Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a great fascination for charchas: pariksha pe charcha, chai pe charcha and now dinner pe charcha. Modi’s ‘charchas’ on all such occasions are, in fact, one-sided discourses by the leader, never active interactions with the audience.

The same thing happens when he attends BJP fora like a national executive or parliamentary party meetings. Modi comes, addresses the function and leaves. Unlike earlier prime ministers, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he does not sit and listen to what others have to say, nor does he participate in discussions. That is a sharp contrast with his bête noire Jawaharlal Nehru, who was known for taking notes of what others said and replying to those.

As per the emerging practice, Modi must never be treated as an ordinary party leader – always as the first among unequals. It is this imperious disposition that forces his party MPs to treat him in parliament as someone who makes rare appearances and leaves in a hurry. Unlike earlier PMs, he rarely attends parliament sessions. He treats parliament as an unwanted hurdle. But at another level, he uses its approval as an endorsement for his public postures and positions he adopts. He bows at its entrance but unlike his predecessors, he scarcely attends house proceedings.

Rahul Gandhi has emerged as the sole target of all-out attacks when the first leg of the Budget Session ended on February 13. After a break, the house will reassemble on March 9. By then, Mo-Sha will have unveiled the ruling party’s strategy to effectively silence Gandhi.

The immediate reason for Modi’s heightened onslaught on Gandhi has been the way he exposed the government’s one-sided deal struck with US President Donald Trump and its ruinous implications for India. He repeatedly emphasised the various hidden clauses in the deal. And he said this happened because Modi was under pressure from Trump to bend at his knees.

“There is a chokehold on Modi and the reins are with Trump,” asserted Gandhi, to the chagrin of the BJP boss. Whenever Trump tightens the reins, Modi yields, Gandhi went on. This forces him to always be at Trump’s beck and call.

This is the reason for Modi’s ire towards Rahul. The BJP top brass has realised that someone they had all the while derided as ‘Pappu’........

© The Wire