Emergency then, Emergency now, A new population of thugs, cutting across all class barriers, infused with the saffron hue, have sprung up in the past few years. Nandana Reddy, Konarak Reddy, JUN 28 2023 https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/panorama/emergency-then-emergency-now-1232188.html
During the Assembly elections in Karnataka, Modi’s campaign included a drive past my home on New Tippasandra Road. His ‘parade’ was scheduled for Sunday morning, but we were barricaded inside our homes from Friday evening itself. Shops were ordered to close, hawkers and vendors driven away, trees chopped down, and electrical lines cut because they were hanging lower than the required clearance of 20 feet for his convoy. Young BJP workers scaled my compound wall without permission, climbed my tree, and invaded my compound. The whole street was saffron-ised. Saffron buntings, flags, posters, and placards. On Sunday morning, van loads of people were ferried in and given caps, shawls, and flower petals. Modi’s drive-past lasted less than 10 seconds. Surrounded by Black Cats carrying AK 47s at the ready, the paramilitary, several hundreds of policemen, police vans and ambulances. He stood inside his bullet-proof casing, grumpy, expressionless, waving like a marionette. For the first time in 70 years, I felt fear and considered locking my gate and front door, but resisted the temptation...