PM issues gag orders to BJP leaders again

There are still opportunities to resolve Kashmir issue OMAR ABDULLAH

Peeved at party colleagues shooting their mouths off, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reissued a stern rebuke on Sunday to such leaders, who have waxed eloquent on a wide range of subjects from terror and rape to Mahabharata and Darwin’s theory over the last six months. In a video-conference with lawmakers across the country, PM Modi admonished the leaders, reminding them that this was denting their image as well as the party’s.

“We make mistakes and give ‘masala’ to the media... as if we are great social scientists and experts to analyse issues... the moment you see a camera you start speaking. So this half-baked stuff is picked up,” he said. The warning – given a few times earlier – was issued on Sunday as the nation comes to grips over a spate of child rapes and murders, in which BJP leaders are seen as going easy on the accused. On Monday Sunday, junior finance minister Santosh Gangwar waded into the controversy, saying one “should not make such a big deal” if “one or two such cases are reported” from such a vast country. Two BJP ministers in Jammu and Kashmir who stepped down from their posts over the gang-rape and murder of an 8-year-old in Kathua have gone public demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation, aggravating the situation in the state which is widely polarized over the issue. Earlier this month, Tripura’s BJP Chief Minister Biplab Deb claimed that internet and satellite communication existed in the days of Mahabharata.