New Delhi, August 1. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala on Saturday, after leaving the party, taunted and said that the Prime Minister has ‘failed’ to become a dictator. He compared PM Modi’s response to the recent NEET protest controversy with his attitude towards dissent in Congress and opposition-ruled states.
Shehzad Poonawala said in a video post on X that he is completely disappointed with PM Modi. He sarcastically said, ’12 years have passed and he has failed. He doesn’t even know how to become a true dictator.’
Poonawalla’s comments come hours after Prime Minister Modi’s video message in which he appealed to the people to forgive the students who allegedly used abusive language against him and his late mother during the NEET protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
Shahzad said that instead of behaving like a dictator, PM Modi had appealed to the society, police and everyone else to forgive the students. Poonawalla said, “Last night he released a video and said about the children who had used abuses against constitutional officers and their late mother – ‘They are naughty children, forgive them.’ He appealed to the society, police and everyone to forgive them,” Poonawalla said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also targeted
After this, the former BJP leader also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said, ‘Rahul Gandhi is a descendant of Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Modi ji, learn from him what real dictatorship is, what real emergency is.
Unlike Modi government, Congress governments are registering cases regarding protests.
He alleged that while the Modi government had accepted the demands of the student protesters and withdrawn the cases registered against them, the Congress governments were registering cases over social media posts and protests.
Referring to recent incidents, Poonawalla claimed that cases were registered against Instagram users in Kerala for insulting Rahul Gandhi. He also mentioned the police action against a poster and a rap artist in Karnataka.
Jawaharlal Nehru limited the freedom of expression
Poonawalla also referred to the political history of the Congress and alleged that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who limited freedom of expression and Indira Gandhi who imposed emergency, jailed opposition leaders and suppressed dissent. He also mentioned the Assam movement, Navnirman movement and the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare and alleged that thousands of protesters were jailed during those periods.
Referring again to PM Modi, Poonawalla said, “Today children are using abusive words and you are saying, ‘They are children, mistakes happen. We should help them on the right path.’ But Rahul ji, like a real dictator, is filing cases over Instagram posts.”
He ended his speech by taking another dig at those criticizing the Prime Minister – ‘Modi ji, it has been 12 years. You have not become a dictator. You have dashed the hopes of all these leftist liberals. You have failed….’