Leaving aside countries ruled by religion and those absent of any kind of democracy, more so electoral democracy, elections in every nation has similar trends. Just a few days ago, Canada announced its federal parliamentary elections to be held on Oct. 21. The drumbeats have started beating.
Watching the first national federal leaders debate, I felt the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and leader of the Liberal Party did what he felt was strategic for his party by staying away from the debate and campaigning in west Canada. However, he was roundly criticised by the other participants — Andrew Sheer, leader of Conservatives, Jagmeet Singh, leader of National Democratic Party (NDP ),, Elizabeth May, of the Green Party. Sheer got the heat from both Singh and May.
Sheer is trying to win back the government seized by Trudeau in 2015, dismissing the two-time Conservative government of Stephen Harper. Harper was to Canada what Modi is to India. Like Modi, Harper held no press conference during his reign, and displayed lot of arrogance. There have been a couple of books on him. The book, Party of One, exposes the gap between Harper’s stated policies and practices. Another book provides insights into his politics of control, while a third one dwells on his rise and how how shaped the new conservatism and Canadian democracy.
Just as Modi and Donald Trump used populism and catered to their respective core base, both Sheer and Trudeau are tailoring their messages to their faithful. Among the three participants in the debate, Jagmeet Singh got good reviews from experts polled after the end of debate and in newspapers on Sept 13. I too found him very assertive and forthright in tearing apart Sheer’s stand on some of the issues. On environment, particularly the issue of the hot-button issue of “climate change”, the leaders tested each other very well.
Readers would be interested to know that Jagmeet Singh (who avoids his family name Dhaliwal) is a Sikh and the first member of the “visible minoritIes” population to lead a national party. A criminal lawyer who has earned a reputation for his neat and stylish dressing. Just a month ago I finished reading his autobiography, Love and Courage, where he recounts the tough times the family had in dealing with an alcoholic father, a medical doctor, and how he helped his father turn around and then led the fight for his father to regain his professional license.
Jagmeet was a Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario (MPP) when he was chosen as leader of NDP, a left party. He then chose to run for the federal parliament from British Columbia’s riding in Burnaby, which has a large Sikh and Chinese population. Fortunately for him, the Liberal candidate, a Chinese, was forced to withdraw for her racial remarks on Jagmeet. He resigned his Brampton East east to contest from British Columbia and won. His brother, Gurratan Singh retained Jagmeet’s seat in the by-election. Brampton has large Indian population, with Sikhs in high number, and is also home to many Goans. It’s nicknamed Brown Town.
Interestingly, the American Democrats debate was also on at the same time. Senator Kamala Harris, of Indian mother and Jamaican father, and a firebrand former California attorney-general, go all-out against Trump. Switching channels was an exercise – and fun – for it’s election cycle in these two formidable democracies. But Kamala’s performance didn’t get her into the first three places, according to the national polling average.
The two major parties of Canada have similar ad slogans going into the campaigns, with Conservative having “get ahead” and the ruling Liberals having “choose forward.” Both parties are making lot of promises, though Trudeau has managed to maintain a steady course except for the political scandal called the SNC-Lavalin affair. An investigation launched by the Royal Mounted Police of Canada (RCMP) into Trudeau’s involvement into the justice system on behalf of a top Montreal company, SNC-Lavalin, that saw the resignation of two women ministers, one of them minister of justice and atso the attorney-general, will have negative effect on the ruling part would be known at the outcome of the elections.
Recently, a Canadian minister said Canada is a “rule-of-law” country, and could it be similarly said of India? We can see how the CBI is chasing Chidambaram and the ED hounding Vadra for whatever sins committed in the past. The Congress is paying for its scams but the way BJP is going about it makes it appear that it’s “vendetta politics.” The BJP has to clean its Augean stables first before taking action against its political foes.
The party hasn’t gone after the lynching mobs and those who victimised the minorities such as the Muslims and Christians. Islamophobia is a big problem in India, as it a growing problem in some Western and European nations. The anniversary of 9/11 was a grim reminder of ISIS terror.
On the other hand, the BJP has mostly succeeded in dismantling the Opposition in many states. Having won majority at the centre, it give s ample influence to convince or tempt opposition politicians to jump ship. Goa is a prime example.
For sure, Indian democracy is on trial. People must raise their voices at the chipping of the democratic structure. The fight to save free speech must be fortified. Going to space isn’t going to solve domestic problems. President Kennedy’s speech on space exploration to questions of why the US is spending billions of dollars was derided by the then leading radical journalist, I.F. Stone, as “nationalistic soap and hoopla.”
(Eugene Correia is a senior journalist)
