Whom was the Congress party mocking, Mr Narendra Modi -- a person they hate or Pope himself -- whom Christians adore ??
Congress's apology to Christians over now-deleted post mocking PM-Pope meeting
A post by the Congress's Kerala unit mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Pope Francis on the sidelines of the G7 summit drew widespread condemnation. The party later deleted the post and issued an apology.
A sarcastic post by the Congress party's Kerala unit on social media, mocking a meeting between Narendra Modi and Pope Francis at the G7 summit in Italy, has sparked outrage.
The post, which has since been deleted, featured a picture of PM Modi with the Pope and the comment, "Finally, the Pope got a chance to meet God!"
This was a reference to PM Modi's statement during the just concluded elections that he was convinced he was "sent by God" for a purpose, that is to serve motherland Bharat !!
Kerala BJP president K Surendran tweeted, "The @INCIndia Kerala 'X' handle, seemingly run by radical Islamists or Urban Naxals, continues to post derogatory and humiliating content against nationalistic leaders. Now, it has even stooped to mocking the respected Pope and the Christian community."
He called out Congress heavyweights like party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and general secretary KC Venugopal, and questioned whether they endorsed such utterances.
Kerala BJP general secretary George Kurian said the post was offensive and hurtful to religious sentiments, particularly in Kerala, where Christianity is the third-largest practised religion.
BJP IT Cell in-charge Amit Malviya alleged that the Congress has a history of denigrating other faiths and demanded an apology from former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, a Catholic.
"After mocking the Hindus and deriding their faith, the Islamist-Marxist nexus in the Congress has now come down to insulting the Christians. This, when Sonia Gandhi, the longest serving Congress President, herself is a practising Catholic. She must apologise to the believers," Malviya posted on X.
In response, the Congress cited Pope Francis' statement that it is not heresy to joke about God. "When you manage to make intelligent smiles gush from the lips of even one spectator, you make even God smile. Pope Francis said this on Friday, 14th June on the same day after he met Narendra Modi," the party tweeted.
Tagging K Surendran and George Kurian, the grand old party sarcastically added, “Better luck next time.”
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee Vice-President VT Balram defended the post, saying it was satirical and aimed at exposing the "shallowness" in PM Modi's public relations efforts. "It’s Modi himself who claimed that he is not normal human being but sent by God. This particular tweet is satirical."
Amid mounting backlash, the Congress's Kerala unit deleted the post and apologised for causing "any emotional or psychological distress to Christians".
In a statement, it clarified that it does not intend to insult any religion or religious figures. However, it maintained that political figures, including PM Modi, are not exempt from criticism.
The BJP appointed State election-in-charge and co-in-charge for the ensuing assembly polls in four states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.
The party has appointed party leader and Ministers, Bhupender Yadav as State election in-charge and Ashwini Vaishnaw co-in charge for the crucial battle of Maharashtra.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Biplab Kumar Dev have been made state election in charges for Haryana.
For the Jharkhand assembly election, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been appointed State in-charge and Himanta Biswa Sarma as co-in charge.
Union Minister G Kisan Reddy has been given the charge for Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.
The Assembly elections in four states including Maharashtra come in the backdrop of the BJP’s failure to win a majority in the Lok Sabha polls on its own.
There is already a debate on whether Narendra Modi is losing out the various battles of perception and the popularity.
The decisions taken especially by Amit Shah in the run-up to the parliamentary polls, including election management and candidate selection are also being flagged off.
Perhaps Narendra Modi also understands the significance of J P Nadda's failure. He failed to ensure BJP win in his home state Himachal Pradesh in 2022 and now the mega setback in Lok Sabha polls.
BJP president J P Nadda had also said the party had become “saksham (capable)” of running its own affairs, without needing the help of the RSS.
Therefore, how the RSS approaches the coming elections will also be crucial after Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s public remarks — he said a “true sevak” does not have “arrogance” and that “decorum was not maintained” during the Lok Sabha poll campaign.
The role of the RSS cadre will be crucial, especially in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
“All the elections are important for the party. However, these elections have an added significance in the new political situation. Winning these polls is crucial for the BJP leadership as it has to regain its control over the party.
Right now, with a review of its performance taking place in the state units, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra, there is simmering uneasiness among the cadre. So, nothing short of emphatic wins will settle things for the party,” said a BJP leader.
Obviously the talk is if the performance of the BJP in the state elections is not up to expectations again, “things may take an unpleasant turn”.
Union Ministers Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vainshaw who played a key role in delivering the victory for the party in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls last December have been given the responsibility of Maharashtra.
While Yadav is the leader in charge, Vaishnaw is the co-in-charge.
The BJP is also giving adequate importance to party's performance in tribal stronghold state of Jharkhand.
Union Minister and former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma will handle the party’s electioneering in Jharkhand.
The decision has been taken at the highest level in consultation with BJP general secretary organisation, B L Santhosh.
Of all the three states, Maharashtra is the most crucial. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s tally dropped from 23 to 9 while allies Shiv Sena of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde bagged seven seats and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) just one. The BJP-led NDA lost a total of 26 constituencies in the state, finishing with just 17 out of 48.
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“Maharashtra is the nerve centre of national politics. It is extremely important that we win it,” said a senior BJP leader. Both Yadav and Vaishnaw will have to ensure cohesion between the cadre, which includes the volunteers from the Sangh Parivar, and workers of the party’s Mahayuti allies.
Also Read | As the Sangh speaks up, deciphering its signals to the BJP
With BJP leaders familiar with the party’s functioning in Haryana admitting that the election management in the state went awry, leading to the party losing half of its tally to the Congress, Pradhan and Deb’s roles will be significant. While Pradhan is an experienced hand with his prior roles as election in-charge in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Deb was in charge of Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls. The former Tripura CM was credited for uniting state leaders and consolidating the party’s support base but had to leave halfway after being fielded from Tripura West. He was later deployed in Odisha, where the party swept both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
Meanwhile, Chouhan who was recently shifted from Madhya Pradesh to the national stage will work in tandem with Sarma who has become a key part of the organisational and electoral activities of the BJP. Their challenge will be to ensure the BJP regains its tribal support base in Jharkhand, where tribals constitute more than 26% of the population. The BJP won eight of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand but failed to win any of the five seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes: Khunti, Lohardaga, Chaibasa, Rajmahal, and Dumka.
In J&K, as the BJP sees positive signals in the high voter turnout in the Lok Sabha polls, Reddy who was the Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs during the last term of the BJP government will have to see to it that his party makes the best of it and is in a position to make inroads. The BJP did not field a candidate in the Lok Sabha elections in the four constituencies in the Union Territory.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Liz Matthew
Liz Mathew
Have been in journalism covering national politics for 23 years. Have covered six consecutive Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in almost all the states. Currently writes on ruling BJP. Always loves to understand what's cooking in the national politics (And ventures into the act only in kitchen at home). ... Read More
First uploaded on: 17-06-2024 at 18:10 IST
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