57% of Chetan Bhagat's Twitter followers support Emergency if imposed by Modi, stunning top writer

Following Chetan Bhagat's twitter survey, which ended with the result that 57% of his twitter followers are ready to support Narendra Modi if the Prime Minister imposes Emergency, as Indira Gandhi did in 1975, the controversial Indian English writer known for his Modi love, is a disturbed man.
“Blind support in a leader only hurts the leader and the country”, Bhagat comments, insisting, “Democracy works when government is held accountable. Valid criticism is a must.” He seeks to conclude, “The land of gurus and babas loves its messiahs”, adding, people appear o think it is “much easier to follow” a leader “than accept the chaos and multiple viewpoints of democracy.”
Tweeting, Bhagat (‏@chetan_bhagat) continues, “A sizable number of people are ready to give up democracy. Clearly we do not value what we have. Or people don't understand what it means”, adding, “Modi enjoys such terrific support that 57% of people in poll are ready to support an emergency if led by him in name of corruption!”

Saying that he did his “twitter polls to research for a column”, Bhagat insists, he is “stunned at results”, when to his question, “Hypothetically, if Modi wanted to declare emergency for a while to totally eradicate corruption and punish corrupt, will you support him? ” 57% said, “Yes, will support him”, while 43% said, “No won't support this.” As many as 9,298 had voted.
To another question, “If you had a choice of keeping Modi as our leader but with less democracy, would you be okay with it?”, 55% said, “Yes, want as leader”, while 45% said, “No, democracy is important ”. As many as 10,188 voters participated in the polls. The “results” were announced on December 27.
As an afterthought, Bhagat – majority or whose followers presumably are also Modi supporters – came up with another poll in order to compare Modi with Rahul Gandhi following the latter's “revelations” on the Prime Minister accepting bribe during the latter's tenure as Gujarat chief minister.

Referring to Gandhi terming the revelations an “earthquake”, Bhagat asked, “After his 'earthquake' revelations against the Prime Minister, will you ever take Rahul Gandhi seriously again?” Of the 6,702, who voted for the poll, just 14% answered “Yes”, 70% said, “No”, and another 16% said their decision would “depend” on what Gandhi says.
Following the last poll, Bhagat was, interestingly, bombarded with exceptionally negative remarks. Nijhari Sinha (‏@NirjhariSinha), a Gujarat-based human rights activist, alluding to Bhagat's latest novel, “Half Girlfriend”, said, “next time” Bhagat would “write a book half democracy!”
Another twitterrati from Gujarat, Mitesh Patel (‏@_MiteshPatel) said, “It seems @chetan_bhagat doesn't think PM @narendramodi being corrupt bribe taker is serious enough”, adding, “Doesn't @chetan_bhagat trying to mock proofs of Pakistan lover @narendramodi being corrupt make him Pakistan stooge?”
Bilal Motorwala (‏@bilal_motorwala) said, “Modi only took Rahul Ghandhi seriously, could not answer his allegations so tired to shut mocking him .”
Yet another twitterrati, Indrajith, ‏@Balaindrajith, asks Bhagat, “After his pathetic mimicry and ridiculing of @OfficeOfRG without refuting his corruption charges, what's your take on Modi?”, while Vinay Garg (‏@vinaygar) asks Bhagat, “You think those allegations are nothing? Oh! Sorry you are blindfolded at the moment, if not hypnotised or probably both.”

Comments

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

Unchecked urbanisation, waste dumping: Study warns of 'invited disaster' as khadi floods threaten half of Surat

An action research report, “Invited Disaster: Khadi Floods in Surat City”, published by two civil rights groups, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and the People's Union for Civil Liberties, Surat, states that nearly half of Gujarat's top urban conglomerate—known for its concentration of textile and diamond polishing industries—is affected by the dumping of debris and solid waste, along with the release of treated and untreated sewage into the khadis (rivulets), thereby increasing the risk of flood disaster.

Polymath academy or echo chamber? A personal take on knowledge, control, and WhatsApp moderation

A few months back, I was made a member of a WhatsApp group called Polymath Academy. Frankly, I didn’t know what the word polymath meant until its administrator, veteran Gujarat-based sociologist Vidyut Joshi — with whom I have been interacting since the mid-1990s when he was with the Gandhi Labour Institute — told me it refers to a person with an exceptional academic record.

Two decades on, hunger still haunts Gujarat: Survey exposes stark gap behind poverty claims

A Niti Aayog report , released about two years ago, estimated that in Gujarat — which our powers-that-be have long considered a model state — 11.66% of people are "multidimensionally poor," a term referring to an index that seeks to estimate "multiple and simultaneous deprivations" at the household level across three macro categories: health, education, and living standards.

English proficiency for empowerment: Modi’s SCOPE vision contrasts Amit Shah’s remark

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah may have asserted that soon a time would come when those speaking English in the country would “feel ashamed”, it is ironic that Narendra Modi, when he was Gujarat chief minister, had launched what was called the SCOPE programme, actively involving the University of Cambridge to provide opportunities to the youth of Gujarat to "become not just job seekers but job creators (entrepreneurs)."

Whither whistleblower concerns? Air India crash: Govt of India report suggests human error

Is the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, seeking to bail out Boeing in its preliminary report released recently despite the top MNC's whistleblower concerns ? It would seem so, if the Ministry's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB's) preliminary findings into the catastrophic crash of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, registration VT-ANB, which went down shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025, killing all 241 on board and 19 on the ground, is any indication.

Search This Blog