Opposition parties hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark involving a ‘suicide note’, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying he should not “make fun of” thousands of families who lose their children due to suicide.
Sharing the video on Twitter, several opposition leaders asked, "How can anyone be so insensitive about suicide?"
In the video, PM Modi is seen narrating a joke during a media conclave about a professor reading a suicide note left behind by his daughter and expressing disappointment over a spelling mistake she made in the same.
"There was a professor and his daughter committed suicide. She left a chit, ‘I am tired of life and don’t want to live. So I will jump into the Kankaria Lake and die. In the morning, he saw his daughter was not at home. On the bed he found the letter. The father was very angry. “I am a professor. For so many years I have worked hard, and even now, she has spelt ‘Kankaria’ wrong," he said in Hindi.
He then said, “I am happy that Arnab (Goswami) has begun speaking great Hindi.”
In response, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said, "Depression and suicide, especially among the youth IS NOT a laughing matter." Referring to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, she further said 1,64,033 Indians died by suicide in 2021, of which a huge percentage were below the age of 30.
“Thousands of families lose their children due to suicide. The Prime Minister should not make fun of them!” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
In a Hindi tweet, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha referred to the applause that followed Modi’s comments.
“Malaise is visible when the Prime Minister of the country tells a joke on a sensitive issue like ‘suicide’. But even more frightening is the applause and laughter after the joke. We have become a very sick society…Jai Hind.”
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi shared 2021 NCRB data referring to India’s numbers when it came to deaths by suicide. "I won’t share the triggering video where you cracked a joke on suicide while the audience laughed at the insensitive ‘joke’, however I’d definitely like to remind you that 2021 NCRB data shows that over 1.5 lakh Indians committed suicide, also deaths by suicide…" she said.
Aam Aadmi Party too tweeted through its official handle and said “Imagine the insensitive disregard for human life by our Prime Minister who needs to crack a joke on suicide!?!?”
Asked about the remarks at a press conference, Congress’ media department head Pawan Khera said such remarks do not behove the post of prime minister.
