Unto each charmed life some rain must fall and what was a distant drizzle has become a somewhat insistent shower for prime minister Narendra Modi going by the developments on the marital front. Like a fuzzy picture becoming clearer and clearer in the photo lab, his wife Jashodaben, who has lived in obscurity all these years, has now become a real person to many of us. And the burden of the song which has put her in the limelight is her RTI application seeking the details of her security.
The lady who still seems to harbor hopes that she will be reunited with her famous husband speaks of how frightened she is with her security detail which apparently follows her in cars even as she takes the local transport. This is a case of suffering all the headaches of being the PM's wife without the privileges of the actual position. In fact, had it not been for the bloodhound like tendencies of the media, we may never really have known that Jashodaben existed.
In many ways, her apprehensions are right. Now that she has become a public figure so to speak, there is every chance that her life is in danger. In which event, she needs much more security than a few guards rattling around near her home. She is entitled to the highest level of security, the same as her husband. She should be housed in secure premises. It is entirely possible that she is trying to say just this when she objects to her security arrangements.
It may be far-fetched to fear assassination as happened with Indira Gandhi, but it is quite possible that someone looking for 15 minutes of fame could pose a threat to her. Now that she has made this a public issue, the government must act to move her to a more appropriate home. She herself seems ambivalent about what she wants. On the one hand, she says she would go like a shot if her husband were to summon her, on the other, she chafes at the security. You can have it both ways, dear lady. So the halfway house would be to accept a more secure accommodation and wait for that elusive call some day.
{{/usCountry}}It may be far-fetched to fear assassination as happened with Indira Gandhi, but it is quite possible that someone looking for 15 minutes of fame could pose a threat to her. Now that she has made this a public issue, the government must act to move her to a more appropriate home. She herself seems ambivalent about what she wants. On the one hand, she says she would go like a shot if her husband were to summon her, on the other, she chafes at the security. You can have it both ways, dear lady. So the halfway house would be to accept a more secure accommodation and wait for that elusive call some day.
{{/usCountry}}(The views expressed are personal.)