I am still reeling from Prime Minister Modi’s iconic, monumental (no, HE is not going to be happy with only two bombastic adjectives, so here goes a third), and “path-breaking” interview to Twinkle’s hubby. While everybody is scratching their heads over the “big why”, I think I’ve got it figured out. It was a clever (synonymously also desperate) ploy to wrest the initiative back from the hotheads in his party.
But if the prime minister had read Mary Shelley’s 18th century masterpiece, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (“I used to read so many books at the village library”, Modi told the star struck Twinkle-hubby), he need not have done this embarrassing cameo. As per Wikipedia, it’s “the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment”; but the monster murders Victor’s wife Elizabeth and brother William. Ever since then, “Frankenstein” has become a noun in English, describing a creature that turns violently upon its own creator.
Now to the billion-vote question: when and how did Modi lose the narrative to his political Frankenstein(s)? Let’s begin at the beginning…
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[00:00:00] Rise Above The Din Unbox The News With Me, Raghav Behal I'm still reeling from Prime Minister Modi's iconic monumental since he is not going to be happy with only two bombastic adjectives so here goes a third and path breaking interview to Twinkle's hubby
[00:00:30] Prime Minister, do you eat mangoes? This is Mamda sister. Even today, I am going to select one or two kurus and even the slave is free and I was talking to him in a friendly manner It's really a crime, isn't it?
[00:00:45] Let's dial back to the Pulwama tragedy and Balakot air strikes The perpetrator will be punished for his crimes This had come as a life-saving bolt from the blue to the sagging approval ratings soared by over 15 percentage points
[00:01:23] I think he quickly realised that he must junk all talk of his non-existent economic achievements which were of course failing to cut too much ice with people and just amp up the jingoism to lethal levels Modi's script writers I'm sure must have screened Shole for him
[00:01:41] because he got inspired by film star Dharmendra's iconic VeeRu dialogues Don't stand in front of three dogs, sir! We killed the terrorists at home Our informants also used to write that Pakistan is a nuclear power So what do we have here? Is this for Diwali?
[00:02:12] For a while it did seem that Prime Minister Modi had shoved his opposition into a nuclear winter But then, just as some of the tough talk was wearing out Rahul Gandhi's Congress sprang its manifesto surprise Sop se pehla team, ne aayi ka team
[00:02:28] Unlike the tired cliches of Yore, here was a document sprinkled with fresh, bold, liberal and politically risky ideas Many well-wishers warned that this had recklessly exposed Congress' flanks to an aggressive Modi Who called it a dacozla? That's a tissue of lies manifesto Others said it would balkanize India
[00:03:01] They are an agenda for the balkanization of India Some went over the top saying it's written in Pakistan The ultimate jive was a manifesto celebrated by terrorists Completely favouring separatists and favouring terrorists Such an exaggerated criticism only betrayed the BJP's panic
[00:03:35] Every liberal in the land, and sorry BJP, however much you may wish it otherwise Over 60% of India had rejected your majoritarian, illiberal politics Even in the 2014 Modi wave All of them applauded and the buzz was growing louder Prime Minister Modi was now scratching around for a counter move
[00:03:56] This time perhaps he saw a couple of Ramseh brothers horror films Because surely is a pleasant walk in the park by comparison And before you could say Purani Haveli, that's a Ramseh brothers film Prime Minister Modi had crafted his scariest dialogue to date
[00:04:14] Speaking in Gujarat, where else would he do that? He said menacingly that the Americans had warned Pakistan If wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman was not returned to India Modi would unleash a Katalki Raad That's a night of murder, mayhem and bloodshed
[00:04:35] It's exactly at this time that Modi also made a Frankensteinian blunder He trotted out a terrorism charged Pragya Singh Thakur as the BJP's parliamentary candidate from Bhopal She neither had a prime ministerial boundary to confine her nor any sense of political propriety
[00:04:54] She was a loose WMD, that's a weapon of mass destruction I think it will be a huge loss And in the next half of the month, the day the terrorists killed her, that day was the day of the war I had gone, broke the roof
[00:05:12] Suddenly it was open seasons all around One guy said I will cut off Rahul Gandhi's hands Another said strap him on bombs Yet another said no not any bomb but the one which struck Balakot
[00:05:24] The furor was so deafening that unthinkably the prime minister was pushed off the front pages of dailies And the prime time shows of screaming television channels Modi had the political smarts to understand that he was losing control of Frankensteins
[00:05:41] He had to repivot the national narrative back on himself and away from the loonies And there he was the perfect neutralizer He is a bhakt which is a religious political fan He's a superstar, he's the heartthrob of young women and macho men in the 18-45 age bracket
[00:06:01] Akshay Kumar was just perfect Have you noticed how after the choreographed Akshay interview Prime Minister Modi has rapidly done many more photo ops Very smiling, he's genuinely guffawing He's touching feet, he's showing off his soft side Coming across as your regular cool and good guy Got it
[00:06:23] Thanks for listening Tune in next week for another episode of Raghav's Tick