During the election season, it is common for politicians to engage in heated discussions. However, certain leaders, who are often known for their outspokenness, tend to make inappropriate comments that go beyond acceptable political discourse. This often leads to their statements becoming the focus of public debates and discussions on television, despite crossing the boundaries of acceptable political dialogue.
However, when a leader of the Prime Minister’s stature surpasses all limits of decency in politics, it becomes etched in the annals of history, setting a precedent for future generations.
During an election rally in Banswara, Rajasthan on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a statement that has received criticism from various sources. Some of his supporters are finding it hard to believe that he would single out Muslims in such a way just to gain votes.
Modi said that if the Congress were to come into power, they might allocate the country's wealth to "infiltrators" and "those with more children." He questioned, "When they (the Congress) were previously in government, they had asserted that Muslims have the primary entitlement to the nation's wealth. Does this imply that they would distribute this wealth to those with more children, to infiltrators? Are you willing to accept that your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators?"
After Prime Minister Modi made the statement, opposition parties strongly criticised it. Several leaders have demanded that the Election Commission take action regarding this statement.
The Election Commission's conduct regarding complaints against the Prime Minister so far suggests that those politicians demanding action against the PM from the poll body are somewhere convinced that the Commission will not take any action against PM Modi and will ultimately give him a clean chit.
While Prime Minister Modi's statement may appeal to some conservative voters, it presents a worrisome view of the decline of democracy in the country. Calling Muslims infiltrators neither befits the Prime Minister nor his office. Modi isn’t the Prime Minister of a particular community, he should treat every citizen equally.
Narendra Modi, as a politician, has demonised Muslims on several occasions to target opposition parties. During the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections in 2017, Modi targeted the Akhilesh government by stating that there is electricity available during Ramadan in Uttar Pradesh while this is not the case during Diwali.
At the end of 2019, while addressing an election rally in Jharkhand, Modi mentioned the Delhi riots and said that those who are rioting during protests against the CAA law can be identified by their clothes. PM Modi indirectly blamed a certain group for the riots.
There's growing concern about the Prime Minister's recent statement. There's a worry that when the PM himself engages in such rhetoric, deepening divisions between communities, it might embolden other radical leaders to target Muslims without hesitation.
The impact of the Prime Minister's statement is already apparent. Many radical individuals are showing enthusiasm about it, saying that they were missing the vintage avatar of Modi.
Modi, who has deep ties to the RSS, whose ideology has left a profound mark on him, may be expected to make subtle comments against Muslims, but openly labeling Muslims as infiltrators is unacceptable for a Prime Minister.
Whether the country will accept this kind of polarizing politics or not will become clear after the election results, but before the results, one thing has become clear: there has been an unprecedented decline in the level of political discourse in the country.
