The ‘naraaz fufa’ of politics: PM Modi’s latest dig at habitual critics

Every big plan has its sceptics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though, gave them a more familiar name on Saturday: the “naraaz fufa”.

Speaking at the centenary celebrations of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), PM Modi used the family reference for those who, in his view, seem to question every new initiative.

He told students that outside college they would meet two kinds of people, those who turn the strength of society into the strength of the nation, and those who become a naraaz fufa on every issue.


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And this fufa, going by Modi’s description, has one favourite question: “What is the need for this?”

Modi then listed the examples.

When the world’s tallest statue was built, he said, people asked why it was needed. The bullet train drew the same reaction.

Then came UPI, semiconductor initiatives and the new Parliament building. Even a memorial for soldiers who died for the country, he said, faced similar questions.

The projects changed, but the question stayed the same.

That was also what made the naraaz fufa line work. Instead of reaching for the usual political vocabulary, Modi picked a character many Indian households would instantly recognise, the relative who is hard to please and always has something to ask about the arrangements.

A statue? Why?

A bullet train? Why?

UPI? Chips? A new Parliament?

Again: “What is the need for this?”

Modi said India had already answered such critics and argued that necessary work for the country could not be stopped because of such objections.

But for the moment, the habitual sceptic has a new political nickname.

And perhaps, somewhere, the naraaz fufa still has one final question:

What was the need for this?