Amid the growing clamour over the rapes in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao, one voice has been notably absent: that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old in January in Kathua and the rape of a 17-year-old in Unnao in June, allegedly by an MLA of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, finally got the belated attention of the country in the last week. In the Kathua case, a girl from the nomadic Muslim Bhakarwal community in Jammu was allegedly raped and murdered by eight men, which included members of the police force. The case provoked outrage after a group of lawyers came out on the streets on Monday to thwart the police from filing a chargesheet in the case. In February, a Hindu outfit had held a rally in support of the accused, which saw participation from two BJP ministers and other members of the saffron party as well as the Congress.
The Unnao case grabbed national attention after the survivor and her family tried to immolate themselves outside Chief Minister Adityanath’s house to protest against alleged police inaction against Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the BJP MLA accused in the case. The next day, her father died in police custody after he was allegedly beaten up by Sengar’s brother and supporters. A first information report was finally registered against Sengar on Thursday, 10 months after he committed the alleged crime.
Despite the growing outrage, including social media campaigns and protest rallies demanding justice in both cases, there was no open condemnation from the BJP for the crimes. On Thursday, Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh was the first prominent BJP leader to break his silence. On Friday, the party finally addressed the issue through its spokesperson, Meenakshi Lekhi, who insisted that the governments and police had acted promptly and tried to cast the protests as a case of selective outrage.
Modi, however, continues to stay silent even as one case involves his party MLA and another has seen his party’s members rally around the accused.
But the noise around his lack of comment is growing. On Friday, online news publication Quint used a creative route to comment on Modi’s tight-lipped stance. “Here’s What PM Narendra Modi Said About the Kathua and Unnao Rapes”, it declared in a headline.
The copy below said:
(This story will be updated once Prime Minister Narendra Modi actually speaks about the Kathua and Unnao rape cases.)
The prime minister has so far not given the publication reason to add to the story.
Now this is what I call an impactful story. https://t.co/yPKALWcb4r
— Mitali Saran (@mitalisaran) April 13, 2018
This article on the Silent PM is reminiscent of the blank editorial page of the @IndianExpress
— SANJAY HEGDE (@sanjayuvacha) April 13, 2018
during the emergencyhttps://t.co/sDQIrVUT6Z
Modi’s silence was also called out by several people on Twitter, including prominent journalists and public figures.
You reach a pinnacle in your career and become a minister or state minister MP or whatever. Then out of political compulsions, you can't even react to the rape and murder of an 8 year old in your country. What use is such power? What's the point of your life?
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) April 13, 2018
I know many of you are waiting for the silence to end. Some sort of a statement to come.
— Shirish Kunder (@ShirishKunder) April 13, 2018
But I'm a practical person. I'm waiting for the next Yoga video.
You can't hear this meme pic.twitter.com/nzrXaDEHVg
— Bollywood Gandu (@BollywoodGandu) April 13, 2018
I apologise for every single time I had joked, every meme I had shared about Manmohan Singh's silence.
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) April 13, 2018
At that point I had no clue of what a silent Prime Minister could actually be like.
The silence of those in power will come to haunt them. In our country, silence has the sound of complicity. Someone needs to wake up and smell an entire coffee plantation!
— SUHEL SETH (@suhelseth) April 13, 2018
At 9pm:the rape & murder of 8 year old Asifa.The accused raped her, drugged her, strangled her, smashed her head with a stone. Mr. Prime Minister, won’t you speak up now? Why are top women ministers in the govt silent? @narendramodi @SushmaSwaraj @smritiirani @nsitharaman
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) April 12, 2018
When the Prime Minister does not deem it important to speak up on the inhuman,barbaric rape & murder of an 8yr old, & leader of the main opposition party does so only after much delay & when under pressure, it shows the depravity & terrible cynicism of our political class
— Ruhi Tewari (@RuhiTewari) April 13, 2018
Beloved PM prefers to speak about #JallianwalaBagh today, still unwilling to address what's being done to ensure the safety of women & young girls. Accused BJP MLA in UP being painted as a "victim". Guess commemorating martyrs is more important than the present injustice of rape. https://t.co/eUBXCP4A9l
— Sanika Tillway (@tillwaytweets) April 13, 2018
Hi @narendramodi, whenever you're ready to open your mouth and take some accountability for what's happening let us know. We're waiting, and we're sure as hell ain't going to forget in 2019!
— Daniel Fernandes (@absolutelydanny) April 13, 2018
Mehbooba Mufti and the women ministers in the Modi government should hang their heads in shame for taking so long to speak for Asifa. A valid question: are they human?
— Tavleen Singh (@tavleen_singh) April 13, 2018
I have not been a fan of the Congress, or Rahul, but there are times when you have to make a clear moral choice against evil.
— Omair Ahmad (@OmairTAhmad) April 12, 2018
Silence here was evil.
And we've heard who has spoken and who has not.
@SushmaSwaraj @narendramodi Unnao and Kathua are waiting for you to speak up for them. I am a hindu and a citizen under the government, and I am asking you to take action before another child is tortured and murdered. Before our country starts representing rapes and dead children https://t.co/uNQnpEY6YV
— Neha Bijalwan (@PeekingStar) April 13, 2018
History will remember PM Narendra Modi for his eternal silence on brutal rapes, murders & nationwide protests and prompt tweets on tragedies in other countries. pic.twitter.com/7KBXh6R6iT
— Gajendra (@Airavta) April 13, 2018
We have a PM @narendramodi who is most vocal on all the issues, particularly when it comes to taking a dig on the opposition.
— Yash Padh (@yashpadh) April 13, 2018
Where is he now? Why such a silence?
8-yr old who was killed demands justice!#Kathua
PM Modi's silence over #KathuaRape & #UnnaoCase will hurt BJP. Fasting over parliament washout is tokenism. Speak out instead over brutalities against women & girls
— Minhaz Merchant (@MinhazMerchant) April 12, 2018
Dear @narendramodi @PMOIndia I want an answer for #Kathua and #Unnao.
— Vivek Kumar Jha (@viv2tweet) April 12, 2018
Your silence is dangerous!
I voted for you, I need an answer.#iWantAnAnswer.
The prime minister’s prolonged silence on heinous crimes have been noticed in the past too, especially during multiple instances of mob violence against Muslims and Dalits last year. Many of these lynchings were done in the name of cow protection, a cause the BJP enthusiastically espouses.
Meanwhile, Buzzfeed compiled this handy list of “burning issues” that Modi did find the time to speak about in the recent past, which include the need to sleep well during exam time and the benefits of Yoga.
Here are some of the things Modi has been tweeting over the last couple of days:
Tributes to the brave martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The indomitable spirit of the martyrs will always be remembered. They sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2018
Here is my complete speech at the @DefExpoIndia in Mahabalipuram. https://t.co/cPBWrHbfd4 pic.twitter.com/vhuZLheS2e
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 12, 2018
Sharing a video on Bhadrasana. You may want to practice it and make it a part of your morning routine. #4thYogaDay #FitIndia pic.twitter.com/QiJe8GGAgn
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 12, 2018
Honoured to felicitate Swachhagrahis in Motihari. Their efforts to strengthen the Swachh Bharat Mission are invaluable. Generations of Indians will thank these Swachhagrahis for dedicating themselves towards the movement for a clean India. pic.twitter.com/dUng1OF9U5
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 10, 2018