By Sushil Kutty
There are funny politicians, too. Just like there is ‘Humour in Uniform’. Take Rahul Gandhi, for example. Rahul is a close second to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in terms of funny riposte. In fact, the 54-year-old often beats Modi in the game. Like when he compelled Modi to repeat after him ‘Kata-kat, Kata-kat, Kata-Kat’. It was funny as Hell, but people from Modi’s rally returned home shouting ‘Kata-kat, Kata-kat, Kata-Kat’.
Who is the gangsta here, Prime Minister Modi or Prime Minister-to-be Rahul Gandhi? For those who haven’t been watching TV news and reading newspapers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been presenting himself to a series of interviews off late as part of his countrywide election campaign. For Modi, the interviews were opportunity to press forward with his “abki baar 400 paar” election campaign promise though for some of the media, Modi’s interviews were instances of Modi making fun of himself with fantastic claims, like the BJP-NDA will win 400 seats.
But the media interviewing Modi gave a wide berth, avoiding asking Modi tough questions. The captive media took care that the Prime Minister wasn’t questioned about the EVM’s dubious role. Modi said some very quirky things but an answer to the EVM question would have made people cry. That said, Narendra Modi is capable of subtle humour is still to be proved. Will he remain ‘Prime Minister’ after June 4 was the dicey question no editor-in-chief dared ask? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been cramming all his working hours with interviews and no journalist asked him about his future plans?
Some of his answers, however, were outlandishly funny. For instance, in his interview to the editor-in-chief, who had made Congress leader Rahul Gandhi look like a lost child in a 2014 interview, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joked about Sam Pitroda’s ethnic and racial classification of Indians according to region and the joke flew above the editor-in-chief’s understanding head, making Modi laugh but leaving the editor-in-chief speechless. What was the joke? It was Modi saying “You are Arnab, I’m Arab” and Arnab correcting the ‘Arab’ with “No, I’m Chinese.”
Funny thing was despite this public faux pas, the interview plodded on to its logical conclusion and Modi went on to his next arranged interview. All of PM Modi’s interviews, by the way, were arranged, there was little “love” in them. All the top-shot editors who interviewed Modi looked like they would rather be ‘Someplace Else’. Modi did not have to ask them to bend, they crawled without being invited to. There wasn’t a single question which made Modi flinch or jump in right royal indignation.
It wasn’t funny, definitely not funnier than when Rahul Gandhi broke off a conversation to discuss reservations for Dalit and OBC and veered with all seriousness to “in the United States, when Whites set the question paper, Blacks fail and when Blacks set the questions, the Whites fail.”
Also yesterday, Rahul Gandhi said, “I’m the system, I know how it oppresses the Dalit and OBC.” The faux pas went viral and Modi got another ‘Kata Kat, Kata Kat’ to go to town with. In one of his interviews, Modi was asked, “People ask now when Modiji can answer all questions why doesn’t he hold a press conference. So why don’t you do it?” Here’s the Prime Minister clarifying: “When I was in Gujarat, I used to have public meetings. I used to ask. I would ask why you have made such a programme? No black flags are visible. Hey, keep two-three people with black flags, then it will be published tomorrow: ‘Modiji had come here.’ If ten people showed black flags, then at least it would be known that Modiji had come. Who will ask about my meeting without black flags? I gave such speeches for ten years?”
Making head or tail of Modi is difficult. As some ministers who lost their jobs would testify if they had the guts to come clean. But none of the editors asked the question and Modi went home unhurt. Modi’s anecdotes didn’t leave much to laugh about. “One day people from a village came to meet me. They came to thank me. They said that our village now has 24-hour electricity… I said that it’s not possible to have 24 hour electricity as I didn’t find the news anywhere.”
It was a joke but Modi did not leave anybody in splits. Some of Modi’s answers to questions were funny but they made people laugh only if they didn’t like the answer. Modi’s “I said you are lying, there cannot be 24 hour electricity…it neither came on the radio nor on the TV nor in the newspaper. No, he said Sir, the radio and the newspaper people will not tell you. It has been 24 hours since it happened.”
“Then,” I said, “Let us have sweets.”
Such are the gems culled from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interviews. They make people smile and often break out in laughter. Rahul Gandhi’s wit is by far sharper than Narendra Modi’s will ever be is the opinion in the anti-Modi camp. Then again, Rahul Gandhi is younger by far and Rahul also exercises hard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke highly of Yoga and said “Yoga did wonders for him”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interviews should be taken for what they are, a blatant violation of the Election Commission of India’s Model Code of Conduct. For, every time he answers questions, he is knowingly influencing voter preference and the ECI’s 48-hour window barring opinion polls and exit polls goes out the window. Voters are influenced though there is no such being called an “undecided voter”. There wasn’t in the phases done and dusted with and there will not be in the two remaining phases. Every voter who steps out heading for the polling booth has already decided which party/candidate to vote for.
Seriously, what stood out in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s multiple interviews with select Press was that he was given a free ride and didn’t face tough questions. For the most part, Modi breezed through with ease. Some of the journalists who got the chance to question him were in awe and only two or three had the nerve to ask “You have started with the slogan of 400 Paar, will 400 be achieved?”
Modi’s answer: “If your child scores 90% marks, you must have told him that he has to score 95% next time. You must have said if he scores 99%, you must have said that it is difficult to score 100% but still try for it. We already had 400 during 2019-2024 as NDA-plus. It is my duty as a guardian to go beyond 400, it is my responsibility to keep moving ahead. There is also responsibility and the duty of leadership.” Wait for June 4 and only then, laugh or cry. (IPA Service)