Amidst the barrage of disparaging comments and unabated mudslinging on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his humble background as a tea-seller by the elitist Congressmen and its passive allies, BJP has entrusted its faith on Avtar Singh, the councillor from Civil Lines, New Delhi who was elected as the Mayor of North Delhi Corporation on Monday.
Avtar Singh joined RSS at the age of 7, and worked as bellboy at a five-star hotel before starting his own tea shop under a peepul tree for 10 years. A senior leader of BJP said: “The party has shown confidence in Avtar Singh as he has been a very hard working leader. He is from Mallah community and also a Sikh, which will send out a positive signal to the people of the community …”
Not just Singh but also Anu Kamalkant and Sunita Kangra, both from Scheduled Caste background, were declared Mayoral candidates for East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The elevation of these people does not reflect a mere social formality but a sincere effort to bring the hardworking and honest section of society forward and turn them into a beacon of hope for millions of people.
However, pathetic is the reality of main political parties where only lip service is paid to the poor and the exploited, but seldom an opportunity is offered to them. The stark reality is that the elite class of ‘leaders’ of the socialist parties like Congress, Samajwadi party, Bahujan Samaj Party, the Left, Aam Aadmi Party and others leave no opportunity in launching attack on Modi’s humble background and ridicule his chaiwala years.
The days when Mani Shankar Aiyer made his chaiwala jibe in 2014 are clearly still not over. The ‘Chaiwala’ jibe has been used by Opposition leaders across the board to mock PM Narendra Modi, as SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has recently said that voters will walk away this time from the tea being offered by the chaiwala.
AAP’s candidate Atishi from East Delhi openly appealed to voters to vote for goons and not for BJP. Navjot Singh Sidhu too has uttered that “One wrong vote can turn your child into a chaiwala, pakorawala, chowkidar.”
Legendary actor Victor Banerjee, who worked with Satyajit Ray, defines Sidhu as a farcical joker, “ and is a disgrace to the great Sikh people who have, for centuries, sacrificed thousands of lives for Hindustan, for India.”
According to political Analyst C P Bhambri, “Those who comment about the backgrounds of individuals obviously don’t understand ABC of Indian politics. It is not important where you come from but what kind of politics you practice.’’
