Whatever arguments BJP supporters may advance to project the development, particularly in infrastructure, carried out by their Governments, at the Centre and in States, some unchallenged truths need to be similarly brought out.
Most promises made by the Government like Minimum Government, maximum governance, bringing back black money stashed abroad, reducing prices of LPG, petrol; diesel and essential commodities, etc., have not only remained unfulfilled, but have substantially gone the other way, sadly severely affecting the common man. If there is anything which has come down in the country is the value of the Rupee and morality and probity in public lifae.
Though PM Modi’s nine-year rule has been highly controversial, to be fair to him, there seem to have been some real attempts at alleviation of poverty, which is worthy of mention and that is by the construction of pucca houses and especially of toilets for the poor, particularly in the remotest and poorest parts the country.
India has and will continue to have, for a very long time, the largest concentration of poor in the world. Counting India’s population of poor has always been a contentious subject. Politicians regularly cite official data, one way or the other, but the changing definition of poverty has made it a difficult exercise of numbers. Though the PM and Niti Aayog claim that around 250 million people have been lifted out of poverty, in last ten years, especially in States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, unemployment, the stagnation of wages in some sectors, and substantial increase in prices of essentials, render more people poor, practically nullifying the claims of reducing their number.. Suffice to know that India has slipped four places to 111 out of 125 in Global Hunger Index and that the scheme, introduced to reduce the impact of Covid, of distribution of free food grains to 80 crore poor, will continue for another five years.
The problem of unemployment, rise in prices, corruption and bad governance will continue irrespective of which Government is in power. What we need to worry about are the crude and most undemocratic attempts by BJP to come back to power, by hook or by crook. It is no sin for any political Party to attempt to return or come to power by democratic, clean and fair methods. Modi has already downgraded our “Democracy” to “Electoral autocracy” with the renowned “Varieties of Democracy Institute” (V Dem) in Sweden, naming us as such and that too, one of the worst, where leaders can be freely elected, but once elected they turn into autocrats and dictators. Modi and his followers in every BJP ruled State, have given us ample demonstrations of this autocracy and are totally insensitive to any criticism on these grounds. The deportation to UK of the OCI Nitasha Kaul and the unjustified arrests of Modi baiters under UAPA or sedition laws have been attracting international attention.
Every Party contests to win and bigger Parties to rule. But BJP is targeting 400 seats, not just to rule but also to govern autocratically, as it has since 2014, and to change the Constitution, as one of its own MPs, Anant Hegde from Karnataka confessed. What it implies is known to millions of voters, including BJP supporters, many of whom do not concur with this idea. But illiteracy and polarization, which has been the hallmark of ruling Party’s efforts, could still give it an edge. However, there can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the ruling Party is presently in hysterical mood, with the movement to ban EVMs gaining momentum and the decision on electoral bonds being a shot in the arm of the Opposition, despite attempts at concealing information.
Being in power, the BJP has the means to influence organizations and agencies to do whatever it wants. The President of SC Bar Association, one Adish Aggarwala, wrote to the President of India for a Presidential reference on the SC decision on electoral bonds, which has been applauded by all those who can see through the motives and devious moves of this Govt. But Adish is more concerned about the Corporates who may be victims of harassment.
Hopefully, the letter will not only be consigned to the place it deserves, but SC lawyers will also dissociate themselves from this suspicious request. The Opposition is already crying hoarse about the misuse of ED and CBI to target leaders, who do not subscribe to BJP ideology or submit to its dictates. Possibly, many of these are being rightly investigated. The entire country, which suffers immensely due to corruption, lack of transparency and bribery, would be happy and thankful if these agencies had sincerely gone after corrupt leaders instead of selecting only a few, sparing a sizeable number of those whom Modi & Sawant themselves, had called corrupt. This Government will leave no stone unturned to usher in dictatorship, to achieve their nefarious ends, after throttling and eliminating the Opposition. Even the blind can see through these moves, achieved by installing double engine sarkars through poaching or keeping swords hanging on vulnerable heads, stifling every attempt at dissent and favouring States and constituencies, which voted for the ruling Party.
Our CM and Minister Aleixo Sequeira implied that it is desirable that every MLA joins the ruling, when they both recently justified the latter’s mockery of his mandate in deserting the Congress and joining the BJP, for achieving the development of his constituency. Isn’t this a ridiculous statement, when we all know that money used for development is ours and not ruling Party’s and the Government has no right to discriminate? Or have they lost the sense of ridicule, which, in effect means that they favour discarding Opposition altogether?. We need to grow wiser, but even that won’t help when character becomes a casualty!!
(The author is a retired banker.)
