Vicious campaign for Delhi polls exposes new normal in Indian politics

In the run–up to the Delhi assembly polls, the heated campaign saw it all- from allegations, counter allegations, charges, rebuttals, vitriol et al. To top it all, the ones who made the most controversial statements are the ones who form part of the powers that be.

The 12-day campaign that ended on Thursday (February 6) was a witness to several contentious statements- ranging from communal tirades to outright provocations for bloodshed— in the backdrop of the continuing protest by a section of the electorate against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in places like Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Nagar, Seelampur and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

One of the most inflammatory speeches was delivered by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, Minister of State, Finance, while campaigning at Rithala on January 27. Thakur, in reference to the anti-CAA protestors, said, “Desh ke gaddaron ko (traitors of the country)”, when the audience promptly responded with “goli maaro saalon ko (shoot them all)”.

And even before the massive furore over his comments could die down, BJP MP Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, followed up with his own share of abuse on the protestors at Shaheen Bagh, in Vikaspuri. He said,” Lakhs of people gather there (Shaheen Bagh)… They will enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters, and kill them. There’s time today, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji and Amit Shah won’t come to save you tomorrow.” He pulled no stops with his diatribes, as in another rally he called Arvind Kejriwal, a terrorist. “Arvind Kejriwal jaise natwarlal, Kejriwal jaise atankwadi is desh mein chhupe baithe hain (Natwarlals and terrorists like Kejriwal are hiding in this country,” he claimed at a rally in Madipur on 29 January.

As other parties lashed out against the two, Election Commission of India ordered both MPs to be removed from BJP’s star list of campaigners, citing their speeches as violation of Model Code of Conduct.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too was not far behind his party colleagues. Taking a dig at Arvind Kejriwal and AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi at his rally in Kirari, he said, “Abhi toh Kejriwal ji ne Hanuman Chalisa hi padhni shuru ki hai, aap dekhna aage aage hota kya hai, Owaisi bhi ek din Hanuman Chalisa ka paath padhta dikhai dega (Now Kejrwal is reciting Hanuman Chalisa, very soon Owaisi will follow suit).” In a barb against Muslims protesting at Shaheen Bagh, in one of his rallies, he said that Muslims who stayed back in India after Partition didn’t do a favour to the country.

Keeping Shaheen Bagh as the focal point of their campaigns, Union Home Minister Amit Shah repeatedly raised the issue in his rallies, as he urged the voters to choose the BJP to drive out the protestors, saying it will be a befitting reply to all those asking for ‘Jinnawahali azaadi’ (Jinnah-like freedom).

In a one-off aggressive responses, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi upped the ante against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Moti Mahal on February 5, for his alleged inaction against unemployment. “Yeh jo Narendra Modi bhashan de raha hai, 6 mahine baad ye ghar se bahar nahi nikal payega. Hindustan ke yuva isko aisa danda marenge, isko samjha denge ki Hindustan ke yuva ko rozgar diye bina ye desh aage nahi badh sakta. (Narendra Modi is giving a lot of speeches. After six months, he won’t be able to step out of his home as the youth beat him up with sticks. They will make him understand that without giving Indian youths their livelihoods the country will not be able to progress),” he remarked.

The invectives and the choicest of abuses showered on each other, in pursuit of power, by the political players, clearly betrays the new normal in Indian politics.