Indian PM criticised for “us” vs them speech
The content of the speech was debated for its accuracy and divisiveness
Dubai: With India’s general elections 10 days away, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received online criticism for a speech that social media users called divisive and inaccurate.
In a rally in Wardha, Maharashtra, Modi attacked his opponents like president of the Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar. However, his comments against Rahul Gandhi received a lot of backlash.
Speaking about the second seat from which Gandhi will be contesting – Wayanad, Kerala – Modi said that he was contesting from a seat which is Hindu minority in population “because he is scared of Hindu anger”, according to media reports.
However, many social media users pointed out that the district, in fact, had a Hindu population of 49.5 per cent.
Tweep @TheDesiEdge wrote: “‘Rahul Gandhi is contesting from a seat that is Hindu minority because Congress are scared of Hindu anger’: Modi. Wayanad Ratio by Religion: 49.5% Hindus; 28.5 % Muslims; 21% Christians. 49.5% Hindus are a minority for [Modi]!”
Some social media users claimed that the population ratio being widely shared online was for the district of Wayanad and not for the Lok Sabha seat.
However, many other users pointed out that the debate was missing the bigger issue – the spread of hate-filled divisive politics.
Tweep @aymen371 noted: “I understand the value of fact checking, but it cannot replace smarter ways of fighting bad politics. Like the worst possible response to Modi’s Wayanad/Rahul speech is “it’s actually not true that Mohammedans [Muslims] are a majority.”
Journalist @sardesairajdeep tweeted: “‘Rahul Gandhi didn’t dare to contest from a seat where ‘we’ are in a majority but where ‘we’ are in a minority!’: @narendramodi in Wardha speech. And ‘we’ thought our PM represents all of ‘us’ Indians, no? Back to ‘us’ vs ‘them’? #IndiaElects Modi’s speech today is getting a lot of reaction online, especially his comment that Wayanad is a seat where Hindus are in the minority, which is why Rahul Gandhi chose to contest from that seat.”