Arundhati Roy Asks PM Modi to Step Down. But He Won’t
Arundhati Roy said in her appeal that Modi’s incompetence during the Covid crisis is giving other countries a legitimate excuse to interfere in India’s internal affairs.
By Rakesh Raman
Noted author Arundhati Roy has asked India’s Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to resign and go away because he has failed to handle the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in the country, which has become the epicenter of infection.
In her opinion piece published on Tuesday (May 4), Ms Roy said that Indians cannot wait until 2024 (Lok Sabha election which can decide Modi’s fate) and he must step down now. She blamed Modi for creating the Covid crisis and asserted that with his incompetence, he will make it worse.
“Hundreds of thousands of us will die, unnecessarily, if you don’t go. So, go now. Jhola utha ke (with your bag, as Modi once said). With your dignity intact. You can have a great life ahead, of meditation and solitude. You yourself have said that’s what you want. That won’t be possible if you allow this mass dying to continue,” Ms Roy advised Modi.
In another article of April 28 in The Guardian on India’s Covid catastrophe, Ms Roy also said, “We are witnessing a crime against humanity.”
Similar observations were made by a human rights activist Harsh Mander who said that Modi’s 60-day coronavirus lockdown, announced with four hour’s notice, was: “A crime against the people of India. It is and must be recognized to be a crime against humanity.” He was referring to the abrupt lockdown that Modi had imposed on March 24, 2020 that led to a social unrest and unprecedented economic downturn in the country.
Arundhati Roy had also said that the Modi government is exploiting coronavirus to ramp up its suppression of Muslims. She compared the Modi government’s tactic to the one used by the Nazis during the Holocaust. “India’s treatment of Muslims amid coronavirus is almost genocidal,” Arundhati Roy said in an interview with German news channel Deutsche Welle (DW).
She added in her article of May 4 that Modi’s incompetence during the Covid crisis is giving other countries a legitimate excuse to interfere in India’s internal affairs, as many countries are trying to help India while the Modi government has failed. “So please go. It is the most responsible thing for you to do. You have forfeited the moral right to be our prime minister,” Ms Roy said in her article.
But will Modi go? No way. In fact, a large number of Indians are vehemently asking Modi to resign. Reports of April 28 suggest that Facebook blocked posts with hashtag #ResignModi before restoring them.
Modi has not only failed in handling the coronavirus crisis, but his incompetence and despotic decisions during the past over 6 years of his rule have caused widespread corruption, inflation, unemployment, lawlessness, and extreme misery for Indians.
But Modi won’t go because he baselessly believes that he is a successful politician, although he is an uneducated religious demagogue who does not understand any subject that needs the application of intellect.
Modi has surrounded himself with sycophants – including incompetent bureaucrats and dishonest ministers – who can’t dare to challenge his crassness. Obviously, Modi won’t take Arundhati Roy’s advice and continue in his position to see millions of people die in front of him – because of his arrogance, incompetence, and carelessness.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
