Only Andher nagari

Such is the antipathy of the RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) towards genetically modified seeds that it does not hesitate in providing its platform to Left-leaning activists like Prashant Bhushan and Vandana Shiva.

On Friday, SJM organized an event at New Delhi’s Constitution Club where it joined hands with another RSS-linked body, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), and Leftists in condemning the Narendra Modi government’s move on GM mustard. The biotech regulator, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), recently sought public comments on the safety aspects on GM mustard variety, which has been developed by Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants of the University of Delhi.

In his address, Bhushan got carried by his own rhetoric and started quoting a famous Hindi saying, Andher nagari, chaupat raja (A failed state, a dumb ruler). He suddenly realized the connotation and the context. He immediately stopped at nagari, lest any aspersions were cast on Narendra Modi.