Chapter 72
Shaurya intended to conclude the press meet, but the questions kept pouring in, and Shaurya, the cabinet ministers, and his party's senior leaders continued answering them.
"Sir... What about the funders? We have heard your funders are backing out due to the ongoing issues. Are you losing their confidence? How are you going to contest elections without securing the necessary funding?" one reporter asked Shaurya, who was stepping down from the dais.
Shaurya gave him a small smile, went back to the dais, and leaned towards the mic to speak one sentence with so much confidence that it stayed with people.
"I work for the welfare of the people. I will continue doing so despite the situation with funding. Jaise Bhagwan Shri Krishna ne kaha (Like Bhagwan Shri Krishna said)
'Karma?y-evādhikāras te mā phale?hu kadāchana
Mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te sa?go 'stvakarma?i'
Which means, 'You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions.
Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.
' So I will continue performing my duty, and if I deserve.
.. I will be elected to serve the people of this state again," Shaurya concluded his statement.
Some journalists stood smiling in awe at Shaurya's knowledge of the epics and his belief in Bhagwan Shri Krishna. At the same time, some stood unimpressed with Shaurya's proud display of his faith and beliefs.
"But you are going to fight this election, not your Lord Shri Krishna, Shaurya Ji.
So do you have a plan on how to secure the funding, or is the Yadava King going to send you gold coins to fund your election?
" a liberal journalist mocked Shaurya, which irked the believers present there, while some laughed at her comment.
Shaurya did not deter; he stayed calm and focused.
"This is the beauty of our country—a democracy.
Our Constitution gives us the right to free speech, but I would say, do not misuse that right to mock someone's beliefs.
The bindi on your forehead, I'm sure, is not just to enhance your physical appearance—it signifies your faith, your culture, our culture, the same one our ancestors protected for centuries.
You don't have to mock your own beliefs to prove your loyalty to people with different beliefs.
Learn to respect every religion," Shaurya said.
His tone was calm, but his message was loud.
His answer was a slap to every Hindu who believed that by demeaning their own faith, they were showing respect to others, when in reality, by disrespecting a religion, they were going against the very Constitution which says, 'Respect all religions. '
"You didn't answer my ques..." the same reporter began, but Shaurya cut her off.
"I am coming to that. Whatever I said just now wasn't to avoid answering your question; I am not afraid to answer it.
More than answering your question, I needed to respond to the mocking you just did, hence my choice of words.
Now, coming back to your question—I have full confidence in my work.
My MLAs, cabinet ministers, and I have worked very hard for the welfare of the people, and our work will bring funder.
I am a person who believes that God helps those who walk on the path of Dharma (righteousness), and I also believe that I and the people standing with me here have chosen the right path, despite it being a hard one.
So yes, just like Krishna stood with the Pandavas and made them win the war despite their opponents having an army nearly four times larger, he will stand with me and help me win this battle," he answered with a small smile on his face, and seeing the color fade from the reporter's face, he smirked.
Since the reporter chose to mock Shri Krishna, he decided to give her a befitting reply in the same manner.
"Shaurya Ji, what's the reason behind openly embracing your faith? Don't you think you're repelling minorities with your open stance?" one reporter asked.
"I am embracing mine while respecting all others.
As Chief Minister, my responsibility is to protect everyone and look after the welfare of all.
Minorities don't expect me to embrace their faith; instead, they expect good conditions to practice their religion, and I have done that job perfectly.
I can proudly say that not a single life has been lost due to communal riots since I took charge as the Chief Minister of this state.
So to answer your question—not repel, my actions should attract minorities, and I'm sure they are," Shaurya said with a smile.
Their state had lost many people due to communal riots before Shaurya's tenure, but after he took charge, he implemented necessary measures to prevent them, and now, such incidents had almost ceased.
"Shaurya sir... one more question..." a reporter began, but Shaurya cut them off politely.
"I think we have already extended the session by 45 minutes.
