The present election-eve situation has given birth to a number of self-styled qazis in Indian politics. The political parties have issued their election manifestoes and through their hectic campaigning, are convincing the electorate that if voted to power, they would implement the assurances contained therein. All, by and large, have stressed to control price rise, remove the menacing unemployment, give a corruption-free society, nail the anti-social elements and above all strengthen the national economy. Unfortunately, they are not strictly adhering to these programmes only and are in constant search for finding any stick to beat the opponents left and right. One of them is dragging personal life of a stake-holder in public domain. The latest example is the marital status of Narendra Modi.
While filing his nomination papers in Vadodra, in the required column, he wrote the name of Jashodaben, who happens to be his legally married wife. Earlier, the filling of this column was not compulsory. Now the Supreme Court has made it binding and so Modi responded accordingly. It was a welcome grist to the Modi critics. They started highlighting that he committed a crime by hiding this information earlier. Going a step ahead, they say, a man who cannot honour his wife, can never do justice to the nation as its prime minister. Leading critics on this score are Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh.
Obviously it invited BJP reactions. How Diggi Raja can claim that it was hidden when in last two years he is on record to have criticized Modi for allegedly not doing justice with Jashodaben. Arnab Goswami, in a TV debate, charged that if Congress raised such personal matters, its leaders should also explain the extra-marital relationship of Pt Nehru with Edwina Mountbatten which is on record. It further transpired that since it was not compulsory earlier, even Dr Manmohan Singh had left the column blank. Should it be treated as his disrespect to Mrs Gursharan Kaur. It was only when Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP Spokesperson threatened to go public with such details available about Nehru-Gandhi family, the issue was left alone.
While Narendrabhai and Jashodaben were still in their teens, they were married. Modi, having a religious and wandering bend of mind left his family on an uncertain and unending journey. However, at that time also, he was already associated with the RSS. Jashodaji returned to her parents, resumed her education and settled as a teacher from which job she retired in 2011. She is honorably subsisting on a monthly pension of Rs 14,000/-. In last 46 years of their separate life, neither the husband nor the wife had any mutual bickering nor any party favoured knocking at the door of the judiciary. She continues to accept him as her husband, puts on bangles and vermillion and always wishes him best in life. Even her brothers nourish no illwill towards Modi. The day Modi filed his nominations, she rushed on pilgrimage to Dwarkadham to pray for his victory and stopped putting on chappals and eating rice till the completion of the mission.
It is an exemplary story. Both remained unmarried. Both avoided divorce. Both wish well for each other even now. Jashodaben never approached anybody with any complaint against her husband. When ‘mian-bibi razi, kya karega qazi’. The public needs an explanation from these self-appointed qazis.
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