THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024
Julio Ribeiro
The wholesale purchase of power hungry legislators of the Congress party by the BJP, which had won four seats less than the Congress in the 2017 polls, was like a slap on the face of democracy! With its overflowing coffers the BJP could replicate the exercise successfully in Manipur, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, forming governments there though it has lost the elections in those States!
Voters should avoid voting for candidates whose interest in contesting is not service to the people but acquisition of wealth or power, or both. In a small State like Goa, where everyone knows everyone else, analysing the character of the candidates should be an easy exercise that should not take too much time. Elected MLAs who wish to change sides on principle should consult their own voters in their respective constituencies before taking the plunge. The majority consensus should be in favour of such a decision. In Goa it should be possible to gauge the wish of the majority.
I am aware that many voted for the BJP last time round as Manohar Parrikar was alive then. He was admired by all sections of the population.
But presently the voters should take into consideration the goals the ruling party, the BJP, has set for itself nationally. This is important to understand before one casts a vote for anyone representing that party. The candidate himself or herself may be ‘Kosher’ but once elected will have to follow the diktats of the Central leadership, which today consists of Modiji and his confidante, Amit Shah. That this leadership has forgotten “development” and has turned away from “Mandal” to “Mandir” is obvious as the flight of OBC leaders from the BJP to SP in UP recently shows.
When Narendra Modi was propelled to the national stage from Gujarat he was riding on the back of an euphoria that followed the killings organised in revenge for the Godhra train massacre of 59 Ram Bhakts. Modiji became the darling of Gujarat’s usually timid population.
The rest is history! With his God-given ability to sway crowds by the power of the spoken word he has captured the imagination of the Hindi-speaking heartland. The people believe every word he utters. It is only now, after he has been in office for seven and a half long years, that many thinking people have started doubting his intentions! “Development, development, development”, he would repeat. People have noted that there is no mention of that word now!
When he entered the portals of Parliament for the first time in 2014 the new PM walked directly to the copy of the Country’s Constitution encased in a glass case for display. He bowed before the copy reverentially and touched his forehead to the glass covering it. He openly declared the Constitution to be his “Gita”, his “Koran” his “Bible” and swore allegiance to it!
After seven and a half years we have learnt that was only a ploy to befool the electorate. He did not mean a word he uttered!
The Rule of Law, which is what this country had always followed from the day it achieved Independence, has now been redefined. If you are a political opponent of the BJP or if you are a critic of the Party you are likely to be roped in for any infraction of law, even a perceived one. But not if you are a supporter of the Party! In my State of Maharashtra a prominent Shiv-Sena legislator famously demanded that Udhav Thackeray realign with the BJP politically so that his followers could protect themselves from the claws of the CBI, the ED and other such Central government agencies reporting to the Party in power at the Centre.
Even during Congress rule these agencies were often used for extracting party workers from criminal prosecutions! This regime goes one better. Take the NE Delhi riots, for instance. So astonished was I that the Delhi police had ignored the rantings and ravings of three BJP leaders responsible for openly instigating the riots and booked young girl students of the JNU, instead. These students were supporting the Muslim women protesting against the CAA and NRC, laws that picked on the Muslims for exclusion.
And finally, there is the economy, an issue that matters both to the rich and the poor. Even before the pandemic struck two years ago the GDP had shrunk for three years consecutively. The rich had become richer. The poor had become poorer! The regime built houses and roads and toilets for the poor and kept the deprived comparatively happy. Money is not available now because of the diversion of funds to fight Covid! Joblessness and poverty have both increased!
But the most alarming move of this dispensation is the spread of hate and divisiveness in society in its quest for votes. This should worry every thinking Indian. An India divided on sectarian lines is a vulnerable India. Our neighbour on our West is an irritant, but the one on the East is becoming more and more aggressive of late! To meet any security threat unity in this multi-religious, multi-cultural society is essential. I am sure every reader in this fully-literate State of Goa will agree! Hate is the most dangerous feature of our polity today!
Voters must keep these features in mind when they cast their votes. They should also keep in mind that the opposition to the BJP in Goa is divided. The entry of Trinamool at the last stage may not make any difference but the Congress and the AAP will eat into each other’s votes. There are also smaller parties which will pick up a few seats in their pocket constituencies. The entire Goa electoral scenario is disturbing!
(Julio Ribeiro, a Goan, was a former Director General Police Punjab, and is a recipient of the Padma Bhusan in 1987).
