Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared an old video on Twitter, wherein former prime minister and poet Atal Bihari Vajpayee is seen reciting the verse “Aao Phirse Diya Jalaye”.
This comes a day after PM Modi called for all citizens to participate in a nationwide nine-minute blackout at 9 pm on Sunday to demonstrate solidarity in fighting against the Coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier on Friday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too had invoked its mentor and former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s iconic poem “Ao firse diya jalaye” to promote PM Modi’s campaign.
The BJP tweeted a 50-second clip where Vajpayee could be seen reciting his poem with the caption: “We have to challenge the darkness of Corona together.”
आओ फिर से दीया जलाएँ…
5 अप्रैल रात 9 बजे, 9 मिनट के लिए घर की सभी लाइटें बंद करके, दरवाजे या बालकनी पर मोमबत्ती, दीया, टॉर्च या मोबाइल फ्लैशलाइट जलाएं।
हमें मिलकर कोरोना संकट के अंधकार को चुनौती देनी है।#IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/ORgdJh9gJ7
— BJP (@BJP4India) April 3, 2020
The poem talks about about hope and positivity. It is believed to have been penned after an electoral debacle of BJP when Lal Krishna Advani took Vajpayee to Delhi’s Golcha cinema to cheer him up.
On returning home, he wrote this poem which said, “Let us light the lamp once again”.
In fact, the poem is often used by the BJP to enthuse its cadres after any electoral loss, just like it was used after the loss in the recent Delhi Assembly polls.
Meanwhile, the video comes in the wake of Opposition parties criticizing the Prime Minister for coming up with such an initiative when the poor are suffering due to the lockdown.
In a morning video message to the nation on Friday, PM Modi urged citizens to light a candle or a diya on April 5 at 9 pm for nine minutes to dispel the darkness and gloom brought by the outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus.
“This Sunday, April 5, we have to challenge the Covid-19 pandemic, we have to introduce it to the power of light.
“We have to take the Mahasankalp (strong determination) of 130 crore citizens to new heights. I ask for your nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5,” Modi said.
He then asked the citizens to switch off the lights in their homes, reach out from their windows, gates or balconies and light a candle or diya for nine minutes.