Prime Minister targeted | The Indian Express

In India, these provocations have multiplied over the past decade, often manifesting themselves in attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is linked to his popularity and the way he has weakened the decades-long grip of a part of our political system. While Modi was already the target of diatribes before 2014, the provocations against him have intensified after he became prime minister, with freedom of expression being invoked to defend it.

Ironically, much of this has been normalised by a party that has tragically lost two of its chief ministers. Instead of learning from these gruesome chapters of the past, the Congress, especially during elections, indulges in similar provocations against the prime minister. Even BJP supporters are ridiculed by left-liberals and some in the media.

Modi has always been a favorite target of terrorists. In 2013, when he was a candidate for prime minister, a series of bomb blasts killed six people and injured many more at his rally at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

Since he took office a decade ago, PM Modi’s opponents have used provocative language against him. Hateful tweets against him have become commonplace. Addressing the issue of security for the prime minister’s cavalcade in June, Rahul Gandhi said people were no longer afraid of him: “His (the prime minister’s) idea of ​​running a government is to scare people, to stop them from speaking. Today, people are no longer afraid of him,” he said, showing a slipper thrown at the prime minister’s car in Varanasi.

Earlier, in February 2020 too, Gandhi could be seen normalizing violence against the Prime Minister, saying that in six to eight months, it would be impossible for the Prime Minister to step out of his house, as he would be attacked by the youth of the country on the issue of lack of employment opportunities: This is what Narendra Modi says, after 6 months he will not be able to step out of the house. The Indian youth should beat him with such a stick, he will understand that without providing jobs to the Indian youth, this country will not be able to progress, he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

In January 2022, the Prime Minister’s security motorcade was stuck for about 20 minutes on a flyover in Punjab’s Ferozepur district. The pre-determined route was blocked by protesting farmers. The ruling Congress was quick to pin the blame on the SPG, giving a green light to the state police. The Congress also conveniently termed the security breach as a political drama. The then Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi went into denial mode, saying there was no security breach or attempt to attack the Prime Minister.

Several comments that could be construed as threats were made against Prime Minister Modi during the farmers' agitation at the Singhu border near Delhi. However, none of the political parties denounced them and were instead seen to be siding with the protesters even when they unleashed violence in Delhi on January 26, 2021. Videos were circulated linking it to the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. So far, the Congress has not once condemned the actions of these protesters.

Congress leader Pawan Khera was arrested at Delhi airport on the behest of Assam Police in 2023. He got off the plane and on the tarmac, aggressive slogans were raised against Prime Minister Modi.

Elected as a Lok Sabha MP from Saharanpur on a Congress ticket in 2024, Imran Masood threatened the BJP's prime ministerial candidate with explicit violence in 2013. He is often seen with leaders including Priyanka Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi said in 2019 that after that year's elections, there would be an inquiry and the Chowkidar would go to jail in reference to the Rafale deal.

Senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay said in June 2022, “I feel he has surpassed Hitler… If Modi follows Hitler’s path, he will die like Hitler, remember that.” During the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Congress leader Ajay Rai used abusive language against Prime Minister Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and was charged with sedition.

Given the terrible, polarising rhetoric that preceded the attack on Trump in the US, this may be an opportune time for India’s political class to reflect on its own conduct and rhetoric, and its potential consequences. The attempted assassination of Trump is a stark warning of the dangers of such rhetoric.

The author is a former Director General of Police who served in Uttar Pradesh