Opposition too has a lesson to learn. When the government is on the defensive, you go for the jugular, not below the belt.
The BJP has mired itself in some particularly sticky Hollandaise sauce on the Rafale defence deal. Usually a master at controlling the conversation, the BJP is now on the back foot and its party leaders are making it worse.
Here’s a quick guide on how NOT to defend a defence deal.
Do not make it about the office of the PMO: The BJP, which had no problems calling Manmohan Singh night-watchman and ‘Maunmohan’, has belatedly discovered the unassailable dignity of the office of the Prime Minister.
Suddenly, criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned into criticism of the high office of the Prime Minister. As insulation against criticism, it feels a bit opportunistic. After all, Modi had no problem theatrically declaring that if there were shortcomings in his work even 50 days after demonetisation, he was prepared for any punishment the country decided for him(have rephrased this sentence). When you centralise decision-making and power, you will be targeted when things go wrong. The buck stops with you.
The opposition too has a lesson to learn. When the government is on the defensive, you go for the jugular, not below the belt. Raising issues of BJP-related corporate cronyism is a smart idea but a morphed picture of Narendra Modi painting chor on his own image makes the Congress look like a schoolyard bully ragging the smart kid.
Also read: The big questions about the Rafale deal you didn’t know whom to ask
Do not pretend that no one remembers anything: It makes for great TV to see minister Ravi Shankar Prasad puff up in high dudgeon on television and say “Rahul has called a popular Prime Minister, symbol of integrity and a global leader, a thief. No party president ever used such words for the Prime Minister.” Later he said, “Today I will teach Rahul Gandhi. He doesn’t do his homework.”
Unfortunately, neither did Prasad. As Twitterati quickly reminded Prasad, a very popular slogan in the 80s went “Gali gali mein shor hain Rajiv Gandhi chor hain”.
Really? Did Prasad need to go out of his way to revive Bofors memories in the middle of Rafale? That’s a bit of a self-goal.
And you didn’t have to go that far back. In 2013, the BJP’s irrepressible Amit Malviya said, “Tomorrow the whole country will know that humara #PMChorHai. #TheekHai.” It looks like Rahul Gandhi just stole his line because revenge is a dish best served with a hashtag.
Do not trot out the minister of state for agriculture: Writing about the Modi government’s faceless, nameless and talent-averse ministers, Shekhar Gupta told us about a “cruel ploy” he often used at public speaking interactions. He would ask them if they could name the country’s agriculture minister. “I am yet to see a hand go up,” wrote Gupta.
Well, at least we now know who the minister of state for agriculture is. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was fielded to defend the government on the Rafale deal by alleging that Rahul’s main objective in trying to derail the deal was to benefit his brother-in-law Robert Vadra. Of course, that brings up the inconvenient question about why the notorious Vadra is still strutting around scot-free nearly five years into the ‘na-khaoonga, na khaane-doonga’ sarkar.
And when we live in a world where Payal Rohatgi, best known for her Bigg Boss appearance, and Pallavi Joshi are analysing the defence deal and giving their expert opinion on it, we have really entered the silly season.
Do not play the foreign hand: Indira Gandhi had the foreign hand, her favourite go-to bogeyman to blame for everything that was wrong with the country. The BJP-led government has decided to take a leaf out of her playbook because after all this is an emergency of sorts.
These days Rahul is apparently part of an “international conspiracy” to target the government. Modi told a rally in Madhya Pradesh that “the Congress has lost its mental balance after losing power. After not finding any in India, it’s looking for alliance partners outside the country… Now will a foreign country decide who will be the country’s Prime Minister?”
Modi was hoping that all patriotic Indians will be incensed at former Pakistani minister Rehman Malik’s tweet that Rahul could be the next PM of India if he followed “Jet Gate” aka Rafale deal properly. Wait, one month ago, they said Rahul could not be trusted to find his way out of a paper bag without needing to figure out the escape velocity. Now suddenly he is James Bond getting Pakistan and France to play cameo roles in his game of international intrigue and subterfuge. Thank goodness, Donald Trump still loves India.
Also read: Narendra Modi should know that being on Trump’s friend list is no picnic
Do not play the mother card: Founder of Mataram Films Priya Gupta decided to pull heartstrings by putting out a video of Modi’s mother in her humble home. “Here’s the mother of a man @rahulgandhi calls a thief. Compare it with the humble life led by his mother,” she writes.
We really need to get over our Nirupa Roy fixation. The mothers don’t have to be pulled into fighting a proxy battle on behalf of their sons. If the Modi government can prove allegations of corruption against Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, it should certainly do so. But it would still be held accountable for the Rafale deal. There is no get-out-of-jail ‘mother’ card.
Also a bonus tip, calling the other party’s scams even bigger or their whole khandaan thieves does not change the perception about Rafale really.
The author is a journalist, commentator and author.