.. let's conclude it here. I will soon hold another press conference to share the case progress.
I will answer the rest of your questions there.
Or you can always write to the CMO or the Party HQ, as I mentioned earlier.
Thank you all," Shaurya said, joining his hands in a 'Namaste' before walking inside along with the other party members and ministers.
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As soon as the press meet ended, Shaurya's marketing team, along with Mr. Subramanian and under Akansha's supervision, got to work.
They decided which clips to circulate to make them go viral.
They ensured that the news, social media feeds, and everything else aligned with Shaurya's vision for the state.
All those clips were meant to highlight how visionary Shaurya was and the work he had done for the welfare of the state.
They followed a targeted approach and made sure to spread content about how he defended his faith.
Fortunately, the team didn't have to do much, as Shaurya's Gen Z followers made sure to do the job for them.
The clips went viral within a few hours.
Shaurya's supporters in their forties and fifties began speaking out in support of him, appreciating his vision for the state, the development he had brought in the past five years, and also his courage to stand up for his faith and give befitting replies.
Even famous religious heads appreciated his response.
They said that when someone attacked his faith, he defended it immediately—he didn't calculate pros and cons, nor did he choose to stay silent to appease minorities.
He showed the courage to stand up for what was right, and that is the quality a true leader should possess.
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Mr. Subramanian and the team left at 10 PM, assuring Akansha that they would monitor the situation every few hours to assess any negative spread of the news.
Aakriti, who had been working on her NGO tasks, came downstairs to take updates on Akansha's meeting with Mr. Subramanian and what they had been working on.
While Akansha showed Aakriti a regular feed and the clips they had uploaded to make them viral, they came across a reel about how Shaurya spoke about Akansha being stricter and then requested the reporters not to telecast the last 30 seconds where he had blurted out about his wife.
Akansha rolled her eyes in frustration; she had been watching that clip repeatedly for the past few hours. She had tried everything in her power to stop the video from appearing in her feed, but people kept uploading the same clip with different captions like
'Confidence left the chat in 30 seconds ??'
'Breaking news → "Please don't telecast this" ??'
'Press meet turned into panic mode real quick ??'
'Public statement, private consequences ??'
'He remembered his Home Minister a little too late ??'
Aakriti started laughing loudly at the creative taglines. She couldn't stop laughing as the same clip kept reappearing in their feed, sandwiched between every two or three other reels.
"Bhabhi... let's read the comment section. It would be fun," Aakriti said.
"I'm already upset with your brother for being so stupid, and you want to fuel my anger?" Akansha said.
"Please... and you're right to be angry. Show Shaurya hell when he comes, but for now, let's enjoy... please..." Aakriti pleaded, and Akansha reluctantly agreed. But as soon as they opened the comment section, they burst out laughing.
"Bro remembered his wife mid-sentence ??"
"Damage control started before the sentence ended ??"
"He said 'Home Minister' and saw his life flash ??"
"That regret was PERSONAL ??"
"Confidence → Fear in 0.5 seconds ??"
"Sir blink twice if you're in danger ??"
"He spoke... then he THOUGHT ??"
"People said he has no real family life... bro just proved he's a certified husband ??"
"That 'cut this part' came from the soul ??"
"He realized the consequences instantly ??"
"Respectfully... he's finished RIP ??"
"The real press conference starts at home ??"
"He folded mid-interview ??"
"God! These people are really creative," Aakriti said, still laughing.
"Yes, and your brother just gave all these content creators work for the next few months," Akansha replied, rolling her eyes, though a small smile lingered on her face.
"Are you still upset with Shaurya?" Aakriti asked, noticing Akansha taking it a bit lightly.
"Let him come. You'll find out," Akansha answered, her tone serious.
As on cue, Shaurya entered the house, taking careful steps inside. He knew he had made a grave mistake. He had tried to follow his wife's advice, and it had backfired badly—or so he thought.