The Elections of 2014 have been by far one of the ugliest as far as the war of words is concerned. Names such as "Shehzaada", "Butcherer of Gujarat", "Damaadshree", "Mummyji", "Chappan inch ka pehlvaan", "Madamji", "Bhagoda" etc have been regularly slung by polticians taking a dig at their kind. But one name in particular has been immensely popular in social media mentions. The term I'm referring to is "feku" (hindi slang for a person who lies or talks nonsense) which is the name that Modi despisers call him. Ironically, this name was made popular by Congress Spokesperson Digvijaya Singh (who himself is infamous for his rabid foot in mouth disease). Anyhow, this term has been repeatedly used by Modi detractors to paint him as a liar. They enumerate (correctly) a series of gaffes committed by Modi in his speeches. This list includes:
•Alexander the Great was defeated by Biharis
•Taxila was an integral part of Bihar
•Chandragupta was a part of the Gupta dynasty
However, is Narendra Modi truly a "feku"?
The Mint (a publication of the Hindustan Times) has a daily column called Claim Check. The purpose of this column is to verify the veracity of claims made by various politicians. I have enlisted below a few outlandish claims made by the very people who call Modi a "feku".
Rahul Gandhi: In Gujarat 13000 schools have been shut down.
Fact: The number of schools in Gujarat has gone up from 40,943 to 42, 745.
Check: Lie
Rahul Gandhi: Gujarat has the highest number of labor disputes in India.
Fact: West Bengal has the highest number of labor disputes (157) followed by Tamil Nadu (87) followed by Gujarat (22).
Check: Gross Lie
Sonia Gandhi: 40% of people in Gujarat have no drinking water.
Fact: 94% of Rural Villages and 83% of urban settlements have access to portable drinking water.
Check: Blatant Lie
Rahul Gandhi: UPA built more roads than the NDA.
Fact: The UPA in an affidavit to the Supreme Court states - 23814 km of roads were built by NDA from 1997 to 2002. The UPA built 16000 km of roads from 2004.
Check: Another lie.
Sonia Gandhi: Poverty has increased in Chattisgarh (while addressing a rally in Chattisgarh).
Fact: The poverty rate in Chattisgarh in 2009 -10 was 48.7% and in 2011 - 2012 was 39.93%.
Check: Looks like someone has got their math wrong!
Indeed, there were many other claims that were false, but due to paucity of space I won't be enumerating them.
Now, you may argue that these statistics may be biased and that they maybe sourced from the mouth piece of the BJP. But, (surprise surprise!) Mint is part owned by Shobana Bhartia (who has had a close association with the Congress party). Anyway, the bottom line is that the source of these Claim Checks is in no ways biased towards a certain individual.
I laboriously dug through the archives of "Claim Check". And the results? Majority of the claims made by Congress Leaders (in particular by Rahul Gandhi) were grossly wrong. Now, I don't mean to say that everything that the Congress has been saying is wrong. But the fact remains that they have lied on the biggest issues that India is facing today. They have fabricated figures on many crucial issues. And on the other hand, most claims by Narendra Modi (on Economic Indicators and social indicators) have been correct.
So, does it really matter if Modi says that "Taxila was a part of India" or that he mixed up "Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Shyamaji Krishna Verma"? Is it really going to affect the future of India? Is it really a topic that should be discussed at a time when the country has been wrecked by gargantuan amounts of corruption, crony capitalism, uncontrollable price rise and a pathetically weak and inept Central Government? Can't the Congress discuss anything better than 'historical inaccuracies'?
My advice to fellow Congress supporters is this. Please feel free to criticize gaffes that Modi makes on developmental issues. But for heavens sake don't pick up and harp about inaccuracies that are petty and irrelevant to the future of India. This nitpicking of irrelevant issues seems to exacerbate the point that the Congress has no moral standing to talk about any real topic. Also, before accusing anyone of being a "feku" please look into your own party. Remember, charity begins at home. And oh! One more suggestion, please do enroll Rahul Gandhi for an elementary Math Course. He seriously needs to identify numbers better!
