Opposition Uses Sadhvi’s Comments to Attack Govt

Thursday, December 04, 2014
Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (file photo)

Derogatory comments by first-time minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti have provided opposition parties with a convenient handle to attack the government in the Rajya Sabha – where the opposition commands a majority – as important legislation hangs in the balance during the current session of parliament.

The controversy started when Jyoti, a 47-year old former Hindu preacher, told voters at a campaign rally in Delhi this week that they must "decide whether you want a government of the sons of Rama (Ramzaadon) or of those born illegitimately (haramzaadon)". By haramzaadon, the minister may have been referring to supporters of other parties or even to non-Hindus.

The minister apologised a day later after critics called for her to be prosecuted for violating the secular spirit of the constitution. The government also distanced itself from her comments, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling them “not acceptable”.

On Thursday Modi sought to draw a line under the row, urging opposition MPs to accept her apology and move on. "I request the house that now that the minister has given an apology, and there is a message in it for all of us - let us get on with our work in the interest of the country," he said.

But opposition lawmakers were not satisfied. They demanded that Jyoti be fired for her speech, threatening to derail the passage of bills in the upper house of parliament.

According to Reuters, Jyoti is one of many first-time MPs of the BJP who were elected in Modi's landslide victory in May. Many are drawn from hardline Hindu affiliates, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and were given tickets to mobilise the religious vote.

Emboldened by their stunning election victory, some MPs have now taken a stridently pro-Hindu line that they project aggressively, raising suspicions that Modi's development agenda could be hijacked by divisive religious politics.

The BJP needs the support of the opposition to pass a long-delayed insurance reform bill to liberalise investment in the sector. The bill, first tabled by the previous administration, enjoys bipartisan support with only a few details left to iron out.

According to Reuters, the controversy over the minister's remarks has given opposition parties a platform to unite and attack the government after their defeat in May.

Yet some of these parties have been guilty of making controversial comments of their own in the past. For instance, Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal was caught on video earlier this year making a public speech where he threatened political opponents with “rape” and death.

- Karan Singh

To Learn More:

Modi seeks to draw line under row over minister's pro-Hindu comments (Reuters)

Modi disapproves of Minister Sadhvi Jyoti’s remarks (PTI)

A changed woman: Niranjan Jyoti's rise to power, 'arrogance' (by Haidar Naqvi, Hindustan Times)

Sadhvi hate speech: Cong says Jyoti’s ‘objectionable’ language had created tension, demands her expulsion from party (by Liz Mathew and Shubhajit Roy, Indian Express)

Trinamool Congress MP Threatens to “Rape” and “Shoot” Political Rivals (by Karan Singh, AllGov India)

Comments

Satish Chandra 9 years ago
The huge hungama in Parliament about Sadhavi Niranjan’s use of ‘abusive’ language (“haramazadon”) is at the suggestion of CIA-RAW to divert attention from my reference below to “Mother-Chod” Modi. Much of what India’s CIA-RAW-controlled politicians and media say is meant to keep the suppression of Satish Chandra covered up otherwise the top dozen or so stories in the Indian media on any given day will be about Satish Chandra who can make India the supreme military and economic power in the world immediately. WARNING: CIA-RAW ARE NOW POSTING COMMENTS IN MY NAME AS THEY HAVE DONE IN THE PAST. I am being blocked from posting my own comments via DISQUS and Facebook commenting tools and also from media that do not use these tools. When I CAN post a comment, the comment I am posting is the following:- November 28, 2014 GODDESS OF POWER Satish Chandra Selected Blogs: WhatYouShouldKnowAboutRAWDOTblogspotDOTcom How India’s Economy Can Grow 30% Per Year Or More: HowIndiasEconomyCanGrowDOTblogspotDOT com In the festival of Gadhimai -- goddess of power -- on November 28-29 ‘14, held every 5 years in Nepal, hundreds of thousands buffaloes and other animals were slaughtered over two days. India needs to slaughter Americans by the millions, by exploding its nuclear warheads already emplaced in Washington and New York with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be similarly destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation. “Modi gives Buddha a miss as South Asian leaders flock to Nepal” says a Reuters headline. This was because of my criticism of the pacifism of Indians for which I have held Buddhism responsible. Starting with Indira Gandhi as prime minister in 1975, Indian prime ministers, while taking my guidance in matters large and small, have carefully avoided taking my name in obedience to their CIA masters, much as Indian media do even as Modi dismissed his National Security Adviser immediately after my remark below about India’s national security. A Delhi court has ordered the arrest of Delhi University Vice Chancellor for plagiarism. I have described (see my blog BFSkinnersPlagiarismDOTblogspotDOTcom ) my exposure of the plagiarism of an American whose world-wide reputation exceeded the combined reputations of three dozen Nobel Prize winners in the Boston area and the upheavals this exposure caused and its cover up. In dismissing his National Security Adviser because of my remarks Modi was stealing my intellectual property without giving me credit as Indian prime ministers have been doing since 1975 and must be arrested. Almost all Indian media, with minor exceptions, have black-listed and blocked me from posting ANY comments after I tried to post a comment consisting of the paragraph below. This shows that India’s media are in the grip of India’s foreign enemies and must be shut down and their editors and publishers arrested for high treason :- -------START OF COMMENT---------- The Vatican made a political master-stroke by giving sainthood to two Indians at this time. Five thousand “pilgrims” traveled from Kerala to Italy for the event. The impact on national security of Indians’ pilgrimages to American universities is beyond devastating. Because I have written below about Air Marshal K. J. Mathews, it calculated I will not write against this nefarious move as I did when sainthood was sought to be conferred on Mother Teresa on the basis of fabricated miracles to convert India to Christianity and India’s ‘Hindu nationalist’ government is all in the grip of India’s CIA enemies continuing the Indian government’s 4-decades long collaboration in the crimes against India and the greatest Indian of all time. Giving sainthood to two Indians just as Mother-Chod Modi has invited the president of the Americans -- who I have said must be killed by the hundreds of millions and their centers of learning destroyed -- is perfectly timed. INDIA’S NATIONAL SECURITY REQUIRES IMMEDIATE DESTRUCTION OF ALL CHURCHES IN INDIA AND KILLING TRAITORS LIKE MODI WHO COLLABORATE WITH INDIA’S AMERICAN ENEMIES. ALL CASES AGAINST INDIAN ‘GOD MEN’ MUST BE DROPPED. ---------END OF COMMENT--------- Satish Chandra

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