Mumbai: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Tuesday termed the protest at Bharat Mandapam a “semi-nude revolution,” alleging that the ruling party, media, and universities are complicit in a broader democratic crisis.
“In India, the work of completely stripping naked the democracy, the Election Commission, and the judicial system has been accomplished during PM Modi’s Amrit Kaal. The real blow to the country’s prestige lies here. It invokes the proverb, ‘Everyone is naked in the hammam (public bath)’, suggesting that if PM Modi understood this, he would not let out such hollow fumes over the semi-naked protest at Bharat Mandapam. The administration should recognise its own vulnerabilities before criticising others,” the party has said in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.
In an editorial in the Saamana, the Thackeray camp said, “Even after the Modi government stripped itself by signing a trade agreement with President Trump that allegedly enslaves India, they still feel the need to criticise Congress. The government’s attitude is criticising Congress, which is their only business. Even as the disrobing of India continues, PM Modi keeps speaking about the nakedness of others.”
The editorial questioned the Prime Minister’s intense reaction to this specific protest, pointing to past instances where more severe “nudity” failed to elicit a similar response from the leadership.
“The horrific display of nudity in Manipur, where women were paraded naked by a mob. The Prime Minister failed to visit the victims or offer genuine support during that crisis. If the semi-naked protest at Bharat Mandapam damaged the country’s prestige, did the naked parade of women in Manipur represent the pinnacle of prestige? Years ago, women staged a nude protest in front of an army regiment office, alleging heinous misconduct, yet their cries reportedly went unheard by the administration. Thousands of Naga Sadhus move openly in a state of nudity during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, which the BJP embraces as part of Indian culture and Hindutva,” the editorial said.
According to the editorial, a certain “Modi-bhakt” female leader of the BJP had crossed all limits by using language about “stripping others naked” to challenge opponents. However, the people of Amethi showed her true place and defeated her. “Winston Churchill used to refer to Mahatma Gandhi as a “naked fakir” or “semi-naked fakir” to mock him. Yet, it was that same “semi-naked fakir” who gave the “Quit India” message and forced the British to pack up and leave,” it remarked.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena claimed that the Prime Minister’s frequent criticism of Congress has become a “business”, saying that while the government accuses the opposition of stripping the nation of its dignity, the administration itself has been “stripped bare” by its own actions. “The naked dance of power continues in India while supporters shower it with flowers,” said the party in the editorial.
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File Photo: IANS
–IANS
