Watch: Last Week Tonight host John Oliver ribs Trump for calling Modi 'Father of India', picks up on anti-CAA agitation in latest episode

Coinciding with Donald Trump’s visit to India, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, in the latest episode of his satirical show, devoted the majority of his time to talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Calling Modi “a man for whom Trump seems to have a great deal of affection,” Oliver said the prime minister has become “one of the most divisive figures in India”. Oliver discussed Trump’s statement of “Modi bringing India together,” stating that “the thing that unites them [Trump and Modi] may actually end up being their complete disgust over what he [Trump] is trying to do,” since India, home of the “symbol of love” Taj Mahal, “frankly deserves much more than this temporary symbol of hate." The host also touched upon the controversial citizenship Act introduced by the Modi government that sparked protests across the nation. “If citizens in the world’s largest democracy, home to a billion people, are either wearing masks of Modi or marching in the streets, it seems like tonight it might be worth exploring why that is, where things might be heading, and why Trump calling Modi the ‘father of India’ is stupid at best and dangerous at worst.” He then referred to CAA as an attempt to “Marie Kondo” India, alluding to the popular Japanese “organising consultant”, known for her ability to remove all “unsightly things” from a messy room. The segment traced Modi’s journey from being a tea seller to being re-elected as prime minister. Oliver pointed out how demonetisation did “more harm than good” but Modi’s “charisma is such that he somehow evades public anger from sticking to him.” Oliver said this reverence from the public is bad considering how Modi and Bhartiya Janta Party’s (BJP) “defining belief” is Hindu nationalism, which “goes against Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of a secular India”.   Watch the full segment here

Previously Hasan Minaj, who hosts Patriot Act on Netflix, dedicated a small portion of his show to CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Article 370. While the promo had promised an incisive commentary on the ongoing situation, Minhaj only covered the issue for about two minutes. (With inputs from Press Trust of India)