DMK, DK, VCK, Congress and fake Ambedkarists have launched a scathing personal attack on world-renowned music maestro Ilaiyaraaja for his prelude to a book comparing Dr BR Ambedkar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The publisher says Ambedkar & Modi-Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementation’ is an academic attempt to bring Baba Saheb’s vision to the forefront, work across different domains, and how New India is being built by PM Modi is furthering Baba Saheb’s ideals.
Ilaiyaraaja, recalling his speech in 2016, throws light on the incident when PM Modi called Dr Ambedkar, the architect of India’s water policy. He also lauded Modi’s development initiatives in the book, saying the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ project has paved the way for world-class infrastructures such as roads, railways, metro rail and expressways.
On the social justice sphere, ‘Isai Gnani ‘, as fondly called by his fans, has written the foreword saying, PM Modi has made many legislations and provided legal protection to the backward people in the society through measures like setting up of the National Commission for Backward Classes. PM Modi has made a difference in the lives of the poor by building houses and toilets, he added. Ilaiyaraaja, an icon of social empowerment, appreciated PM Modi’s women-centric development initiatives like raising the marriage age for women, free LPG gas cylinders and schemes related to the education of girl children.
He noted that Dr Ambedkar would be proud to see the change brought by the law against Triple Talaq and the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ initiative. He mentions, “The book also points out where Dr Ambedkar and Narendra Modi come together as personalities. Both experienced poverty and oppression and worked to eradicate them. Both are big dreamers about India who believe in action. The ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, saying that the ‘self-reliant’ India that Prime Minister Modi is building will be a fitting tribute to India’s freedom fighters.” He recommends the book to youngsters to know about the two great sons of the soil and how a new India is being built according to the dreams of the freedom fighters.
Enraged by the foreword of Ilaiyaraaja for the book, the supporters of the ruling DMK and its allies in Tamil Nadu are making personal attacks on the music maestro. Netizens who identify themselves as ‘Dravidian Stockists’, ‘Periyarists’ and ‘Ambedkarites’ have started trending a vile hashtag targeting the maestro. They did not make such a scathing attack on A R Rahman, who posted a picture of Mother Tamil, a ghost-like image. Ilaiyaraaja refused to tune for Hindi movies and enthralled the viewers with folk music fused with western and Carnatic.
A Twitter user named ‘Shafeeq’ says that equating PM Modi and Dr Ambedkar amounts to ‘Sanghi’-ness. Another tweeter handle that identified itself as ‘Dravidian Stock’ spews expletives against PM Modi and Ilaiyaraaja.
BJP National President J.P. Nadda, in a statement, said, “In Tamil Nadu, elements aligned to the ruling party have left no stone unturned in verbally lynching, smearing and humiliating one of India’s tallest musical maestros just because he has views not palatable to one political party and their allies. Is this democratic?. One can have different views and yet coexist happily but why take to insults?”
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