Politics escalates over anti-PM Modi posters
Vibha Sharma
Chandigarh, March 30
On Thursday, some more posters targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this time questioning his educational qualifications, were spotted in Delhi.
The blue posters captioned “Kya Bharat ke pradhan mantri padhe-likhe hone chahiye (Should the PM of India be educated)?” followed the announcement of AAP’s “Modi hatao desh bachao” campaign in multiple languages.
Last week, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was seen directly attacking the PM with a similar question.
“Desh ke saamne aaj ek sawal rakhana chaahata hoon, kya ek kam padhe-likhe pradhanmantri ikkisvi sadi ke Bharat ka nirmaan kar sakate hai? Bharat ke pradhanmantri padhe-likhe to hone hi chaahiye (I want to pose a question to the country today, can a less educated Prime Minister build the India of the 21st century? The Prime Minister of India must be educated,” Kejriwal said.
देश के सामने आज एक सवाल रखना चाहता हूँ-
क्या एक कम पढ़े-लिखे प्रधानमंत्री 21वीं सदी के भारत का निर्माण कर सकते हैं?
भारत के प्रधानमंत्री पढ़े-लिखे तो होने ही चाहिए। pic.twitter.com/yW8s3mP8DD
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 23, 2023
Speaking in the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal launched several allegations against PM Modi in relation with his association with billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh also wondered whether it was a crime to ask if the PM of the country should be educated. “Modi ji unki party aur unka daroga sab maante hain Bharat ka pradhan mantri ‘anapadh hona chaahie’,” said Sanjay Singh.
मोदी जी उनकी पार्टी और उनका दरोग़ा सब मानते हैं।
भारत का प्रधानमंत्री “अनपढ़ होना चाहिए” pic.twitter.com/bM1j0oxdbq— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) March 30, 2023
“A police sub-inspector arrives soon after the posters were put up and removes the posters. It means the PM and the entire BJP want to say that the country’s PM should be uneducated,” Singh said in a video message following posters “Should India have an educated Prime Minister”.
He also asked people to run similar campaigns
Last week, after posters reading “Modi hatao, desh bachao” appeared across the national capital, the police registered multiple FIRs and arrested six persons.
Those arrested included two printing press owners.
What does the BJP think?
The BJP believes the more PM Modi is attacked by the opposition, the more he and the party will benefit.
According to Delhi BJP leader Harish Khurana, the “misinformation campaign” against PM Modi will “backfire”.
“The AAP’s misinformation campaign only helps the PM’s popularity grow. The people of the country are watching the abuses AAP leaders are hurling at the PM, and they will give their reply at the right time.
“The people of this country are not going to tolerate their PM being called uneducated,” Khurana said.
Politics behind posters
Political observers believe Kejriwal is trying to establish himself as the main lead in the campaign over PM Modi’s relationship with Adani and also present himself as the main opposition challenger in the 2024 General Election.
“The general perception is that the Congress and Rahul Gandhi have taken the space and the lead on the Adani issue. Kejriwal wants to show that it is still his campaign. Kejriwal has chosen the floor of the Delhi Assembly to do so because he is protected by the law there. Besides, whatever is said there becomes a part of the record. Since AAP has the control of the House, whatever Kejriwal says cannot be expunged, unlike the Parliament”, they say.
Seemingly, however, rather than the regional parties the BJP would prefer the Congress remains its main opponent, a reason why many believe the party is concentrating on Rahul Gandhi.
Notably, after the Delhi Police filed cases and made arrests, Kejriwal claimed that “even the British did not arrest anyone for putting up posters against them”.
“Who knew a PM would come and get 138 FIRs registered in 24 hours for putting up posters against him? Six poor people have been arrested. Why is Modi so afraid?” Kejriwal was quoted as saying at an event on March 23.
