5 times PM Modi’s silence has left our democratic rights compromised

As politicians are openly making a Peepli Live moment out of the unfortunate lynching incident in Dadri, the pertinent question to ask is why the Prime Minister of our country silent on the matter.

As we all know, a man was lynched for allegedly eating beef on Eid. Then there was a riot-like situation because the relatives of the deceased were not allowed to be a part of the funeral procession. As if this was not enough, our politicians went on to use the incident to fan communal passion.

But that’s not even the point. The point is, since when did India become such a regressive country? We thought we are democratic and it’s disturbing to see the silence of our Prime Minister when the fundamental rights of a common man are being brutally violated in front of his eyes.

Frustrated as we may feel, this is not the first time India has felt disappointed by Modi’s silence on matters where he should have taken a stand for the sake of preserving the fundamental rights of different communities.

Here are 5 such instances when we saw him become a mute spectator and watch our democratic rights get compromised:

Attack on innocent seers in Varanasi

Sadhus and their supporters were taking out a procession for Lord Ganesha's idol immersion in Varanasi when they were suddenly lathicharged by cops. It’s a ritual followed by seers for decades. And, there was no law and order problem in the area. Where then was the need to lathicharge them.

Seers were denied their right to worship the way they wanted, but Modi remained silent.

Vyapam scam and Lalitgate controversy

“Neither will I catch the corrupt, nor will I allow others to do it,” Modi had said after becoming the Prime Minister. When the time came and two mega scams involving two of his Chief Ministers – Sushma Swaraj and Shivraj Singh – came to the fore, his double speak was exposed. He failed to initiate action against them despite evidences.

Thousands of Vyapam victims were denied their right to justice, but Modi remained silent.

Attack on Christian places of worship

Five churches were attacked in two and a half months and holy relics and holy communion were destroyed. As Christian men, women, elderly, priests matched towards Home Minister’s house as a mark of protest, they were picked up by cops and forced into buses. They wanted security.

They wanted their right to live freely in a secular country and not be discriminated against, but Modi watched on, silently.

Forced conversion row also called ‘Ghar Wapsi’

It’s one thing to not like another religion and it’s another thing to forcibly convert someone to another religion. Both are condemnable in a democratic country like ours. Hindutva hotheads backed, by the VHP and the RSS (Modi's alma mater), went on to convert poor non-Hindus to Hinduism.

People wanted their right to observe the religion of their choice, but again, Modi maintained silence.

Beef ban controversy

Meat lovers in Maharashtra were left heart-broken when Maharashtra's BJP government backed by the NDA at the Centre brought a ban on slaughtering of cows, bulls and buffaloes. Bizarre as it seemed, all limits of religious intolerance were crossed when a 50-year-old man Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched and his son Danish (22) was brutally beaten up as punishment for allegedly eating beef on Eid and 'storing it' for later consumption.

Only two days back, 6 students of a leading government-aided college in Thrissur, Kerala were suspended for conducting a ‘beef festival’ inside the campus to protest against the lynching of Akhlaq.

Amid all of this, Modi is still silent.

If not for the sake of preserving our rights, you should at least talk tough on such issues for safeguarding your own image, Mr Modi, otherwise it looks like you approve of such heinous crimes. Whatever happened to your poll promise of carrying 125 crore Indians together with 'sabka saath, sabka vikas, we wonder.

(Image credit: indiatimes)