Only six months back, Indians, especially the bourgeoning middle class endorsing the jibes of Narendra Modi against Rahul Gandhi, who preferred to address him “Pappu”, “Shehenshah” and a “part-time politician”, are now looking towards him with hope. Not only the common people and the politically conscious, but also the policy decision-makers and politicians are increasingly not directly opposing him, instead preferring to maintain a passive silence.
A paradigm shift in their approach and perception has taken place once Modi met with his Waterloo in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Once Rahul raised his pitch against Modi in his Lok Sabha speeches, his former detractors have become the Leader of Opposition’s admirers. The LoP’s popularity graph has risen beyond comprehension. Rahul Gandhi is the new ideologue for the pro-people and centrist forces.
Gandhi’s blazing speech on 29 July, alleging Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani, Ajit Doval and Mohan Bhagwat have been the protagonists of a “Chakravyuh” (literally, an entrapment) against India’s common people, has literally shattered the image of Modi. Of course, he did not identify himself as the modern Abhimanyu, but by using the country as metaphor, he made it abundantly clear who was at their target. In the Mahabharat, six famed warriors from the Kauravas side had encircled Abhimanyu and killed him. But the modern Kauravas could not succeed in their mission. Modern-day Abhimanyu smashed their Chakravyuh.
Rahul projected BJP’s lotus as the Chakravyuh of Modi to strangle the aspirations of the common people, while strengthening “monopoly business, political monopoly and the deep state or the agencies”. He said the chakravyuh was also a padmavyuh, a multilayered formation that resembled the lotus (the BJP election symbol), and alleged that it symbolised “fear and violence”.
While Rahul’s second attack on the floor of the Parliament has exposed the deep-rooted conspiracy that was framed by Modi and his lieutenants, it was widely appreciated by the common people. They felt elated that finally they have an individual who has the guts to speak on the face of Modi and articulate their feelings. Rahul said: “In the 21st century, a new chakravyuh has been prepared. It is in the form of a lotus and the Prime Minister wears the symbol on his chest. What was done with Abhimanyu is being done with the youth, women, farmers and MSMEs,” sparked the imagination and at the same time the confidence of the common people. He said the “destruction” of the MSMEs has dried up jobs.
Rahul further dealt a blow to Modi: “The chakravyuh that has captured India has three forces behind it. First is the idea of monopoly capital; that two people should be allowed to own the entire Indian money. So, one element of the chakravyuh is coming from the concentration of financial power.”
Rahul has succeeded in his mission to put Modi, the self-proclaimed Vishwaguru, in dock. Till barely a couple of months ago, the people would not have imagined that an autocrat like Modi could be silenced and shown his place in the floor of the house. But now it is the reality. This was manifest in his observation that the middle class which had backed Modi had turned towards the INDIA bloc after the budget. “The same middle class has now been stabbed in the back and in the chest in the budget.”
The mainstream media for whom Rahul has been a pariah and an outcast till yesterday, literally tried to project him as the person who imbibed their voice and hope. It seems like a complete transformation. For a change, the media did not hesitate in identifying with him. At the diktat of Modi, the journalists were kept at a distance inside the parliament. Their movements were also restricted. They could interact with the members only at the entrance. Unfortunately, no political leader ever dared to raise this issue with the Speaker and tell him to do away this practice. The Godi media, which did everything possible to malign Rahul’s image, ironically could not dare to register their protest with Speaker on this discrimination.
The autocratic rule of Modi was also visible in the functioning of the staff of the Parliament premises. A photojournalist said: “Like every day, we were taking pictures of political leaders in the morning. The officials in charge of security came and asked us to move from Makar Dwar to a place near the media enclosure, close to Gate 12 of the old Parliament building.”On July 29 they had mustered courage to “silently protest” this nature of treatment and restriction. Interestingly, Covid-19 was cited as the reason for imposing the restriction four years back. Since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, Parliament authorities have imposed several restrictions on journalists’ entry into the complex.
Rahul Gandhi raised this issue in the House during the budget discussion, urging Speaker Om Birla to free the journalists from their “pinjra” (cage), stressing that it was another “chakravyuh”. He said: “Sir, one more chakravyuh has been imposed. The media people have been put in a cage. Please release them.” (IPA Service)
