It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi equated the Samajwadi Party’s poll symbol – the bicycle – with those used to plant bombs by terrorists in Ahmedabad. The reference to Ahmedabad holds special significance at this moment because a trial Court has sentenced as many as 38 Moslems to death for the bomb blasts in that city in 2008. It appears he was enthused by the fact that the judicial verdict may create the impression that his party-ruled state can bring to book terrorists with firmness.
This analogy shows the level to which the BJP has stooped during the ongoing crucial election to the UP Assembly. It has lowered the dignity of the chair of the Prime Minister. Earlier, PM Modi had remarked on a poll battle between “shamshan (crematorium) and kabarstan (grave).” It must have been difficult for many to understand the reference to death concerning two religious groups. Apart from morbidity, it could also be said that the Chief Executive of the country has to be very careful about the language he uses in public, which could easily be misconstrued. Although, there is no ambiguity about what the PM wanted to communicate. But, this time, by mocking the poll symbol of Samajwadi Party, the primary opposition to the BJP in UP, and connecting it to a terror attack, thereby insinuating that SP is a party of terrorists, the PM may have crossed the critical line which should have attracted action by the Election Commission.
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Addressing a public meeting in Hardoi, where polling is scheduled February 23 in the fourth phase, Modi also targeted the previous SP government for deciding to withdraw cases against some of those accused of terror attacks in the state. Referring to the Ahmedabad blasts, when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi said that he had taken a pledge “with that blood soaked soil” that his government would find the terrorists “even in hell and punish them.” The objectionable part of his speech was his assertion that the Ahmedabad terrorists had used bicycles to plant bombs before the blast and he was surprised why the SP preferred bicycle as its electoral symbol. It is interesting to observe the Prime Minister raise such a question. On 26 July 2008, Ahmedabad witnessed 22 blasts which killed 56 people and injured 246 more. The blasts were carried out with the help of explosives planted in buses, cars and even bicycles. Drawing such far-fetched connection just to deride a political opponent seems immature. Every Indian is aware that the bicycle is the only and preferred mode of transport for the poor of this country. The bicycle has no gender or religion. Today, the bicycle is globally considered the most non-polluting method of transport that offers the user an additional benefit of exercise for good health. While insinuating that the cycle is connected to terrorism, the PM is not insulting a political party but pointing fingers at the millions of bicycle users who pedal daily to work, school and back home. It is noteworthy that BJP state governments since way back in 2011 have distributed bicycles to students.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav responded in a dignified manner to Modi’s remarks and retorted that the BJP did not seem to know that the bicycle is used by the poor, labourers and youth of the country. He said that the people are angry with the BJP and want to “give it a 440-volt shock” which is why the party’s top leaders are making “cheap statements.” AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also told a Lucknow rally that the PM’s remarks were an “attack on the poor who ride bicycles.”
The Election Commission was an institution on which Indians prided themselves. It was the symbol of a strong democracy in this country. Other countries took advice from the ECI to conduct elections. This image has been consistently getting tarnished, more so the way the ECI conducted itself during Bihar and West Bengal elections. The last nail on the coffin seemed to be hammered in when all the Election Commissioners dutifully attended a meeting summoned by the Prime Minister’s office shortly before the Uttar Pradesh and other state elections were declared. The Prime Minister’s speech about the bicycle bombs was a golden opportunity for the EC to redeem itself and act. Had it banned the Prime Minister from campaigning for even a day, it would have proven that institutions are larger than any individual. Unfortunately, India has not been lucky to have people with spine in most positions of power.
