Goa BJP leader offers bizarre ‘chowkidar’ analogy

Panaji, April 17 (IANS) Rueing the recent trend of mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the term "chowkidar", former Goa Minister and BJP leader Dayanand Mandrekar on Wednesday offered a rather bizarre analogy to explain the real meaning of the word in which the chowkidar ends up getting fired for falling asleep and dreaming on the job.

"Today, Modi is called chowkidar, chowkidar. People are mocking him by calling him chowkidar. What does one mean by chowkidar? Chowkidar means protecting the country. To make you understand what chowkidar is about, let me give you a simple example," Mandrekar said at a meeting organised in a village to rally support for the party's North Goa candidate Shripad Naik.

Mandrekar's narrative involved a rich man and his chowkidar, who was hired to protect the wealth of his master. One day, the chowkidar warns his master to not board a train because it would meet with an accident.

"His employer was scared. Then he thought to himself, what if whatever he has said comes true? He cancelled the ticket for that particular train and booked himself on another train," said Mandrekar.

"As predicted, the train avoided fell from a bridge and all the passengers died. When the man returned from his journey, he called for the chowkidar. The chowkidar felt he would get a gift for having saved his master's life," he added.

However, he was sacked by his master who also explained the reason for his decision. "I hired him as a chowkidar to safeguard my property and wealth through the night. I did not pay him to sleep and dream about people dying or accidents taking place. I sacked him because he sleeps and dreams at night," said Mandrekar.

The former minister maintained he narrated the story to explain other facets of chowkidars.