I hope I have convinced you that while Modi may have made a few silly gaffes, there are many others (including those calling Modi "feku") who have made graver errors on issues that are much more important than whether "Alexander crossed the Ganga or not".
-Tejas Mehta
•Alexander the Great was defeated by Biharis
•Taxila was an integral part of Bihar
•Chandragupta was a part of the Gupta dynasty
However, is Narendra Modi truly a "feku"?
The Mint (a publication of the Hindustan Times) has a daily column called Claim Check. The purpose of this column is to verify the veracity of claims made by various politicians. I have enlisted below a few outlandish claims made by the very people who call Modi a "feku".
Rahul Gandhi: In Gujarat 13000 schools have been shut down.
Fact: The number of schools in Gujarat has gone up from 40,943 to 42, 745.
Check: Lie
Rahul Gandhi: Gujarat has the highest number of labor disputes in India.
Fact: West Bengal has the highest number of labor disputes (157) followed by Tamil Nadu (87) followed by Gujarat (22).
Check: Gross Lie
Sonia Gandhi: 40% of people in Gujarat have no drinking water.
Fact: 94% of Rural Villages and 83% of urban settlements have access to portable drinking water.
Check: Blatant Lie
Rahul Gandhi: UPA built more roads than the NDA.
Fact: The UPA in an affidavit to the Supreme Court states - 23814 km of roads were built by NDA from 1997 to 2002. The UPA built 16000 km of roads from 2004.
Check: Another lie.
Sonia Gandhi: Poverty has increased in Chattisgarh (while addressing a rally in Chattisgarh).
Fact: The poverty rate in Chattisgarh in 2009 -10 was 48.7% and in 2011 - 2012 was 39.93%.
Check: Looks like someone has got their math wrong!
Indeed, there were many other claims that were false, but due to paucity of space I won't be enumerating them.
Now, you may argue that these statistics may be biased and that they maybe sourced from the mouth piece of the BJP. But, (surprise surprise!) Mint is part owned by Shobana Bhartia (who has had a close association with the Congress party). Anyway, the bottom line is that the source of these Claim Checks is in no ways biased towards a certain individual.
I laboriously dug through the archives of "Claim Check". And the results? Majority of the claims made by Congress Leaders (in particular by Rahul Gandhi) were grossly wrong. Now, I don't mean to say that everything that the Congress has been saying is wrong. But the fact remains that they have lied on the biggest issues that India is facing today. They have fabricated figures on many crucial issues. And on the other hand, most claims by Narendra Modi (on Economic Indicators and social indicators) have been correct.
So, does it really matter if Modi says that "Taxila was a part of India" or that he mixed up "Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Shyamaji Krishna Verma"? Is it really going to affect the future of India? Is it really a topic that should be discussed at a time when the country has been wrecked by gargantuan amounts of corruption, crony capitalism, uncontrollable price rise and a pathetically weak and inept Central Government? Can't the Congress discuss anything better than 'historical inaccuracies'?
My advice to fellow Congress supporters is this. Please feel free to criticize gaffes that Modi makes on developmental issues. But for heavens sake don't pick up and harp about inaccuracies that are petty and irrelevant to the future of India. This nitpicking of irrelevant issues seems to exacerbate the point that the Congress has no moral standing to talk about any real topic. Also, before accusing anyone of being a "feku" please look into your own party. Remember, charity begins at home. And oh! One more suggestion, please do enroll Rahul Gandhi for an elementary Math Course. He seriously needs to identify numbers better!
I hope I have convinced you that while Modi may have made a few silly gaffes, there are many others (including those calling Modi "feku") who have made graver errors on issues that are much more important than whether "Alexander crossed the Ganga or not".
-Tejas Mehta