Narendra modi seeks to gag bjps motormouth mps, mlas

Narendra Modi seeks to gag BJP's motormouth MPs, MLAs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be fed up of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders speaking out of turn, without considered thoughts, on issues that are often sensitive -- like the spate of rapes the country has seen recently, including the Kathua, Unnao, and Surat incidents.

The prime minister said such "mistakes" affect the country, the BJP and the image of the individual concerned. His statement came after a rash of remarks by BJP leaders -- from internet in the mythical age of the Mahabharata to advice on why we should not be outraged by a few incidents of rape in a country as large as India.

Here are the top 10 developments around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gag order against BJP's motormouth members: 1) Modi issues gag order on BJP leaders: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked BJP leaders and members to not speak out of turn on issues and to refrain from making "irresponsible" statements.

2) Modi says our own mistakes are giving media the 'masala': Modi cautioned BJP members that there were times when their own mistakes had provided the media fodder, which had hurt the party's image. "Often, our workers say that the media is doing this, the media is doing that.

3) Modi says only those tasked with responsibility to address media will do so: Modi told the party leaders that "only those who have a responsibility to speak should speak to the media". Further, the Prime Minister said that the issue gets diverted if everyone starts speaking, adding that "it affects the country, the party and our individual image".

4) Modi tells BJP leaders that the media doing its job, they should do theirs: Modi also directed party leaders to not blame the media for reporting their statements. In his address, the Prime Minister asked party workers to not comment on "every sociopolitical or cultural matter", adding that party leaders should not blame the media afterwards for reporting catchy "masala bits" from their statements.

5) Modi recalls 8-10 MPs who stopped giving errant statements after talk with him: Modi recalled some controversial statements made by certain BJP MPs during the early days of his government.

6) For BJP's Santosh Gangwar, 1-2 rapes 'not a big deal': Modi's gag order came barely hours after Union Minister Santosh Gangwar on Sunday waded into a controversy, saying that "brouhaha" should not be created over one or two rape cases in a big country like India.

"Such incidents (rape cases) are unfortunate situation...But sometimes you can't stop them. Government is active everywhere and taking action which is visible to everyone, " he told reporters in Bareilly. "In a big country like ours, if one or two incidents take place, brouhaha should not be created over it. This is not fair...Government is taking effective steps...Whatever is necessary will be done," he said.

7) BJP's Sanjay Patil 'communalises' Karnataka polls: While Gangwar's comment, as callous as it appeared, was not linked to any upcoming electoral battle, one BJP lawmakers decided to give the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 a decidedly communal colour with his remarks.

8) Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has news for the US; he claims India had internet thousands of years ago: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb's foot in mouth incident was far less offensive than Gangwar's; however, his remarks smacked of revisionism.When his remarks were called out for being hilarious at best and seeking to rewrite history at worst, Deb refused to back down and stuck to his guns.

9) On Unnao rape case, BJP's Surendra Singh said 'no one can rape mother of three children': Coming back to more damaging and damning comments, one particular BJP leader found that he could not stay quiet on the Unnao rape case, which involves a BJP MLA as the key accused.

10) BJP's Surendra Singh struck twice, with no rest in between: Surendra Singh, not deterred by the outrage over his remarks regarding the Unnao rape case, decided to jam his foot further down his throat.

During a public meeting, Singh said, "The 2019 poll are going to be on the lines of Pakistan versus Bharat... Islam versus Bhagwan and so the respected people of the country you have to decide whether it will be Islam which will win or Bhagwan."

ARTICLE SOURCE-BUSINESS STANDARD.