Shiban Khaibri
Failure of earlier experiment notwithstanding, the hitherto scattered Janta Parivar has once again cobbled together to what they solely aim at “fighting the BJP”. Looking to how they ended up last time, hovers over the constraints to give one more chance to togetherness, this time the basic question is of survival or emerging somewhat relevant looking to how they fared in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The architect of building this edifice is RJD Chief Laloo Prasad Yadav who seems to be more threatened politically than his hitherto bête- noire turned relative and now leader of the conglomerate, Mulayam Singh Yadav who strangely has nothing to gain. Besides these two, the other partners are JD(U), JD(S), INLD and a lesser known SJP. These six constituents have in the melee to fight the “communal forces”, those of the resurgent BJP and its allies as a single “unified” entity, the name of which has to be announced after there emerges “conscientious unanimity” among the Parties. The merger may entice Congress struggling to retrieve something from the lost space and niche in the political landscape of the country and if not directly, but under a tacit understanding, to support one another to aspire to return to the olden days of coalition governance even though at the peril of economic growth and development.
One thing of unanimity has, at the outset, emerged out of the merger and that is the new outfit to be headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav. He will also head its Parliamentary Board. As regards the symbol and other related issues, a six member panel comprising Deve Gowda, Om Prakash Chautala, Mulayam Singh Yadav etc shall decide. Irrespective of having learnt any lessons of total disintegration in early 1990s, the constituents perhaps see immediate danger to their very individual survival looking to Modi’s style of innovative working with a firm belief in what Winston Churchill once said that “success is not final, failure is not fatal but it is the courage to continue that counts ” and consequently his popularity abroad and across the country , as also as a result of scam free or any irregularities free 10 months governance , stability in prices and retail inflation having nosedived to a record low, spurt in investment in manufacturing sector especially from foreign countries being symptomatic of overall improvement on economic front is worrying them .This very positive scenario, instead should have made the conglomerate happy if they really love the country and not felt jitters across them for fear of an imminent rejection by the electorate hence to “fight the BJP jointly”. BJP should not, for that matter, take the development lightly as it is bound to put its strategy to win elections immediately in Bihar under pressure. Its complacency like in Delhi polls should never visit their strategies in any of the elections scheduled in the near future. The imminent personal antagonistic approach to various issues by the leaders of the constituents of the new outfit should never be taken for granted by the targeted Party in an equally tizzy free environ. That every ill whether in the administration, society or anywhere in the country is purposefully “treated” by the constituents by the medicine of “secularism in danger” and attributed to BJP and Sangh Parivar’s “hidden agenda to polarize and divide the society” must be countered by strict advisory to the office bearers, MPs, leaders etc of the ruling Party or its constituents to exercise utmost restraint while giving statements or addressing rallies or gatherings. Any sort of tongue in cheek or speaking about any community or communities in a bantering tone should constitute an act of indiscipline and such loose tongues should face the music. The Party leadership should ensure that the elected representatives of it should focus more on economic issues rather than on social and religious issues. That alone shall empty the quiver of these seemingly opportunist and hypocritical constituents whose aim is no betterment of the country or strive for comparative economic development but to “fight the BJP” and oppose to the extent of denigrating its charismatic leader.
Had there been issues of national and international importance which these Parties, now claiming to have merged, would promise to offer better solutions than the present dispensation, it would carry some sense besides they would have been that proverbial worth weight in gold but the fact of the matter is that the move of integration or merger is nothing but an attempt of desperation. They, with just 15 seats in total in the Lok Sabha and a vote share of less than 6.7% dream to stop the juggernaut and surging popularity of Modi’s worth and dexterity of governance. While leader of the most powerful democracy in the world, the US is praising Modi as the most capable “reformist -in -chief of India who has laid out an ambitious vision to reduce extreme poverty, improve education, empower women and girls and unleash India’s true economic potential……..”, these leaders are uniting only and only to stop him and relegate him to the background. Ahmed Patel of Congress dares to call him “Daryudan” and again another leader of the Congress, Aanad Sharma diagnoses in him a mental disease, “suffers from a mindset which is unhealthy and that is serious situation for the country.” Another leader of Congress Digvijay Singh who is always very keen to know about the welfare of the terrorists like “Osama Ji ki dead body ko kahan rakha” and now his demand as to “under which sections of the CrPc have Masrat Alam “sahib” and Sayeed Geelani “Sahib” been booked by the BJP – PDP coalition must be made public” . Congress policy to name India haters and terrorists with respectable suffixes like “Ji” and “Sahib” vindicates the stand that if Kashmir is reduced to what we have been witnessing since 1990, the onus is on the Congress Party. The affliction crossing a degree of its advanced stage often becomes difficult if not impossible to cure. Remember another leader of the Congress Sushil Kumar Shindey calling terrorist Hafiz Sayeed with respectful suffix “Sahib” is reminiscent of Congress’s appeasement policy even in favour of known India baiters and haters as well as secessionists and traitors.
What policy vision shall the new formation adopt that benefits the country is mired in the haze of uncertainty. Mere bogy raising of secularism – communalism, cast politics etc always was neither going to solve the country’s immediate problems nor hold this country in high esteem among the great nations of the world. Perhaps sensing this imminent faltering by the new formation, the Left has refused to join them; BSP and its leader Mayawati Ji too are keeping a distance from any merger move with these socialist tag carriers. BJD, DMK, TMC, AIADMK and the like are not, even in the least, going to join or merge with the Janta Parivar. The new outfit has no economic policy and foreign policy that could better upon those pursued by the Congress or now by the BJP led NDA. They are engrossed in mere arithmetic rather than any chemistry. They are silent on Kashmir or for that purpose, the hue and cry raised there against the NDA government’s move of rehabilitation and resettlement of hounded out Kashmiri Pandits. They have no policy on FDI, Nuclear programme , population control , electoral reforms, curbing of corruption (two of the constituent leaders are themselves convicted, one is in jail and the other is out on bail). That is why; there is skepticism about the success of the experiment of coming together by these six “most secular” Parties.
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