Pseudo-morality at its "best"!

Kajal Chatterjee
When Bengali actor cum Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul uttered that "rape" threat in 2014 directed at opposition parties; not only did a huge hue and cry reverberate from Parliament to media to the streets, his career both as a politician and actor had come to an abrupt end forcing him to fade out from the public eye and live in absolute recluse resembling an "outcaste"!
In contrast despite calling out in public to shoot the "traitors"; Anurag Thakur emerges boldly in Parliament within few days with all wings of the media(print to visual) featuring broad-smiling face of the Union minister of state, beside his boss Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on the occasion of presentation of Union Budget!
 No question of supporting or defending Tapas Paul, but it is disgusting to note how lightly has the society allows Thakur to escape almost unscathed despite rendering such a threat of murder to those who are protesting peacefully against CAA-NRC! The deluge of criticism which Paul had to face from all quarters of the society is being nowhere seen in case of equally disgusting threat, if not more, rendered by Thakur!
Rape or threat of rape is definitely one of the most heinous disgusting acts/comments plaguing the society! But does murder or threat of murder rank any lesser as far as crime or toxicity is concerned! Can the act of murder(apart from self defence) rank higher in moral terms than rape! Perhaps so! Else how could the inmates of Tihar(many of whom are surely convicted of murder or attempt to murder) afforded to act "moral police" of the society resulting in their ganging up to severely beat up Mukesh Singh ---- then an accused of "Nirbhaya" gang rape and killing case! That means in the eyes of those criminals; murder for gain/revenge/supari is OK, but rape or rape-cum-murder simply not! It seems the mindset of the whole society runs in sync with that of hardened criminals of Tihar! Tapas Paul need to be shredded to the full as if India was/is yet to hear more harsher comment than it! But Anurag Thakur can be spared from such severe condemnation as he had "merely" threatened to shoot, that too the "traitors"! What is there to make a fuss revolving it! That the Election Commission has banned him from campaigning for few days that too during highly crucial Delhi Assembly electoral phase; isn't it a "severe punishment" enough for Thakur! No, there lies no question of prosecuting him for instigating the public to take law in their own hands and  "shoot" the "traitors" of the country! However had any individual like yours truly had threatened to shoot Anurag Thakur, no prizes for guessing what would have been my fate!  Yes, law is certainly "equal" for all persons --- one yardstick for the "anti-national" "smaller" folks like us, another for the "nationalist" VIP Thakurs! So let's continue to maintain our impeccable "moral standards" whereby we should concentrate in condemning only the utterers of  threat to "rape"; but "shooting" threats should necessarily be accepted much much lightly even if actual incidents of shooting, on peaceful marchers or in sit-in demonstration sites, by the "Ram Bhakts" follow instantaneously!
In these supremely "nationalist" times,  this "angry young man" taking on the "traitors" of Bharat Mata with so much zeal and "bravery" certainly deserves warm saffron salute from the society!
The writer is based in Kolkata