Too little too late. That hackneyed phrase does not apply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who finally broke his silence over the heart-rending story of the Kathua victim. For he said absolutely nothing. He promised justice, that the criminals will not be spared—does he have a choice?
He possibly spoke on account of tremendous pressure from all sides. Part of the political pressure also came from the way Congress president Rahul Gandhi jumped into following up his tweets about the horrifying acts at Kathua and Unnao, with a midnight candlelight vigil at India Gate on Thursday. The turnout must have surprised Gandhi as much as it did others, but then people, including six-year-olds in night dresses, were there with a cause.
Modi would have assuaged the nation's anger, if he had, without mincing words, warned those supporting alleged culprits and told them to desist from such acts. He would have appeased some of the Twitterati and the crowds at India Gate that midnight, had he bluntly addressed the Hindu fringe groups and told them the horrifying rape was not a communal issue. Speak like a class teacher or headmaster, he should have.
Telling the world that it is “a failing of our society and not at all fitting for any society that claims to be civilised and we are ashamed of it” would make sense to people already sensitive and sensitised to this issue. He should address people who think that as supporters of the BJP, they have the right to do whatever they want, and tell them not to drum up support for culprits the way the Hindu Ekta Manch did outside the courts in Jammu.
In fact, Prime Minister Modi should put in as much into addressing this lot of supporters of the Hindutva brand of politics, as he puts into Congress bashing: where he repeats his points, reinforces them and ensures what he says is not lost on the target audience.
For a good communicator and a leader who got his party a clear majority—ending three decades of coalition governments—this should not be difficult. Possibly, there are apprehensions that the Hindu fringe, being part of the BJP's vote bank, may let him down come Lok Sabha polls in 2019. But a confident Modi should in fact be positive—like he told students at his Mann ki Baat around the time of the board exams—and confident that far from losing, he would have grabbed the moment that Indians are waiting for.