Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday coined two terms- ‘aandolan jeevi’ (professional protesters) and ‘Foreign Destructive Ideology’ to lampoon the Opposition and certain protesters and foreign individuals who have tweeted in support of the ongoing farmers’ agitation.
While replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Modi said that India was not merely the world’s largest democracy; it was the ‘mother of democracy’.
A new kind of FDI had emerged in the country and it was ‘Foreign Destructive Ideology’. “We need to be more aware to save the country from such an ideology,” he stated.
Mr. Modi spoke about a new breed of protesters- aandolan-jeevi, who could be seen at every agitation. “These parasites feast on every agitation. When they are not in the front, they operate from behind the curtains, they cannot survive without agitation,” he observed.
Calling upon everyone to educate the youth about the glorious history of the country, he said, “People who suspect India’s democracy, I want to ask them to learn to understand it. Our democracy is not a western institution, it is a human institution. India’s nationalism should be protected from multiple attacks”.
Recently international pop star Rihanna shared a news article of the ongoing farmers agitation on Twitter, asking why it wasn’t discussed enough. This prompted an unusual response from the government- it issued a press statement, stating that it was “unfortunate to see vested interest groups trying to enforce their agenda on these protests, and derail them.”
Similar tweets were posted by 18-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and author Meena Harris, niece of U.S Vice President Kamala Harris.
‘Netajis’s ideals forgotten’
Mr. Modi said, “When I was listening to the [Opposition] members talking about the farmers agitation, I asked myself are they talking about Bengal or the entire country? I told myself that they will soon discuss the Emergency or 1984. It is unfortunate that Netajis’s ideals have been forgotten and today we have started cursing ourselves. We like to listen that India is world’s largest democracy, we did not teach our youth that India is the mother of all democracies. We should say this with pride, our ancestors gave us this privilege. India's soul is democratic”.
Mr. Modi asked the members to recall the Emergency period and the state of judiciary and media then. “Everything was turned into jails, but this country could not be shaken of its democratic values. We have to move forward by protecting democratic values. As far as economy is concerned, other countries are starving of foreign investment, but in India record investment was made,” he said.
