Giriraj Singh and his kind deserve punishment
There should be zero tolerance for irresponsible, uncouth and misogynistic comments from people in the public sphere, especially from politicians who represent the nation as a collective, and even more especially from those who occupy ministerial positions in Governments. What then is meant by ‘zero tolerance'IJ It means that the sick minds which make outrageous statements must be rapped on the knuckle, for sure. But the punishment ought to be more severe if the culprit is a serial offender — like Union Minister of State Giriraj Singh is. With his latest outburst — where he claimed that the Congress would not have made Ms Sonia Gandhi its leader had she not been White but a Nigerian, for instance — he has surpassed not just similarly racist comments other leaders have made but also his own already abominable track record. It is learnt that Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah called up Mr Singh and directed him to mind his language. Other senior leaders of the party have also refused to back the Minister and have slammed his remark. But this reprimand is not enough for a leader who has done it again and again, with every last one being more atrocious than the previous instance.
The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi must go beyond these public and private condemnations. It is true that the Union Minister has expressed “regret” over his remarks, but that is a shallow attempt to contain the damage. In any case, it is not an unconditional apology, which is the very least Mr Singh should have tendered, but a ‘conditional' regret in case his remarks had hurt Ms Gandhi and her family! The irresponsible politician that he is, Mr Singh had shocked all sensible-minded people from across party lines when he had suggested, during the lok Sabha election campaign, that those who opposed Mr Modi should cross over to neighbouring Pakistan, since they had no place in India. Really, the man must be either entirely foolish not to realise the nonsense that he speaks, or he is doing so out of a misplaced sense of belief that his comments serve to strengthen his brand of politics. Whatever he thinks, one thing is for sure: He has turned out to be a major embarrassment for the party and the Modi Government, and the sooner he is dealt with the better it will be.
If some sections within the BJP and the Government fear that action against him could be problematic for the party in Bihar, where the Minister hails from, especially when the State election is due in a few months' time, they must discard that apprehension. Today's voters are not swayed by the rubbish people like Mr Singh utter. Indeed, if there is a sway, it is away from such elements.
Mr Giriraj Singh is not the only politician to have shot his mouth off; there are others and they are drawn from all parties. Former Union Minister and Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal, Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav have the dubious distinction of being birds of the same feather. Expectedly, all of them indulged in 'clarifications' when their remarks blew in their face. What shocks more is that these people have been in public life for decades and should have become icons that the new generation can look up to. The rot, thus, unfortunately, runs deep.