Politicians guessed the identity. "This is him..." and "Can't be the Prime Minister...?" The BJP, knowing the unfancied truth, fumed and fretted. Most of the Opposition looked askance but it was the Congress which released the headless sketch, uncannily sporting the gear Prime Minister Narendra Modi favoured!

'Gayab' screamed the caption. Does 'Gayab' mean 'missing' or does it translate to 'vanish'? There's a Hindi movie of the same name, 'Gayab'. There is also 'Ghost', another missing body film. The Congress refused to bring 'Gayab' out of hiding. But who didn't know this was politics in the time of War. The Congress had jumped at the chance to score politically; it couldn't resist its political impulses.

Then again, why should the principal opposition not take a shot at a sitting duck political opportunity? Nobody told Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "go missing" after he flew back from Jeddah in the middle of the night. Instead of heading for terror-attacked Pahalgam, Prime Minister Modi took a plane to Patna, Bihar, where electioneering had begun.

Going 'Gayab' in plain sight! What was the Prime Minister running away from? The BJP wasn't the Pahalgam culprit. Was there a whiff of accusation that abrogating Article 370 was a big failure and, therefore, 'Pahalgam' happened?

Why the sudden hurry from Jeddah to Delhi and then avoiding going to Pahalgam? Patna wouldn't have gone 'Gayab' if the Prime Minister hadn't gone to Bihar! If the Opposition hadn't missed the "missing person", the media wouldn't have and definitely not people, especially Hindus, across the country! Modi spoke and Modi spoke tough. In fact, close the ear and the eye and one would have heard Indira Gandhi! Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to hunt down those responsible and mete to them "punishment beyond their imagination."

Modi's words resonated countrywide, with the Hindus more than anybody else. Finally, somebody was speaking their language. This wouldn't end up a headless story. India would deal a crushing blow to Pakistan, to the terrorists and to the terror sponsors. Everybody dreamt of Modi's "punishment beyond imagination." It was like in the epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Even Pakistani YouTubers joined in the fun and games, blowing Modi's trumpet. It was Modi's blast against Shehbaz Sharif's bleat.

But, then, Modi was taking his own time; dragging the decision with deliberate and excruciating slowness. Some people applauded Modi for not being a warmonger. Others claimed to know the real Modi. The Pahalgam terror attack happened too far from an election for advantage-BJP.

Voices claimed things always blew up when an election was round the corner. For example, Pulwama in 2019 when the BJP won what's called "a brute majority." And like father like son, it's like Pulwama like Pahalgam. A folk singer of Bihar is making a big song and dance of such coincidences, risking being jailed for treason.

The point is, the Opposition has come to the decision that a nation at war doesn't mean a free-pass to the government of the day; especially if the government goes 'Gayab' when it comes to taking quick decisions, when it goes MIA! A headless torso has been making headlines. The BJP claims the sketch gave Pakistan breathing space but that nothing the Congress does will change Pakistan's fate.

The question boiled down to: Who to believe, India or Pakistan, Narendra Modi or Shehbaz Sharif? Modi on Tuesday left it to the Indian armed forces' professionalism. “We are resolved to crush terrorism,” he said. However, there's a creeping feeling Modi will back-off as he so often has done; gone 'Gayab' for all practical purposes.

In the absence of quick decision-making at the topmost echelon, there is no idea of if and when "punishment beyond imagination" will be seen to be done. Today, April 30, news came that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be 'Gayab' from the 'Victory Day Parade' in Moscow on May 9. Does that mean further delay, beyond May 9, for Modi's "punishment beyond imagination" to be dealt to Pakistan? The reality is, leaving all decision-making to the armed forces of India is hard-to-believe in the time of Modi Raj, not with all the Modi megalomania going around. (IPA Service)