NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while responding to the Motion of Thanks debate in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, invoked a famous RK Laxman cartoon that appeared in The Times of India to critique past leadership, drawing laughter from NDA MPs and sharp reactions from the opposition.
Recalling the illustration, PM Modi described how it depicted an airplane—symbolizing grand ambitions—placed on a wooden cart being puled by the ‘common man’. The words “21st century” were written on it, yet the plane remained grounded. “At the time, it seemed like a joke, but later, it proved to be true,” he remarked, suggesting that previous governments were disconnected from reality.
‘Hawa Hawai’ promises
Without naming him, PM Modi took an indirect dig at former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and said, “There was one PM who used to continuously speak about the 21st century… At that time, RK Laxman made a very interesting cartoon. That cartoon was funny back then, but later, it became the truth. It was an example of how that PM’s talks were ‘hawa hawai’ (empty words) and disconnected from reality. We are almost 40-50 years late… The work that should have been done decades ago is happening now. That’s why when the public gave us a chance, we focused on youth development and nation-building.”
The remarks were widely interpreted as a dig at former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who frequently spoke about modernizing India in the 1980s. Laxman, in his cartoons, had critiqued how this vision of technological advancement remained an elite-driven project, with benefits trickling down slowly, if at all, to the masses.