Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government at the Centre and Narendra Modi stormed into the Prime Minister’s office, there have been many events which could have never been predicted.
Who could have predicted the demonetisation move? Or India would take over Britain to become world’s 5th largest economy?
However, there has been one thing that has been predictable and it is that if you don’t like any decision of the BJP government or you don’t support the party then you are either an anti-national or a Pakistani.
The saffron brigade is so much anxious to control the public, that whenever someone disagrees with the party’s ideology or questions them on an issue, they get branded as a ‘Pakistani agent’ or ‘anti-national’.
It seems that the BJP feels that if they dub someone as a Pakistani, the problem ends there, but that isn’t true. The party has created such an atmosphere in the country that in order to prove your patriotism you will have to support every decision they take.
Whenever the BJP thinks that it is losing its ground, the last refuge of the BJP is the false equivalence with Pakistan. Even today PM Modi used this ‘strategy’ while speaking about the demonetisation move and stated that note ban detractors are acting like Pakistan and using Pak-like techniques.
Here are some of the instances when desperate BJP tried to cool down the things by bringing in the word anti-national or Pakistan:
Note ban detractors behaving like Pakistan: PM Modi
Before getting into the details, let’s take today’s classic example of bringing in the word Pakistan while speaking about the demonetisation.
PM Modi has drawn flak ever since he announced the demonetisation move. People have been facing a lot of problems and over 100 people have died while standing in long serpentine queues of the banks/ATMs.
However, it seems that the government is not at all concerned with the problems people are facing. While speaking at an event in Varanasi, the prime minister didn’t miss out a chance to lash out the Opposition for stalling Parliament over demonetisation and said that they were trying to “rescue the corrupt” like Pakistan gives cover fire to terrorists to cross border and said the note ban will expose the ‘kala dhan’ (black money) as well as ‘kale mann’ (ill-intentions) of many.
#WATCH: “No chance of earthquake now that he has spoken”, PM Modi takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi in Varanasi pic.twitter.com/mCULO7zhyA
— ANI (@ANI_news) December 22, 2016
“Many people say I had not taken account the consequences of this huge step. In fact, the only thing that I could not take into account was the brazenness with which many political parties and leaders will come to the rescue of the corrupt. But I am happy that this drive aimed at eliminating ‘kala dhan’ has exposed so many ‘kale mann’,” Modi said.
Row over Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘intolerance remark’
Last year, when the entire nation was talking about the rising intolerance in India, the Bollywood superstar decided to wade into the ‘intolerance and #AwardsWapsi’ debate.
In an interview with a news channel, he said: “There is intolerance, there is extreme intolerance. There is growing intolerance.”
“It is stupid to be intolerant and this is our biggest issue not just an issue. Religious intolerance and not being secular in this country is the worst kind of crime that you can do as a patriot,” he had said.
Following his statement, the BJP regime lashed out at the actor, with party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya dubbing him as “anti-nationalist” and “Pakistani agent”.
Crackers will burst in Pakistan if we lose Bihar: Amit Shah
After he felt that the voters were in favour of a grand alliance and his strategies had ‘failed’. BJP president Amit Shah played the ‘Pakistan card to invoke patriotism amongst the voters.
Addressing an election rally in Raxaul, he asked the audience if they wanted crackers to go off in Pakistan while appealing to them to vote for the BJP-led NDA.
He said that there will be bursting of fire crackers in Pakistan if his party loses Bihar assembly elections.
Leave India or do yoga: Yogi Adityanath
Firebrand BJP leader Yogi Adityanath had last year asked people opposing yoga and ‘surya namaskar’ to leave India or drown themselves in the ocean.
It wasn’t a herculean task to figure out whom the comments were aimed at– they came as a reaction to minority groups opposing a move to make yoga compulsory in schools, claiming that the sun salutation goes against the Islamic law that prohibits bowing before anyone other than Allah.
Support Modi or go to Pakistan
Ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls, senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh had blatantly asked the people who opposed Modi to leave India and go to Pakistan.
