Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Mar 26: In a video that has gone viral, Tejasvi Surya, the BJP's candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from Bengaluru South, the party's bastion, is seen saying that the upcoming election is a 'test' of the common man's 'patriotism', and anyone who does not vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi is 'anti-India'.

Speaking at what seems like an event, Tejasvi says, "This election is a test of the common India's patriotism. And if you are with Modi, you are with India. And if you are not with Modi, you are anti-India. That's it."

The video was shared by Dhruv Rathee, a freelance journalist, on Twitter.

Average Indian:

I will vote in this election considering issues like Unemployment, Farmers crisis, Communal Violence, Inequality, Enviornmental destruction, Mob Lynchings, Women Safety, Ganga Cleaning, Air Pollution etc



Modi Bhakts: ?? pic.twitter.com/dYgOwAuTtb — Dhruv Rathee (@dhruv_rathee) March 26, 2019

The 28-year-old lawyer, the youngest candidate in this election, is an ardent supporter of PM Modi and has a close association with the RSS. He is known for his fiery speeches, and during the last Assembly elections, he had travelled across the state to campaign for the BJP.

The video evoked sharp response from Twitterati. One user said, "Thats the kind of venom injected inside the youths of this nation who are turning out to be Monsters ready to destroy the idea of india and make it exactly like the shady neighboring nations (sic)." While another user hoped that he would not get elected as it would be a 'dangerous precedent', another asked, "How can a nation be equated with one person. It is simply belittling a nation (sic)." Many others, especially BJP supporters, praised him and hailed him as the next big leader of the party, with some even comparing him to Sambit Patra and some even to Modi.

Another user, going by the name 'Chowkidar Akshay', took objection to the fact that Dhruv Rathee had posted only part of the speech. He uploaded the rest of the video, in which Tejasvi is seen attacking the opposition parties for their 'dynastic' politics. "When I keep thinking about how in the last 60 years, the history of the country is a history of lost opportunities for India, I very honestly doubt the patriotism and the intent of these people (Congress). These guys weren't patriots...because if you are a patriot you will not deliberately keep the people of your country poor...these guys did it. And now all of these people have come together to fight Narendra Modi."

Hey @dhruv_rathee can you please stop showing the cropped part of someones speech just to manipulate people and spread your propaganda????



Well here's the complete speech, get some knowledgehttps://t.co/njl3LpcSYj — Chowkidar Akshay (@lifeofakshy) March 26, 2019

Slamming the opposition parties further, Tejasvi says in the video, "It is a coalition of dynasts. A coalition of crooked, corrupt political entities who know their time has come...the entire dynasts from Kashmir to Kanyakumari have come together; from Omar Abdullah to M K Stalin everybody wants to stop Narendra Modi because they know their private enterprise will stop if Modi comes (to power) again. Modi is saying 'my agenda is a new India... My idea is a 2020 superpower'. On the other hand you have all of these jokers coming together...saying our agenda is to stop Modi. This may sound outrageous...but this election is a test of the common India's patriotism. And if you are with Modi, you are with India. And if you are not with Modi, you are anti-India. That's it."

Replying to the video, Dhruv Rathee tweeted that it still did not change the meaning of what Tejasvi said.