Chowkidar Chor Hai
Chowkidar Chor Hai (Hindi: चौकीदार चोर है।, English: "The watchman is the thief.") is the Hindi slogan of the political party Indian National Congress for the 2019 Indian general election. The slogan was coined by the Congress' Prime Ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi as a counter slogan against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)' sitting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the intention of conveying that the person who was entrusted with safeguarding public money was in fact a thief.
Background[edit]
Narendra Modi has often referred to himself as a "chowkidar" (watchman) inferring that he would not allow any corruption in the country.[1] While campaigning for the 2014 Indian general election Modi in his speeches had promised that he would serve the country, not as a Prime Minister, but as a watchman. Modi further added that as a watchman he would never allow anyone to put his paws on the public money.[2] Rahul Gandhi had referred to Modi as Chowkidar during his campaign for the 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election.[3]
Slogan[edit]
The slogan "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was coined by Rahul Gandhi, the Congress' Prime Ministerial candidate as a jibe against Narendra Modi, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2019 Indian general election.[4] The slogan was aimed at Modi in relation to the alleged irregularities and favouritism in awarding of the contracts related to the Rafale fighter jet deal.[1][5] The government has denied any wrongdoing in the Rafale deal and the case is being heard by the Supreme Court of India.[6] Rahul Gandhi in one of his rallies compared it with BJP's 2014 Indian general election slogan "Achhe din aane waale hain" by stating slogan "Acche din aayenge" has now changed to "Chowkidar chor hai".[7]
On 20 November Rahul Gandhi commented that a crime thriller titled "Chowkidar hi chor hai" is being played out in Delhi and in its most recent episode, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Deputy inspector general of police, Manoj Sinha had made allegations of corruption against senior government officials in his affidavit to the Supreme Court, meanwhile his "partner from Gujarat" was amassing enormous wealth.[8] Sinha had stated that government officials and ministers were interfering in the investigation against CBI special director Rakesh Asthana.[8]
On 24 December 2018, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray while addressing a rally in Maharashtra state's Pandharpur town, repeated the slogan "Chowkidar chor hai". He elaborated the slogan with a story about a farmer whose Neem plants were attacked by the pests. This was unusual because Neem tree extracts are traditionally used in India for repelling the pests. Thackeray then stated that "this is what is happening everywhere and even those, tasked with protection, are stealing these days."[4]
Main bhi chowkidar[edit]
Modi responded to the jibe by launching a campaign with the slogan "Main bhi chowkidar" (Hindi: मैं भी चोकीदार।, English: "I too am a watchman.") for his supporters, inferring that everyone is a fighter against corruption and social evils.[1][5] Modi even changed the name of his official twitter handle titled 'Narendra Modi' to 'Chowkidar Narendra Modi'.[9]
In a coordinated campaign, ministers, party president Amit Shah and other BJP leaders such as Piyush Goyal changed their twitter profile names by adding a prefix "Chowkidar".[10] Many supporters of BJP also changed their names accordingly.[11] Modi addressed a large group of watchmen on audio link as part of the campaign.[12]
Congress party criticized BJP's election slogan with Rahul Gandhi stating that the truth cannot change since Chowkidar Chor Hai. The chief spokesperson of Congress, Randeep Surjewala responded to Modi's slogan and accused Modi of being the "only chowkidar who is a thief".[13]
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal stated that Modi wants the entire country to become 'chowkidar' , people who want their children to become watchmen should vote for Modi while those looking for good education for the children to become doctor, engineer or lawyer should vote for AAP.[14]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Narendra Modi urges supporters to take 'main bhi chowkidar' pledge". telegraphindia.com. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ↑ चमड़िया, अनिल (2019-03-20). "'मैं भी चौकीदार' vs 'चौकीदार चोर है' की जंग". Retrieved 2019-03-20.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "'Chowkidar Chor Hai': Uddhav Thackeray Uses Rahul Gandhi's Jibe To Attack Modi". HuffPost India. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "India's watchmen question whether Modi embrace will improve their lot". Reuters. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ↑ India, Press Trust of (17 March 2019). "Cong slams BJP's Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign". Business Standard India. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ↑ "Slogan 'Acche din aayenge' has changed to 'Chowkidar chor hai': Rahul Gandhi". The Indian Express. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "'Chowkidar hi Chor Hain, Crime Thriller Playing Out in Delhi': Rahul Gandhi Targets PM Modi". News18. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ↑ "'Chowkidar Narendra Modi': PM changes Twitter handle name to counter Rahul Gandhi's chor jibe". The Economic Times. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ↑ "मोदी 'चौकीदार' तो 'चौकीदार का मालिक' कौन". 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
- ↑ "In A New Gimmick, PM Changes Twitter Profile Name To 'Chowkidar Narendra Modi'". 2019-03-17. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
- ↑ "Mayawati delivers election shock". 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
- ↑ "To counter 'chowkidar chor hai' jibe, PM launches 'main bhi chowkidar' campaign". Rediff. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ↑ "Lok Sabha elections 2019 'If you want your child to become chowkidar, vote for Narendra Modi': Arvind Kejriwal". hindustantimes.com. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
If people want their children to become chowkidar, they should vote for Modi but if they want their child to get good education and become doctor, engineer or lawyer, they should vote for AAP,
Further reading[edit]
This page was moved from wikipedia:en:Chowkidar Chor Hai. It's edit history can be viewed at Chowkidar Chor Hai/edithistory
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