When Cho called Modi 'merchant of death'
The video, circa 2008, when Narendra Modi was a guest of honour for the 38th anniversary of Cho's Thuglak.
Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday shared a video on Twitter in memory of renowned journalist Cho Ramaswamy. In the video, Cho introduces him as 'the merchant of death', but Prime Minister Modi seemed unfazed by the remark. The video was one inkling of why Cho Ramaswamy was of the best satirists that the country has seen.
The video, circa 2008, when Narendra Modi was a guest of honour for the 38th anniversary of Cho's Thuglak. While calling upon Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, to address the gathering, Cho addressed him as 'merchant of death' an anglicisation of the infamous Sonia Gandhi 'maut ka saudagaar' jibe.
[Also Read: Cho Ramaswamy, political satirist, editor passes away]
In his inimitable style, Cho reiterated that Modi was indeed a 'merchant of death' but to terrorists, corrupt officials, to nepotism, official inefficiency, bureaucratic negligence, poverty, ignorance, darkness and despair.
The feisty Cho Ramaswamy introduces me as the 'Merchant of Death.' Do watch this memorable interaction. https://t.co/2FsF64sVvH
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 7, 2016
Prime Minister Modi followed up his tweet with another on what he had to say about Cho after his somewhat unusual introduction. Speaking of how he followed Cho during the emergency, Modi had called him a true democrat who had the courage of self-criticism.
I returned the favour, but don't think I matched Cho's eloquence. Hear what I said about him. https://t.co/wPxYLc1fTb
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 7, 2016
Cho Ramaswamy, senior journalist and popular satirist, passed away in the wee hours of Wednesday in Chennai's Apollo hospital, a mere 2 days after his friend and protégé J Jayalalithaa breathed her last in the same building.
OneIndia News