi, who at that time was Chief Minister of Gujarat and had been declared as the Prime Ministerial candidate by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Now two prominent Congress spokespersons resort to no holds barred personal attacks on the Prime Minister. While Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also resort to such attacks, they still maintain a certain level of dignity in the way they criticise the Prime Minister.
But the two particular spokespersons crossed all limits by addressing Modi as a “coward” and even avoiding using the suffix “ji” after his (Modi’s) name. When they speak to criticise the Prime Minister, these spokespersons do not seem to be targeting the common people, but their own leader, whom they want to appease. In the process, they harm the party. No one likes abusive spokespersons.
People do expect criticism of the government from the Opposition. In a democracy, the Opposition is not only entitled, but duty bound to criticise and expose the government. But there is always a decent way of conveying things and exposing the wrong doings. It is obvious that the Modi-led BJP government is not without its weak points and failures, on which it must be exposed, criticised and challenged. But in the mad race of being seen as “Modi’s critics”, these spokespersons go an extra mile and in the process, forget to draw a line between policy criticism and personal abuse.
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It is not that Prime Minister Modi has been any kind to the Congress leaders. He also resorts to no holds barred attacks on them. He often targets the Gandhi family. The Prime Minister, however, does maintain a certain level of dignity and decency, even when resorting to stringent criticism against the Gandhis, which the two Congress spokespersons fail to maintain.
The Congress often cries wolf about the denial of “level playing field”. It must also apply the same thing on their spokespersons. Modi has been consecutively elected the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term. He has actually led the BJP-NDA to success, thrice in a row. Prior to that he was elected as Gujarat Chief Minister three times. Over a period of time, he has gained a certain stature recognised and acknowledged not only at home, but internationally as well.
There obviously cannot be any comparison between Modi and the Congress spokespersons. They are like chalk and cheese. The Congress should better tame these spokespersons to restrict them to their brief and not to breach it. This they do, for sure, to appease their own political boss.
One of the spokespersons is a former television journalist and another one has had a long association with former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit. They have risen from the ranks to reach the positions they are holding currently.
These spokespersons have never tasted any victory in the elections yet have the audacity to call names the most popular leader of the country right now, who has repeatedly been mandated to lead the country. The Congress spokespersons should respect that mandate which Modi has got repeatedly, and avoid at all costs the language they are using against him.
The buzz in Delhi’s power circles is that there are some Rajya Sabha vacancies to be filled in coming months. The Congress has a chance to win a few of these. As everyone has his/ her own ambition, so about the two spokespersons, one of whom had lost the race last time when he famously regretted, saying, “tapasya mein koi kami rahi hogi”. He probably wants to make up for that ‘kami’ (shortcoming) this time.
Both the spokespersons are brilliant in their job for the Congress. They convey and put across the party’s point of view in a clear and effective manner. But they really do not need to “breach their brief” to prove their credentials, lest in the process it proves otherwise. Spokespersons are the face of the party and they contribute immensely in building up its image. They must remain discreet in their criticism of the Prime Minister as far as his policy failures are concerned. Resorting to personal attacks is not only avoidable, but unacceptable. It may not necessarily get you Rajya Sabha nomination.
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