There is hardly any relation between Nirbhaya, the horrible gang rape victim of 16/12 and Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat. However, Sept 13, 2013 brought them together for some momentous decisions, pertaining to the above individuals. While the first is related to crime/judiciary, the second is purely political.
Nirbhaya was gang raped by six persons on the late evening of Dec 16, 2012. Recalling the details of the heinous and bestial crime will be disturbing to any reader, though most of the educated citizens are already aware. More than any harsh punishment, self realization of the sin and consequent self-disparagement are enough to clarify this rare of the rarest crime. Out of shame, the main culprit committed suicide inside the Tihar. One minor was convicted to jail for three years by the juvenile court, the maximum under the law. Remaining four were sentenced to death. Even though the fast trial court took nine months, the message that sure death awaits such culprits, is bound to to prove an effective deterrent. More such quick and stern decisions are required to put an immediate restraint on the present mushrooming of sexual crimes, which is a slur to womanhood and a blot on civilisational norms.
Since the hat- trick of victory in Gujarat Assembly poll in early 2013, the shouts of Narendra Modi as the future prime minister has been making rounds. The man, who has a remarkable track record of development under his stewardship and endowed with brilliant knack of oratory started leaving hints that for this huge political shark, the Sabarmati was too small and he deserves a place in an ocean. Insde the core of the party, however, there was perceptible hiatus. The veteran leaders like LK Advani, MM Joshi, Sushma Swaraj and Anant Kumar were vocal in creating road blocks for Modi. On the other hand, rest of the party Parliamentary Board, authorized to take a final decision, including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and two others were strongly batting for NaMo. Out of them, Advani was more vociferous in castigating Modi. He wanted to wait till the impending assembly election to stop polarization of minority votes against the BJP.
Meanwhile the popularity graph of Modi started mounting fast, which badly disturbed his critics. More and more people started veering round him and so the party, to start with, made him head of its Election Campaign Committee. His emphatic addresses in public meetings in Punjab, Pune, Hyderabad and some speeches through video conferencing in the USA and Patna, almost mesmerized the people in the country and outside. The huge crowd at Hyderabad had purchased entry ticket for Rs 5/- each. This mass appeal had created the ambience which compelled the BJP/PB to project him as the prime ministerial candidate despite the boycott of the meeting by Advani. His absence definitely affected the jubilation of the cadre who were celebrating the occasion by exploding fire-crackers and sharing sweets. By going against the majority decision, one can raise fingers against his respect for democratic norms. He stuck to his whim to humiliate the entire party. Though a seasoned politician and intellectual, he will realize the loss of his clout very soon. However, let him think over, everybody in the party respects him even today and loves to touch his feet.
There is a saying in English, ‘nobody can make you small without your consent’. It would be foolhardiness on my part to believe that he did not know it. I know, he loves seeing films. Then he also must have come across a Bollywood couplet, ‘sab kuchh luta ke hosh men aaye to kya kiya’.
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