Prof. M. K. Bhat
Election 2019 is going to be an alliance war and will be different from all other earlier elections because if NDA holds power, the steps taken by the present regime will be further strengthened and if it loses, Maha ghatbhandhan will reverse many things to keep its version of governance alive. The fight is between NDA alliance represented by invincible Modi on the one side and Maha ghatbhandhan represented by a plethora of leaders at present on the other. The glue of Maha ghatbhandhan is Modi bashing . If no constituent of major alliance gets a sizeable majority such an alliance will be sheer opportunism depending on bargaining power of the constituent and national interest may turn secondary to personal profit and loss. The post election alliances and breakage of existing alliances too can’t be ruled out.
Modi’s orientation of the nation, towards New India, based on equality and not appeasement is quite different from the sectarian approach adopted by various political parties since independence. The new people centric approach of governance supported by science and technology has brought in new players and relegated loyalists of dynasties to the coining of new terms like Bhakats, Award Wapsi, Lynching, Intolerance and now their propaganda rests on Nationalism and Antinationalism. This is done to deviate the attention of people from any comparison between the current five years of NDA alliance with five years prior to the arrival of Modi on the scene. Any such comparison will expose UPA alliance. Is it not true that various alliance partners of NDA were at loggerheads with their Government in last five years but no one dared to term them as anti nationals even if some of them left the alliance?
In democracy, disagreement with Government on various issues is no antinationalism but those who term Indian Army chief as Sadak ka Gunda, or think of fragmenting India into pieces, or speak the language of the enemy country cannot be termed as saints. Demoralising armed forces on every account, terming the prime minister as a big hurdle in the enemy country, making hue and cry about the human rights of some and keeping silence on the genocide of Kashmiri pundits are not the signs of any saint person. The propaganda of nationalism or antinationalism is a fiction of a few fickle minds who resorted to ‘my way or highway rule ‘during emergency.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction in social media and such terminology cannot be ascribed to any Government. The pseudo intellectuals of India, carrying partition view and habitual to bounties live in fool’s world by believing that they can change the perception of Indian voters. The general public least bothers to listen their sectarian and low intellectual inputs on television channels. Criticizing for the sake of criticism is the bread and butter for some of them, others act as if humble background is a disqualification for being the Prime Minister of India. This quite often results in reaction from still others as they try to justify things from their own perspective. This TRP war of supporting/ridiculing one or the other alliance mocks the credibility of Indian journalism so no one takes them seriously anymore.
In election rallies Maha ghatbhandhan ruthlessly targets Modi not his policies which further adds to his strength. You may love or hate Modi but you cannot afford to ignore his contributions to India especially if you compare him with the working of the previous regime. He definitely has left deep imprints on Indian political spectrum. Not a single scheme in last five years was launched with an eye on any particular vote bank, even 10 percent reservation too has an objective to reach the needy sections of society irrespective of caste or religious background. Modi has stood to his slogan of Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas. Secondly, he showcased a strong foreign policy. The biggest success of this policy was evident when world stood with India after the operation Balakote. He acted as the cultural ambassador of India. It was during his regime that Yoga, universal brotherhood day got acceptance from UN general assembly .Thirdly he courageously did away with the blackmailing of country by nuclear Pakistan through surgical strikes and made world to accept that India cannot be taken for granted. It was made clear that we want peace with every country but not with terrorists. Lastly, at domestic front he took strong steps like Demonetisation, GST, risking his political career and on the welfare front Ayushman Bharat, Jan Dhan Yojana, cleanliness drive, insurance cover to name a few have changed the perception of governance in India . He used technology to make life better for every common citizen of the country.
Modi carries no baggage of being a dynast and has tried to create a perception of “country first” among people. The decisive leadership of Modi is having its impact on all the aspects of governance, contrary to this the indecisiveness, corruption and lack of will to act was synonym with UPA regime. The present Maha ghatbhandhan has no common objective, no leader to lead from the front, the freebies being announced in election rallies is nothing more than corrupting the voter. Most of its leaders have only regional appeal and those at national level bear a very low credibility.
India cannot afford a coalition with no common objective or an undefined leader to lead. Coalition with no major party to lead will be a disaster for the country. It will be a marriage of convenience for open loot of the country. The goal of doing away with Modi pursued by Mahaghat-bhandhan is no answer to the aspirations of the people. They want to evaluate the alternative and then decide whom to vote. India of 2019 has no value for the theatrics of religion by wearing Jhanaiv at one place and skull cap at other .It hardly adds to the secular credentials of any person rather it amounts to playing with the sentiments of people during elections. This double attitude is more harmful than the sectarian attitude of any person.
All the big claims of secularism propagated by UPA alliance got exposed by its silence on Sikh massacre of 1984, its dumb attitude towards the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits and many of its leaders were responsible for the settlement of Bangladeshi refugees in Assam. It is better for Maha ghatbhandhan to stop befooling people about any threat to the country from the majoritarians. India is a tolerant country and it can’t afford to be intolerant because of its diversity. It is due to these things people are not thinking of Godhara or Gujarat riots in isolation.
The business of caste for furthering personal goals too has now no takers because people know that those who could do little for the poor people of the country in last sixty years suddenly feel their pain at the time of election. Is it not a fact that eighty percent of Indians had no Bank account till 2014 and majority of caste leaders have made enough fortunes in last seventy years?
Maha ghatbhandan if at all wants to give a serious fight must make its common minimum program public, project a dynamic leader with acceptance in all its constituents and shall try to expose the policies of NDA regime rather than resorting to Modi bashing. They must improve their perception in general public otherwise they are playing a lost game.
(The author is Director (M.A.I.M.S) Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi)
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