The Lok Sabha elections are here and so is the time for aggressive campaigning. Both the Congress and BJP are battling it out at political rallies and Twitter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to blogging too. In his blog post titled ‘Institutional Respect And Institutional Contempt – Two Contrasting Approaches’, Modi alleged that whenever dynastic politics has been powerful, institutions have taken a severe beating, implying that free press, Constitution, Parliament et al suffered under the Congress.
The blog and the accompanying tweet did not go well with many Twitter users. The official Twitter handle of All India Mahila Congress listed down the “casualties of last five years.”
Demonetisation, Swachh Bharat, smart cities and Make In India made it to the list among others.
Another Twitter user called it a ‘joke’. “ You have destroyed every credible institution including SC, EC, RBI, CBI, CAG, CVC, Lokpal and even Parliament,” he alleged.
BJP Not Free Of Dynasts
Not belonging to a dynasty is not a virtue, commented one Twitter user. He also listed names of dictators who did not belong to a dynasty.
Another Twitter user pointed out the dynasty politics in the BJP.
Is The Press Free?
Journalists tweeted about how journalists are harassed under the Modi rule. Rohini Singh tweeted that she would not get phone calls from people concerned about her safety during the UPA rule. “There was no team of 200 people to monitor the press. The government did not threaten the press,” she added.
AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal said journalists were threatened, assaulted and were targeted with hate campaigns during the Modi regime.
One Twitter user attacked PM Modi for not holding a single press conference in five years. “(Modi) treats the free press like it’s the plague,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, National Spokeperson of Congress Sanjay Jha asked Modi to leave “that pathetic blog, step on the podium if you have the guts.”
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