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Journalism of Courage
IT STARTED with Rahul Gandhi. Now, almost as “khata-khat (swiftly)” as the senior Congress leader implied an INDIA government would meet its promises, the word – along with its variations – has become the nom de guerre of this Lok Sabha election battle.
Rahul used the word for the first time at a rally in Rajasthan’s Anupgarh on April 11. Speaking of the Congress’s Mahalakshmi guarantee for women, Rahul said: “Hindustan ke har garib pariwar mein ek mahila ko Congress party ki sarkaar saal ka ek lakh rupya bank mein daal degi… Agar aap garib rekha ke neeche ho… rupaiya har mahina khata-khat, khata-khat aata rahega… Aur ek jhatke se hum Hindustan se ghareebi mita denge (The Congress party will give one woman in every poor family of India Rs 1 lakh… If you are below the poverty line… money will come monthly quickly, non-stop… And in one stroke, we would have eradicated poverty in India).”
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A month-and-a-half hence, in a long election campaign marked by continuous war of words, name calling and several Election Commission notices, the catchy “khata-khat”, its variations “fata-fat”, “taka-tak”, and the rhyming “safachat (wipeout)”, seem to have earned fans across the political divide.
With the BJP always watchful of Rahul’s every word, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to respond to his “khata-khat”, saying at a rally in Pune on April 29: “Ask the Congress shehzada (prince) how to eradicate poverty, he replies khata-khat, khata-khat. Ask the shehzada how there will be growth, he says taka-tak, taka-tak. Ask him if there is a plan for Viksit Bharat, he will say taka-tak, taka-tak. The Congress shehzada’s words are khatarnak (dangerous).”
On May 13, Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, speaking of the cost of the Congress poll promises, posted on X: “Have they calculated how much the ‘khata-khat’ schemes will cost fiscally?… How many welfare schemes would @RahulGandhi shut down to accommodate the fiscal cost of the ‘khata-khat’ schemes?”
Three days later, at a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh, Modi used the term to target Samajwadi Party chief and Congress ally Akhilesh Yadav alongside Rahul.
Dubbing both of them shehzadas, the PM said: “The dreams of panja (the Congress’s poll symbol) and cycle (the SP’s symbol) have shattered khata-khat, khata-khat. Now they are planning for post-June 4 as to who should be blamed for the defeat khata khat, khata-khat.” Repeating the BJP’s swipes at Rahul and Akhilesh for their sojourns abroad, Modi added: “And, someone was telling me that tickets for foreign trips have also been booked khata-khat, khata khat.”
Akhilesh responded within days, on May 18, at a rally in Rae Bareli. Making an ostensible reference to billionaires Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, whom the Modi government has failed to bring to India to face court cases, the SP chief said: “They (the BJP) say we will go abroad. But the people of the country are aware that he (Modi) has sent his important people and friends abroad one after the other. His friends, one after the other, fled abroad khata-khat, khata-khat.”
Subsequently, Rahul doubled down on use of the phrase. At his first rally in Haryana ahead of polling in the state on May 25, he accused Modi of “Adani partnership”, raised the Agniveer issue, and promised to announce a loan waiver for farmers when the INDIA bloc comes to power.
In his speech, Rahul used khata-khat multiple times, adding: “Just like fuel is put into a vehicle to make it run, on June 5, we shall turn the key and switch on the ignition. And India’s economy will take off and the (women) beneficiaries will start getting Rs 8,500 into their bank accounts and keep getting it… khata-khat khata-khat, khata-khat,” he said.
At a rally in Himachal Pradesh Monday, Rahul again spoke of the Congress’s “guarantee” and said: “On June 5, crores of women will get 8,500… September, October, November, December, January taka-tak, taka-tak, the money will come.”
INDIA partner and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has given his own spin to the phrase. On May 23, claiming that BJP leaders were visiting Bihar frequently because the INDIA alliance was winning, Tejashwi told ANI: “Mahaul tana-tan tana-tan; BJP safachat, safachat; INDIA alliance ko vote mil raha hai taka-tak, taka-tak (The environment is perfect; the BJP is wiped out; the INDIA alliance is getting votes non-stop).”
At a rally in Bakhtiyarpur on May 27, Tejashwi’s further play on the words left Rahul, who was sharing the stage, smiling. The RJD leader said: “Mijaz rakhiye tana-tan, tana-tana, tana-tan… Naukri milega fata-fat, fata-fat… Behnon ke khaaton mein lakh rupaiya jayega khata-khat, khata-khat… Ab BJP ho jayega safachat, safachat (Keep your spirits up just right, you will get a job quickly, money will come into bank accounts of sisters fast… And BJP will be wiped out).”
