New Parliament, new goals – time to give up old poli-tricks

­As the new building of India’s Parliament is inaugurated, our hearts and minds are filled with pride, hope and promise. May this iconic building be a cradle of empowerment, igniting dreams and nurturing them into reality. May it propel our great nation to new heights of progress - Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Fantastic. Nobody can disagree with PM Modi on this. While dedicating the new Temple of Democracy as he himself described the new Parliament House, he said the building connects planning to reality, policy to realization, willpower to execution, and sankalp to siddhi. Claps. Claps.

“New models can be established only by treading new paths”, the Prime Minister remarked as he highlighted that the new India is realizing new goals and paving new ways. Exactly. The new goals and new ways should not be one sided. What is the point in scoring goals without the defence goalkeeper? Or to put it in cricket language, what is the point in hitting shots without fielders? In these columns we have always been discussing the importance of two-way communication in a democracy like ours.

The Parliament Building inauguration was marked by many unsavoury developments. First, the government chose to ignore President Droupadi Murmu. Then someone went to the Supreme Court seeking due respect for the first citizen. The Congress and other opposition parties, totalling 21, have boycotted the new Parliament function protesting against not inviting the President of India.

Traditionally, the President of India addresses the joint sessions of Parliament. It would have been only appropriate for the government to have invited the President for the dedication event of the new Parliament House.

The BJP’s defence was that even the Congress set precedents by not inviting the First Citizen for inauguration of an annex to the old Parliament House and opening of the Parliament library which were done by Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi respectively. So? Why is the BJP hell bent on repeating the Congress’ mistakes? Do the ruling party leaders believe that two wrongs can equal one right? Why do they keep harping on trolling the Nehru-Gandhi party when the Prime Minister himself is on a mission to undo what the Congress had done during the 60 years of its rule?

The PM said, “there is a new energy, new zeal, new enthusiasm, new thinking and a new journey. There are new visions, new directions, new resolutions and a new trust”. Then why does he encourage or turn a Nelson’s eye to his Ministers and social media handlers who keep harping on the old things and replaying the tweets by Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka, Kharge and Jairam Ramesh. More than this, why do they keep hammering Congress sympathisers? Even looking at the Congress victory in Karnataka Assembly elections, the PM merely wished them success in fulfilling the promises made to the people without offering any help from the Centre. Courtesy would have demanded him to say: forget the political rivalries during the poll heat, let the Centre and States work together for the welfare of the people. BJP does not believe in any step-motherly treatment to non-BJP governments. Nation first. Well, it requires a stateman to demonstrate this kind of Centre-State cooperation. Would Vajpayee have allowed non-inclusive development policies? Or concentration of multi-billion-dollar projects in few chosen BJP-run states such as Uttar Pradesh?

The Prime Minister said that the world is looking towards India’s determination, its citizens’ vigour and the life of human power in India with respect and hope. Absolutely right. But the PM and his Cabinet colleagues must know that the world is also looking at all other developments with great interest. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo, the Karnataka election results and of late the women wrestlers’ protest against alleged sexual harassment by the Wrestling Federation of India’s chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Singh should have been asked to quit the post, face the inquiry and prove his innocence if what he claims is true. The man, who faces a case under the POCSO Act, now says that the law is being ‘misused’. Instead of trying to come out clean, he is planning a religious gurus’ event to pressurise the government to amend the POCSO Act. In the next 25 years, the Prime Minister emphasized that the new laws to be made in this new Parliament House will make India a developed nation, help push poverty out of India and create new opportunities for the youth and women of the country. It is in this context that we would like to show the mirror to the government – look at the women wrestlers’ concerns over sexual harassment. It is a very sensitive issue. Modi loves to invoke Ramayan and Mahabharat which also deal with the cases of sexual harassment and the ultimate result of lack of respect for women. Much as Nation First, the government must also imbibe the ethos of Beti Bachao…among a cross section, sports bodies included. Once an FIR is filed, it is expected that Singh quits and allows an impartial investigation and return if he is proved not guilty. Though the sports bodies are supposed to be independent, the government can nudge them to act in such sensitive cases.

Remember what happened during the Nirbhaya crisis? The protestors almost reached the Rashtrapati Bhavan even as the Manmohan Singh Government had put the case on fast-track and sent Nirbhaya for treatment to Singapore. BJP and the rest of the opposition had come down so heavily on the Manmohan Singh Government that as if the Centre was to blame for the ghastly crime.

The anti-corruption agitation led by Anna Hazare and the wave of protests against the Coalgate and 2G scams have tremendously contributed to the success of the BJP in the general elections of 2014 and even later. The party which rode to power on the wave of protests appears to have developed so much intolerance that it either tries to suppress the voice of descent or defames the opposition of any kind – political and principled. The world has watched the India Against Corruption (IAC) and the world is watching the current wave of protests, election results and the country’s sliding ranks in terms of freedom of expression index.

The Prime Minister said that the new Parliament Building will strengthen the nation's belief in its success and will inspire everyone towards a Viksit Bharat. “We will have to move with a spirit of - Nation First. We will have to keep the path of duty above all. We will have to be an example with our conduct while constantly improving ourselves. We will have to tread our own path”, he said.

Very well said, Prime Minister sir! We also recall how you had addressed Pakistan’s Imran Khan and called for a joint struggle against poverty, illiteracy and disease and work for people’s welfare on either side of the border. At the new Parliament, Modi underlined that the path of empowerment of the poor, Dalit, backward, tribal, disabled, and every deprived family of the society, along with prioritizing the development of the deprived will pass through this Parliament. “Every brick, every wall, every particle of this new Parliament House will be dedicated to the welfare of the poor”, he said. No dispute on this.

As the new Parliament gives new energy and strength to the largest democracy of the world, isn’t it time the PM took lead and work on a joint strategy at home by involving a diverse section of the society – political, intellectual, environmental, educational and even scientists? The double engine that he and his CMs tom-tom about should be revisited and redefined as the federal engine – a new engine for the nation’s growth, and not merely the same party rule at the Centre and the States. UP CM Yogi has extended the PM’s doctrine to the municipal and panchayat bodies, calling for a triple-engine growth. Is it acceptable when the Prime Minister himself calls for the Nation First policy? Can the nation truly progress if only UP or MP get all the Centre’s help and States such as Bengal or Telangana are denied the double-engine benefit? Nation First should not mean BJP First and nothing for the rest.

“India is not only a democratic nation but also the mother of democracy”, the Prime Minister said as he noted that the nation is the principal foundation for global democracy. He underlined that democracy is not just a system that is practised in India but it is a culture, thought and tradition. Just as democracy, Hinduism has also been part of our society teaching tolerance, mutual respect and all the virtues that the PM mentioned - justice, truth, dignity and duty.

The PM rightly said Parliament is the resolution of 140 crore Indians and every decision taken here will adorn the coming centuries and strengthen the coming generations. The 140 crore Indians that we talk about include everyone – BJP, the opposition, women, media (both pro-BJP and independent). Nation First should also mean Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas - from Panchayat to Parliament. New Parliament must make new beginnings of inclusive federalism.

(The columnist is a Mumbai-based independent media veteran, running websites and a YouTube channel known for his thought-provoking messaging)