It’s not the era of golden silence PM Modi! Speak up before it is too late

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for his yet another business trip, forging relations with our fellow BRICS members and the rest of the world in Ufa, but back home, it is dreary picture for his government. After celebrating the first anniversary of NaMo government with much pomp and show, the government’s can of worms is slowly opening up.

After the infamous Lalitgate incident, wherein party’s senior leaders, Rajasthan’s chief minister Vasundhara Raje, and Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj are involved of favouring ill-famed Lalit Modi, the multi-crore Vyapam scam is threatening to blow the lids off for the BJP government.

The 45 unexplained deaths in Vyapam scam, one after the other, just like a movie plot, has left us stunned. But what is more disappointingly shocking for all of us is the unsettling silence of our otherwise outspoken Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But it is déjà vu for us?

If you ask anyone what they remember best about the previous UPA government, they may say that it is the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s eternal silence on every scam that was done right under his nose. And it seems, this is being replicated by the successive government as well.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had his ‘Mann ki baat’ with the aam aadmi in the country on June 28. And while he spoke at length on diverse topics and encouraged people to click #SelfieWithDaughter as a part of his ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, he has maintained a contentious silence on the spree of murders in Madhya Pradesh’s Vyapam scam and the Lalit Modi controversy that is clearly denting the government’s image.

Well, if one recalls, it was the BJP and its then Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who vociferously and categorically criticized former PM Manmohan Singh for his inability to speak against the complete anarchy in his government.

On the last day of the National Council meeting ahead of the General Elections last year, Narendra Modi had labelled Manmohan Singh as ‘night watchman’. An overwhelming 2000 plus crowd cheered him as he went on with his digs at the 70 year old the then Prime Minister Singh.

“The Congress has appointed Manmohan Singh as a night watchman…He is nothing but a puppet in the hands of the Gandhi family,” he said as the crowd went hysteric. Fast forward to June 2015, one can see a similar silence is being maintained by our superstar Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this raging controversy.

PM Modi, who is quite social on Twitter, has maintained an unsettling silence there as well. Really Mr. Modi? Do you have nothing to say on the controversies that involve party’s veterans.

Obviously his reticence on the controversies has not gone unnoticed. Hawk-eyed Congress has literally jumped on the opportunity to question his silence over his government’s involvement in corruption. After all, PM Modi had blown the trumpet against corruption when he said, “BJP is for a mission, Congress is for commission.”

Well, his silence on recent controversy is anything but acceptable. In the Lalitgate case, the NaMo government was quick to brush aside the various documents produced by the media while its spokespersons were brazenly defending the ministers’ actions. On the other hand, the BJP government has assured of transparent investigation in the Vyapam scam, however, the string of murders has stated otherwise. No wonder, the Supreme Court had to intervene and direct the top investigating agency in India, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take charge of the scam.

The Lalit Modi controversy has successfully questioned the government’s functioning in cases of corruption while Vyapam scam threatens to reveal many skeletons in the closet. It is certain that BJP’s honeymoon period is over and there is a growing voice within the party against the tainted leaders. But with PM Modi’s brazen silence on the matter, it remains to be seen if the public is forgiving enough for them to let him go off the hook!

Image credit: Indiatimes.com