It was a failed mission. Before embarking on his three-day mission to Bihar and Bengal beginning May 28, Narendra Modi had nursed the view that his mission Operation Sindoor, under which he had envisaged to offer Sindoor to every household, would arouse the nationalist passion of the women voters.
Unfortunately for him, he had not imagined that he would have to encounter a hostile audience, particular an aggressive women power, who perceive his move as anti-Sanatani which tromped the basic ethics of Hinduism and was an insult to the womanhood. A Hindu woman wears Sindoor (vermillion) offered by her husband. They were feeling insulted at this move of Modi.
The women hostility reached to such a peak that women in Patna virtually kept away from his road show. The only consolation for Modi was the participation of BJP women leaders and volunteers. These women wearing Sindoor lined up both sides of the road to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his roadshow in Patna on Thursday, May 29, 2025, evening.
The issue might not have shuddered the receptivity of the women, if Modi had not ventured to exploit the Operation Sindoor and compare it with most revered Sindoor Khela of Durgotsav. With the sole intention arousing the religious passion and connect with the Hindu Bengali women, Modi had invoked cultural symbol of Bengal’s Sindoor Khela to reinforce India’s hardened stance against terrorism. At a meeting he declared that Operation Sindoor” is yet to get over and vowed for further action against terror sponsors.
Modi did not comprehend his efforts to link the “sacred land of Sindoor Khela,” the powerful cultural symbol, with celebrating attack on Pakistan would boomerang. He said the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which killed Indian soldiers, was an attempt to “wipe off the sindoor from our sisters’ foreheads.” “But our brave soldiers made them realise the power of the Sindoor”.
Modi comparing Operation Sindoor with Sindoor Khela provided the right opportunity to Mamata Banerjee to take Modi head on. The situation might not have deteriorated to such an extent where Mamata lambasted him, in an aggressive and severe manner. This severity of attack was not ever seen during eleven years of Modi’s rule. Soon after Modi’s jibes, she called newsmen to counter Modi’s accusations and his attempt to “politicise Operation Sindoor”.
The accusations nevertheless make it clear how personal attacks and identity politics have been dominating Bengal’s political landscape. Mamata certainly would not have used harsh words, if Modi had refrained from maligning her. This event once again proved beyond doubt that Modi is political statesman.. He is only accustomed of use of vocal chord and muscle power. On the contrary, Mamata floored him by touching the raw nerve of women: “Regarding Operation Sindoor, though I don’t have any comments, please remember every woman deserves respect. They take sindoor from their husbands. PM Modi is not the husband of anybody; why aren’t you giving sindoor to your Mrs first?”
She also said at a time when the entire nation and political parties have extended their support to Modi in the fight against terror, he was using it for his political gains. “It is a matter of great shame that the Modi government wants to use the vermilion as a shield to hide its political and diplomatic failure. How low will the Modi government stoop to take credit for the valour and bravery of the armed forces?” she said
Mamata’s aggression has made BJP retreat. Its IT cell chief Amit Malviya said a fake news was responsible for creation of this controversy. But question arises why he did not contradict the fake news carried by the newspaper much earlier. Why it struck him to clarify when Mamata pointed out the grave anti-women mistake. In fact the leadership had decided to launch the programme on June 9. As part of this programme, the BJP was also going to gift sindoor to women in every household and distribute pamphlet highlighting the successes of the Union government.
Interestingly Mamata did not refer to so called fake news. She had accused Modi of playing “political Holi” with the nomenclature of the operation. She has been the first opposition leader to publicly condemn the BJP plan to distribute Sindoor. She said; “What Modiji said today, we are not only shocked but also very sad to hear the voice of the prime minister when all the opposition (leaders) are representing the country to the world”
Before Modi landing in Bihar, the news of Mamata getting angry with Modi’s remarks has reached Patna. This had an adverse impact on his 5 km road show. It belied the expectations of state BJP leadership As in Bengal, in Bihar too, he tried to exploit Operation Sindoor as his personal achievement and portray the BJP’s rivals in the state as corrupt. He even did not attribute to the Army. Addressing a rally at Bikramganj in Rohtas district, Modi accused the RJD and the Congress of cheating the poor in the name of social justice.
The most funny observation from Modi was to remind the people of Jungle Raj of Lalu Yadav that too at the time when his NDA government led by Nitish Kumar was being bestowed with the honour of Jungle Raj, where rape and murder have become every day affair. Not a day passes when Patna, the state capital, does not witness at least one killing in broad day light.
At Bikramganj rally people were heard seeking clarification why so far not a single terrorist who carried out Pahalgam carnage has been arrested? The people erupted with this whining once Modi said “After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, I had come to Bihar and made a promise to the country that the hideouts of the masters of terror would be razed to the ground. Today, I have come after fulfilling my promise”.
At Bikramganj, BJP made all efforts to bring the local women to the public rally. But excepting BJP’s women leaders, very few women came to the disappointment of organisers. Taking his earlier experience in Bengal, Prime Minister focused less on women and Operation Sindoor this time. Perhaps, Modi came to realize that his bid to influence the common women voters through Operation Sindoor was not bearing fruit. (IPA Service)
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