Shehzad Poonawalla, the former BJP spokesperson, ended up trending the political narrative on Saturday after trashing PM Narendra Modi’s alleged lack of democracy in a comedic video.
Speaking humorously, Poonawalla said that he was “totally disappointed” with the Prime Minister as the leader had not become a “proper dictator” making his tenure too 12 years long.
He continued referring to the PM Modi video address delivered on 31 July saying that he would pardon those who had uttered abusive words against him, the government, and even his mother while protesting against him and the government, dubbed as the Cockroach Janta Party, by the Gen-Z over the past few weeks.
Poonawalla says Modi didn’t seek to harshly rebuke the protesters but instead referred to them as “mischievous kids” and extended his forgiveness. He had said that behaviour like this was a contradiction to rumours of the Prime Minister being dictatorial.
Poonawalla also likened the Congress leadership to Rahul Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and the Emergency of 1975-77.
Those interested in learning about dictatorship should read the history of the Emergency, and not look to the present government and accuse it of being authoritarian.
These are being made after a resumption of a jittery political engagement over the way government has been reacting to the recent student protest movement in connection with the NEET paper leak controversy and later the resignation of the previous education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Poonawalla, who has been seen to be more of an ally to Prime Minister Modi as opposed to being one with the BJP, said that the Prime Minister’s answer was not authoritarian but one of forgiveness.