Arun Jaitley reacts to Naresh Agarwal’s objectionable remark on Modi

New Delhi, 14 November 2013

A top Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal while addressing a gathering in Hardoi, made an objectionable reference to the Gujarat Chief Minister’s humble beginnings and said a tea seller can’t become country’s Prime Minister.

Naresh Agarwal said, “Narendra Modi wants to become a PM. Someone rising from a tea shop can never have a national perspective. Like, if you make a ‘sipahi’ (constable) as ‘kaptan’ (Superintendent of Police) he can never have SP’s approach but will have that of a constable.”

“As far as crowd is concerned, a ‘madari’ (street performer) also gathers it,” he commented while taking a dig at Modi.

Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha and Gujarat MP Shri Arun Jaitley reacts through a note on Facebook:

Shri Naresh Aggarwal is a Samajwadi party member of the Rajya Sabha. I have seen him acquire the membership of four different political parties during the past few years. He serves them all with equal conviction.

Yesterday he asserted that Shri Narendera Modi is unfit to become a Prime Minister, since he started his career as a tea vendor. Surely, this statement coming from, a ‘Samajwadi’ is surprising. ‘Samajwad’ stands for equality and equity. It represents equal opportunity. It is only in India that a so called ‘Samajwadi Party’ can be controlled by a feudal mindset comprising of a Netaji, his son, brothers, cousins and nephews. The idea of a ‘little man’ in the crowd making it big appears repugnant to the Indian Samajwadis.

Dynasties are destructive of the real strength of a democracy. They replace talent and merit with family charismas. Dynasties virtually own political parties. They prevent inner party democracy. No mass leaders in dynastic parties can emerge without the tactical nod of the dynasties. Narendera Modi’s large acceptability is precisely because he has defied the shackles of this conventional system and communicated directly with the people. His emergence is on account of proven merit. He represents the rejection of a dynastic mindset. No wonder the ‘new India’ accepts him.