Modi is expert in political jujitsu

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) boss and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has scored a self-goal by making personal, nasty remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi—a practice that has become the hallmark of Opposition leaders.

At a Patna rally, Lalu Yadav said, “What can we do if Narendra Modi does not have a family of his own? He keeps bragging about the Ram temple. He is not even a true Hindu. In Hindu tradition, a son must shave his head and beard upon the demise of his parents. Modi did not do so when his mother died.”

The comment was in bad taste. What is worse for the Opposition, Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party used repartee to hurt their opponents. “My life is an open book, 140 crore people in the country are my family. Today, crores of daughters, mothers and sisters of the country are in Modi’s family. Every poor person in the country is my family. Those who have no one also belong to Modi and Modi belongs to them. They say ‘Nene Modi Kutumbam’ (I’m Modi family),” Modi replied.

He went on to slam Opposition INDIA bloc for their dynastic politics: “The leaders of the INDI alliance, deeply engrossed in corruption, nepotism and appeasement, are becoming nervous. When I question their ‘Parivarvad,’ they have started saying that Modi has no family.”

The BJP was quick to show its solidarity with Modi and launch a campaign to stress that. The top leadership, including party president J.P. Nadda, added ‘Modi Ka Parivar’ in their social media profiles.

This is not much different from the ‘Main bhi chowkidar’ (I am a Watchman too) moment of 2019 general Elections when senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had targeted Modi as a ‘thief,’ saying ‘Desh ka chowkidar chor hai’ (The country’s watchman is a thief). He was referring to what PM Modi’s earlier assertions that he was the country’s watchman. Gandhi had accused Modi of corruption.

Gandhi is reportedly a black belt in Aikido, a Japanese martial art. Aikido is derived from Jujitsu, another martial art in which the opponent’s power is deployed against him.

It is, however, Modi who has proved to be adept in political Jujitsu. He uses the attacks of his political rivals to defeat them. While in 2019 it was the chowkidar remark that he used to his own benefit, in 2014 he had transformed the chaiwallah taunt to bolster his electoral fortunes. And now there are the snide remarks about his family that he and the BJP are tactfully deflecting.