Swamy's comments come even as PM Modi and BJP have made the 'Main bhi chowkidar' campaign a key part of their strategy.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's words landed him in yet another controversy. This time, he is facing a storm over his remarks that he is a Brahmin and hence cannot become a 'chowkidar' (watchman).
In an interview with Tamil television news channel Thanthi TV, Swamy was asked about the BJP's 'chowkidar' campaign and why he was not a part of it. "I am not a 'chowkidar'. I am a Brahmin. So, I cannot become a chowkidar. I will give my opinion. And the chowkidar should work according to that," said Swamy.
The comment comes even as the BJP uses the 'Main bhi chowkidar' (I too am a watchman) campaign to counter the Congress's 'Chowkidar chor hai' (The watchman is a thief) push. Both the BJP and Congress are making their 'chowkidar' campaigns a key element of their strategy for the coming 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
BJP leaders, starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have added the word 'chowkidar' ahead of their profile names on their social media accounts. The move has not just been limited to party leaders and ministers, but has also been added by supporters of PM Modi and the BJP.
The BJP's pushback against Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's assertions of corruption in the deal to purchase Rafale fighter jets has been framed by PM Modi as an insult to security guards. He had termed all those who fight social evils as 'chowkidars' and had launched the counterattack by having a broadcasted live telephonic conversation with groups of security guards from different parts of the country.
Swamy has often been out of step with his party, which he joined in August 2013 while merging his Janata Party into the BJP. He has often been a lightning rod for the BJP's discomfort, through his remarks on a number of issues that the BJP would have preferred to soft-pedal.
While Swamy is considered a leader without sufficient ground support, he does enjoy a high profile thanks to his track record of firebrand politics as well as the fact that he is a BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha.
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 "Another comment from Subramanian Swamy, another controversy.")
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