Modi soft-signalling bigotry, says senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in new book

When in doubt or to be doubly sure, an on-field umpire resorts to using a ‘soft signal’, clearly telling what he thinks about the action on the cricket field while referring the decision to the TV umpire.

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says this is exactly what Prime Minister Narendra Modi does when he wants to signal "his bigotry" without being overt about his views on minorities, be it through remaining silent on violence targeting minorities or through statements designed with specific intent.

In his new book 'The Battle of Belonging', he says this behaviour is not worthy of a “true nationalist”.

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Tharoor refers to the cricketing analogy to explain his position: "In cricket nowadays, the umpires use a 'soft signal' when they are unsure of a verdict on an appeal but want to convey what they really think."

The Kerala MP adds, "This is exactly what Modi is up to: he actively signals his bigotry to his base without necessarily being overt about his distaste for minorities."

To prove his point, Tharoor refers to Modi's exhortation not to vote for the "beef-eating RJD” in the 2015 Bihar elections as well as his ‘kabristan-shamshaan’ reference and 'if there is electricity during Ramzan, there should be electricity during Diwali' statement during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh polls.

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In Gujarat polls in 2017, he reminds, Modi repeatedly accused former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Vice President Hamid Ansari of colluding with Pakistan besides referring to veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel as ‘Ahmed Mian', referring to his faith. A year later, in the midst of the Karnataka elections, Modi hit out at the Congress’ "celebration of the jayantis of Sultans" referring to the celebration of the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, a Muslim ruler.

These statements appear "innocuous enough till one recognizes the implicit communal message packaged within", he says.

While referring to Modi’s assurance to Muslim leaders in 2015 that he would respond even if they were to knock on his doors at midnight, Tharoor says, it is the “same Modi” who refuses to wear a Muslim skullcap when one is ceremonially presented to him “while cheerfully donning all manner of exotic headgear wherever he goes."

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"Silence is also a weapon of soft-signalling: when he refuses to condemn instances of communal violence, he implicitly condones it. This is not behaviour worthy of a true nationalist, who ought to be resolute against anything that would divide his nation and so weaken it," he writes.

Tharoor also refers to Modi’s attacks on the Congress, particularly its leader Rahul Gandhi, using terms like ‘Aurangzeb Raj’, ‘Shehzada’, among others. He also referred to Modi targeting Rahul for his decision to fight the Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad by saying that he was running away from majority-dominated Amethi to a minority-dominated seat in Kerala, which was ratcheted up by other BJP leaders.

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Tharoor accuses Modi of embracing Muslim heads of state in the Arab world but keeps Indian Muslims at arm’s length. He notes that the BJP is the first party in India's history to come to power without a single elected Muslim MP in the Lok Sabha.

"The very fact that the BJP finds itself unable to put up electable Muslim candidates in any constituency speaks volumes about the party’s attitude to Muslims and of the attitudes of Indian Muslims to it—as well as of the views of its core voters, whose bigotry would not predispose them to vote for a Muslim, not even one contesting on their own party’s symbol," he says.