PM Modi in tears makes people question motives

Mafazah Sharafuddin
May 26, 2021

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi choking up at the plight of healthcare workers in Varanasi had brewed up a storm. It has been met with both sympathy and disbelief. The Indian public is divided on what to make of the spectacle.

It is no secret that politics is most often elaborately planned and executed. The speeches are written, the leaders are told what to say, what questions to answer, what questions to evade. That is not to say that there is no truth to what they say, but simply that they choose what truth, and how much of it, to speak.

The question then arises, how much of it is an act?

The video of the Prime Minister in tears has, predictably, gone viral. By his supporters, it has been described as an outpouring of grief. He is commented for empathizing with the terrible situation the healthcare workers are in. It is perceived as him truly caring about the Indian public.

The more skeptical of the Indian public, on the other hand, have called it a spectacle of ‘crocodile tears’. It’s been referred to as drama. Rising to the occasion as always, trolls on the internet have begun to refer to it as PMCries, an allusion to the ‘relief fund’ PMCares.

Pathos has always been the preferred tool in BJP’s arsenal. Indians are sentimental folk, and swaying the public’s emotions is a good way to gain their support. Strategically speaking, it is undoubtedly a smart move. In terms of credibility, however, it leaves much to be desired.

Some other instances of PM Modi being ‘moved to tears in the history of Indian politics may help shed some more light on the current situation. A few notable moments are after he was chosen as the leader of the parliamentary party in 2014 and during the demonetization debacle in 2016. 

The two instances are great examples of the two different kinds of scenarios that brings PM Modi to tears in public. 

When he was chosen as the leader in 2014, he was made emotional saying that he was grateful for the BJP for giving a ‘poor boy’ such an opportunity. It is an act of humanizing politicians. One of removing the professional distance maintained to give the public enough of a glance into their personal lives to make them see them as individuals rather than an amorphous blob of party ideology.  Although the PM’s current lifestyle is far from one of a ‘poor boy’, it creates a relatable figure to look up to. He goes from simply being a man in power, to an underdog who fought against circumstance to get there.  

During the time of demonetization, the public was up in arms, outraged. It was a policy that hit the middle class and poorer sections of society hard. The speech that had him in tears did not speak of how the crisis would be solved, or why it was considered appropriate to plunge the country into crisis without warning. Instead, he tearfully spoke of his sacrifices to reach that position. He said he wasn’t in it for the ‘kursi’ and requested that the public endure the hardships brought about by demonetization. .

Rahul Gandhi tweeted “No Vaccines. Lowest GDP. Highest Covid deaths...GOI’s response? PMCries.”

Amidst the struggle to find beds, oxygen and medicine, along with the mismanagement of the vaccine and social distancing measures, the pressure on the government is high. There has been some questionable decision making, like conducting the Kumbh Mela amidst the pandemic that further exacerbates the public’s skepticism towards how well the government is handling the situation. 

It is important to remember that trying to earn an emotional response happens when logic and competence have both failed. 

Comments

Ramesh Mishra
 - 
Wednesday, 2 Jun 2021

PM MODI IN TEARS: INDIA
The article authored by Mafazah Sharafuddin about the Honourable Modi's tears is to hoodwink the people that he is a genuine person who cares for the people. I welcome the scholarly article and congratulate the writer. I am a UP NRI, have studied, worked and travelled the world for over 50 years. My comment is made in good faith based on my learning, experience and my personal dealings with the UP and the Central Government. Both levels of the governments are governed by irresponsible politicians, IAS, IPS, PCS, terrorists, who are mostly unskilled, uneducated, uncivilised with a Godly attitude. People of India are the victims of the religious faith at the hands of our politicians and their executive's
mafia and their culture are fundamentally barbaric, irrational, violent and horrifying. I provide a simple example that Modi, PM and Yogi CM of UP are untrustworthy and unfit to Govern and they have no moral, as an example for the progress of civilised society. I made a parental property partition application before the civil Courts. My younger brother, his wife and children, other co-shareholders consulted advocates related to my co-shareholders, the advocates advised them that since I married a Japanese Buddhist women I was not entitled to get my shares in the parental properties. I am 75 years old with three children residing in Canada since 1975. My co-shareholders are related to an IAS in Assam, who conspired with 3, IAS, 4, PCS of UP, police, politicians and bhumafia and recruited one relative of co-shareholders late Vikas Dubey of Kanpur to murder me with a motive to steal my properties which is possessed in gun violence by my brother. I prayed to Modi and Yogi for the protection of my life and property they ignored me in a similar way as they ignored the victims of Covid-19, pandemic causing a massive death all over India. The Indian politicians and their executives were willfully negligent which negligence has ruined India. It is up to the Courts of India to judge the conduct of Modi. In my opinion India is a lawless Nation governed by Gundas and no one and no one's property is safe.
Ramesh Mishra
Victoria BC CANADA

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News Network
March 26,2024

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There is no let-up in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire.”

Israel carried out air raids and artillery strikes on several parts of Gaza on Tuesday, hitting residential buildings and gatherings of displaced people, “killing and wounding hundreds of people”, the Palestinian Information Center said.

Among the victims are 15 people, including four women and children, who were killed in an attack on a house in the neighborhood of Mosbeh, north of Rafah.

Media reports also said that fighting on the ground continued unabated.

That’s while the UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution for an “immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The resolution was put forward by the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. The US abstained and the 14 other council members all voted in favor of it.

After the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on social media platform X that failing to implement the resolution “would be unforgivable.”

Palestinian resistance movements have welcomed the resolution, but Israel’s minister for military affairs Yoav Gallant said Israel will not stop its attacks in Gaza. 

“We will operate against Hamas everywhere – including in places where we have not yet been,” Gallant said.

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, also said in a post on X that the attacks will continue until all the captives taken by Hamas during its October 7 blitz are released.

Israel unleashed its war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 32,300 Palestinians and injured over 74,000 others.

The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Hassan: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has announced that his son, former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will contest from state's Mandya parliamentary seat as NDA candidate.

Deve Gowda told reporters on Tuesday that the decision to field Kumaraswamy, who is also JD(S) state president, in Lok Sabha polls from the Mandya seat was taken amid mounting public demand. "People are demanding that Kumaraswamy should contest from Mandya. In the core committee meeting as well, all members suggested that he should contest from Mandya," Deve Gowda said.

The former Chief Minister's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy had lost to independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The JD(S) supremo further said that the name of senior leader Mallesh Babu has been finalised from the Kolar seat.

Deve Gowda's grandson and former Karnataka Minister H. D. Revanna's son sitting JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna will be contesting as the NDA candidate from the Hassan seat.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy in a media briefing indicated that he would contest from Mandya amid mounting public pressure on him.

Congress has fielded Venkatarame Gowda popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’ from the Mandya seat dominated by Vokkaligas. Star Chandru is a close associate of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

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