Strong Govt doesn’t mean dictatorship

Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fandnavis says Rahul is god’s gift to BJP. Jokes apart, Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party have to buck up and work with the rest of the opposition to save democracy. The nation will not forgive him for his follies

You must have observed the change of colours on the face of Vasundhara Raje Scindia when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over a chit to her apparently informing her of the new Rajasthan Chief Minister as chosen by the party high command. Everybody, including she herself, was expecting that she would be asked to take over the reigns of Rajasthan after the party’s convincing victory against the incumbent Congress government. But the Mo-Sha duo had other ideas. Earlier, in Madhya Pradesh too, Shivraj Singh Chauhan who led the party to and beat the incumbency factor was sidelined and a new face, a first time MLA Mohan Yadav, was nominated as the new CM. Ditto strategy in Chhattisgarh where the former CM Raman Singh was expected to rule the State again after the defeat of Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress Government. But the Mo-Sha duo chose Vishnudeo Sai.

All along all BJP leaders have been saying that the legislature party would choose its CM candidates in a democratic way. But the party high command preferred the Indira Gandhi’s style of functioning of naming the State CMs and ignoring the popular sentiment within the party. In fact, the new CMs were nominated after more than a week of declaration of the election results.

We have been cautioning that the repetition of Indira Gandhi’s style and one-way communication are not good for democracy and even for the BJP itself. Indira did not allow anyone to emerge as a top leader. She would quickly cut the wings of those who had the potential to challenge her authority by becoming popular. Examples could be dime a dozen. All the Congress CMs were handpicked by her and the inner party democracy meant that her nominees would be “unanimously” elected. There was no room any murmurs. She committed the blunder of declaring the infamous Emergency and was severely punished by the electorate for that. The floodgates of opposition to her opened under severe pressure from within the party and leaders such as Jagjivan Ram, H N Bahuguna and Chandrashekhar jumped out of the Congress.

The Mo-Sha duo, too, would not allow anyone in BJP to emerge strong. As Modi was anointed as the PM candidate in 2014 itself, several senior leaders such as Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were sidelined and the likes of Arun Shourie and Dr Subramanian Swamy had no voice in the party. It was Modi and Modi all the way and once the BJP government was formed, it turned out to just Mo-Sha and Mo-Sha and nothing else. While Modi leads the campaign juggernaut - whether it is an election season or not – Amit Sha does all the back-end Chanakya Neeti.

The political promise of ‘Modi Guarantee’that the PM himself has chanted during the last five legislative assembly elections, has now become an official slogan. The Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra has now emerged as the Modi Guarantee Vehicle and none other that Modi himself has affirmed this.

He remarked that thoughit was Modi who has flagged off the Yatra, the truth is that today the countrymen have taken charge of it. He noted the enthusiasm and competition for welcoming the ‘Modi Ki Guarantee ki Gadi’ during his interaction with the beneficiaries of government schemes such as the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and the Ayushman Health Card.

There is no harm in spreading the message about the benefits of the government schemes for the larger good of the people. But it could be an ongoing process and not a pre-election blitzkrieg.

This Yatra has been involving all government officials and not sparing even Aanganwadi (rural playschool) workers and the post masters, as seen in Uttar Pradesh. There are clearcut instructions from CM Yogi Adityanath to ensure the attendance of the government employees at the publicity yatras.

All these yatras right from NTR’s Chaitanya Ratham to Ram Rath Yatra and Bharat Jodo have had political agenda and they did not involve any government machinery. But today, no one questions the way the VikasitBharat Yatra is being conducted. Why doesn’t the BJP government invite the opposition parties too to be part of the Yatra if it is truly meant to be a national development tool? Even the Congress or Trinamool ruled states have their own welfare schemes. Why can’t these be combined into comprehensive people-oriented and truly inclusive projects?

This is where the importance of a strong opposition arises. The nation deserves it and the responsibility lies with the Congress and other parties to provide the check-and-balance required for a democracy.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra and the subsequent meeting of INDIA block showed signs of an opposition unity. But the way the Congress treated the alliance partners during the latest elections to the five-State legislative assemblies belied all hopes. Post the results, all opposition parties have naturally blasted the Congress for its arrogance and over confidence in not agreeing to electoral adjustments. Even 15 days after the drubbing – except for in Telangana – the Congress does not show of any signs of talking to the opposition to take stock of the political scenario and a combined action. The expulsion of Mahua Moitra has given the opposition a grand opportunity for a grand alliance and exposes the bulldozing BJP. What is holding them up from joining forces other than showing a symbolic protest at Parliament House?

Long ago, we said in these columns that Rahul Gandhi is the biggest asset for Narendra Modi because of the Congress leader’s lack of seriousness. Today, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fandnavis says Rahul is god’s gift to BJP. Jokes apart, Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party have to buck up and work with the rest of the opposition to save democracy. The nation will not forgive him for his follies.

As we keep saying, the Sab ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas and Sab Ka Prayas will remain only an election stunt unless the nation experiences an inclusive development. India cannot be a super power on the basis of the rich getting richer and merely tom-tomming the GDP statistics, and particularly when 60 per cent of the population depends on free rations and freebies. For the nation to be self-reliant, every citizen has to be free of freebies and able to lead a quality life. That can happen only when the employment opportunities grow, the spending power increases thus leading to the growth of the economy. In real terms, economic growth is demonstrated by rising per capita income, ease of living index, apart from the mere ease-of-doing business.

As former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subba Rao writes in The Times of India, rule of law, strong state and democratic accountability are the key ingredients for India to become a developed country. A strong State does not mean an authoritarian State that rules with an iron fist, he rightly says.

If an authoritarian Sate were to prevail, India would have emerged a super power during Indira Gandhi’s regime. But it doesn’t work that way.

A strong nation is built by a strong government on the basis of the economic strength of the people on the back of a strong opposition to check the authoritarian rulers. That’s what Sab ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas and Sab Ka Prayas should be about.

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