Home Minister Amit Shah in Lok Sabha Monday. Photo: ANI/LSTV Grab
File image of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Lok Sabha | Photo: ANI/LSTV Grab
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New Delhi: “Aap chronology samjhiye (Understand the chronology)” — Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s line explaining the BJP’s plans to implement a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) became so popular that it has taken the internet by storm.

Shah had said it in April 2019. “Understand the chronology, first we will bring Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) and after that we will bring National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the NRC will not only be for Bengal but for the entire country.”

The line inspired not just memes, but several people even used it as the username of their Twitter handles.

Politicians, political strategists and mediapersons have also used it in different contexts to target the BJP, and opposition members have made it a favourite phrase to criticise the ruling party and its policies.

Priyanka, Akhilesh, Yechury — all repeated the Amit Shah line 

Former JD(U) leader and political strategist Prashant Kishor used the phrase and dared the home minister to try and implement the CAA and the NRC.

“… if you don’t care for those protesting against #CAA_NRC, why don’t you go ahead and try implementing the CAA & NRC in the chronology that you so audaciously announced to the nation!”

 

In December 2019, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had used the phrase to launch point-by-point attack on the ruling party.

“First they will promise 2 crore jobs. Then they will form government. Then they will destroy universities. Then they will destroy the country’s Constitution. Then you will protest. Then they will call you fools. But Youngistan will endure on the field,” she had said. 

Last week, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav used the line to connect the Yes Bank crisis to the Modi government’s demonetisation move.

“First the poor were asked to open their accounts and their money was deposited. After demonetisation, their money was in the banks and from there it was given and consumed by rich friends and they disappeared. And when people went to withdraw their money, instead of yes they got a no,” he tweeted.

All India Mahila Congress used the phrase in connection with the sudden transfer of Justice S. Muralidhar from Delhi High Court to Punjab and Haryana High Court while he was hearing a case related to the Delhi riots.

The catchphrase was used by Swaraj Abhiyan president Yogendra Yadav too in the context of the JNU campus violence that took place in early January.

 

In January, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Congress’ youth wing also used the phrase to target the BJP.

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh used the phrase to connect a firing incident in Jamia Nagar in late January with Union Minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur’s controversial remarks.

“A Union Minister says ‘Goli Maaro’ (shoot) and then one of their men appear and fires bullets, all this while police kept standing. Do you understand this chronology? It was a hateful statement but the Election Commission did not give him any punishment,” he said.

Media used it too

Shehzad Poonawala, anchor of India News, spoke the line to promote his late-night show on the anti-CAA protests happening in Shaheen Bagh.

“Aap chronology samajhiye is ‘prayog’ Ki — @narendramodi was right. First lobby uses Islamist forces in Shaheen Bagh for votebank. Then send their workers to fire bullets & label Hindus extremists. Then abuse Hindus,” he said.

In mid-February, Alt News founder Pratik Sinha called out senior editor of Swarajya magazine Swati Goel Sharma for claiming Twitter has a “hit-list” of accounts spreading misinformation and can suspend them.

When Sinha clarified that Twitter does not have a policy on misinformation, Goel accused him of often “abusing Swarajya” and “right-wing” folks. 

Sinha then sarcastically described the entire conversation as part of a chronology.

 

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