Rijiju’s demotion is another instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s kneejerk reaction to losing control. It is yet another instance of Modi succumbing to pressure and going back on a decision. Does Kiren Rijiju even know why he was suddenly expendable, when after almost two years, people still thought he was one of a small group of performing ministers in the Modi government.

Overnight there are lots of people wondering why of all the portfolios “Earth Sciences”? If law is Greek to the majority of us, Earth Sciences is Roman and pidgin mandarin boiled together. Also, replacing one non-practicing lawyer with another non-practicing lawyer confounds matters even further. What will Arjun Meghwal do which Kiren Rijiju did not do?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like God Almighty, works in mysterious ways. Half the time Modi makes no sense. The other half he is talking in riddles. The first time Modi got called “Surrender Modi” was in the wake of the deadly Galwan clash. As usual this Prime Minister was not beyond turning the tragedy into a spectacle. Modi is perhaps the world beater in spectacles!

The two most notorious Modi surrenders was the withdrawing of the 3 farm laws and allowing ShaheenBagh to go on and on. Even the most ardent of Modi acolytes will admit that Modi tops the list of surrender artistes. The surrender that ended the farmers’ agitation was typical Modi. And the standoff at ShaheenBagh was a tight slap – one more time when Modi walked back on his dime a dozen tough decisions.

Doesn’t the Narendra Modi government give the impression that Modi cannot scare a rabbit in labour? A story has been built around cult Modi, which is at odds with the real persona of the man. Some would even say Modi surrendered when he steered clear from his wife. There are all sorts!

And the opinions differ. Modi’s inclination to surrender is part of his persona. There are phases of Modi’s life which stays hidden – gaps, they call it. As an RSS pracharak, Modi was invisible. Even the ‘chaiwala’ job jab had nothing much to show to make people exclaim “Wah Taj”.

One of the most glaring among “Modi Surrenders” was when the Hindu nationalist party BJP formed a government in alliance with the ideologically opposite so-called party of Pakistan-apologists. The BJP and Modi prepared to stoop to any extent to grasp political power.

The PDP-BJP alliance flopped and then the BJP gloated at the abrogation of Article 370 clubbed with Article 35. News spread like wildfire that Kashmir was finally “India”. With ‘35’ gone anybody Indian anywhere in India could buy property in J&K just like he can in any of the Indian state.

However, this was propaganda. A big fact lie.. Modi once again “surrendered”. The abrogation of Article 370 was a big con. Soon after the abrogation, the Centre declared that only those living in Kashmir continuously for 15 years can buy property in J&K. So much for Kashmir becoming integral part of India. The Kashmiri Pandits who fled a genocide and settled elsewhere cannot return to the Valley and buy themselves homes!

Come to think of it, Modi’s surrenders went abroad. The Modi government’s “surrender to China” is folklore, But Modi succumbing to “tiny Qatar” can become a blockbuster. Qatar snapped its fingers and the Modi government was brought to its knees. As far as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s many surrenders go, this one took the cake.

The fact is, the BJP’s brute majority in the Lok Sabha does not amount to much when the captain himself is prone to back-off at the first sign of remonstrance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s record of “surrenders” can fill a small notebook. The title of ‘Surrender Modi” doesn’t come easy. It has to be earned. And it requires a certain mindset. A weak knee is a requisite.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s record of indecisiveness is only matched by the number of times Modi has abjectly surrendered. Kiren Rijiju will live. He is young and fit, and will survive "Modi surrendering". That said, a law minister removed and consigned to ‘Earth Sciences’ cannot find a parallel in all of India’s independence. (IPA Service)