Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 25: A political row has broken out with the opposition expressing concern over the mental health of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he went down to the level of accusing the opposition of performing “mujra” to please the Muslim vote bank.
Addressing a series of election rallies in Bihar on Saturday, Mr Modi said, “Bihar is the land which has given a new direction to the fight for social justice. I wish to declare on its soil that I will foil the plans of the INDIA bloc to rob SCs, STs and OBCs of their rights and divert these to Muslims. They may remain enslaved and perform ‘mujra’ to please their vote bank.”
“Mujra” which originated in the Indian subcontinent during the Mughal era is a traditional dance form where the dancing girls performed in restricted enclosures only to please the menfolk and were often looked down in the society as prostitutes.
The Prime Minister using the term “Mujra” not only enraged the opposition, they also questioned the level to which Mr Modi was going down to hurl abuses at the opposition parties for the sake of votes for the BJP.
Several leaders of the INDIA bloc hit out at Mr Modi for accusing the Opposition of “enslavement” and performing “mujra” for the Muslim vote bank. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera posted on ‘X,” “Today, I heard the word ‘Mujra’ from the mouth of the Prime Minister. Modiji, what is this state of mind? Why don’t you take something? Amit Shah and JP Nadda ji should get him treated immediately. Perhaps delivering speeches under the Sun has had too much of an effect on his brain.”
Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale also criticised Modi for the comments, saying, “From ‘Naari Shakti’, the man has now come down to using words like ‘mujra’.” “After 10 years of PR & a carefully curated image, Modi can’t hide his true self anymore. Such cheap language,” Saket Gokhale wrote on X. “Scary to think what all he must be saying during his foreign trips as PM,” he added.
Manoj Jha of the RJD said he was “worried about what he (PM Modi) is saying”. “I am worried about him now. Till yesterday, we disagreed with him, now we are worried about him. I had said recently that he is becoming a victim of delusion of grandeur. ‘Machli’, mutton, mangalsutra and ‘mujra’… is this the language of a PM?” he asked.
Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT), while sharing a video clip of the PM’s speech, wrote, “Get well soon, Modi ji.” “Today, when the polling for the sixth phase is underway and the campaign for the next phase is going on, the BJP has become disappointed. Their language has changed, and they are talking about ‘mujra’ now. “
“The BJP has no answer to people’s questions and only wants to mislead people. The people are well aware and will vote for us in the elections and the INDIA bloc is going to form the government,” said Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand.
Mr Modi in his election speeches alleged that the people of Bihar have been hurt by insulting remarks against migrants of the state from leaders of the Congress in Punjab and Telangana and the DMK and the TMC in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, respectively and claimed, “These RJD people who keep doing ‘mujra’ with their lantern (poll symbol) do not have the courage to speak a word in protest.”
Mr Modi also alleged that the Opposition alliance was banking on the support of those who were indulging in “vote jihad” and referred to the Calcutta high court order that struck down the West Bengal government’s decision to include a number of Muslim groups in the list of OBCs.
The Prime Minister also claimed that the opposition alliance has “decided that if they are voted to power, the first thing they would do is to change the Constitution so that even the court is unable to overrule their attempts to divert reservations to Muslims. I have been challenging them to refute me in writing but they have been reluctant because they have a guilty conscience.”
Modi spelt out names of several deprived castes, including Yadavs who have been traditionally RJD supporters, which “could end up losing their constitutional rights if the INDIA bloc succeeded in its alleged plans.”
The PM, however, asserted that the opposition coalition was heading for a defeat and “on June 04 when the results will be out, RJD and Congress workers will be seen tearing off each other’s clothes. The ‘shahi parivar’ (royal family) of the Congress will put the entire blame of defeat on Mallikarjun Kharge and leave for a vacation abroad,” claimed the PM.
Mocking at the predictions of many pollsters who have forecast a dip in the NDA’s tally, Modi said, “INDIA bloc has come up with its exit polls even before the elections are over. Soon they might go back to crying hoarse on EVMs.”
Mr Modi also mocked RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, without mentioning him by name, saying “in the age of LED bulbs, they are moving around with a lantern that lit up only their house while keeping the entire Bihar in the dark.” Lalu Prasad Yadav’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti is contesting from Patliputra for the third time in a row.
He added, “India needs a PM who can do justice to the country’s might on the world stage. But INDIA bloc seems intent on playing musical chairs with the top post.” He claimed d scions of families heading Congress, RJD, NCP, Samajwadi Party and others were all pining for brief stints as Prime Minister.
The PM also promised the people that his next five years in power would ensure faster development for Bihar with better electricity supply and more pucca houses even as he slammed the previous Congress-led UPA government for lacking the resolve to provide free foodgrains to the common people.
