The rise of a new, strong opposition – Hope for democracy

We will know on June 4 whether it is going to be Char Sau Paar or Tadi Paar, but for now the emergence of a cohesive opposition is a good sign. Will they remain united after the elections, irrespective of the results? The answer is in this question: Do they have a choice? It is their credibility that will take a big hit if they repeat the flop show of the Janata Party of 1979

We have been campaigning (pun intended) for a strong opposition in the interest of our democracy as one-nation-one-party is not good for the nation. The way the BJP has grown during the past 10 years, decimating the opposition by hook or by crook is not good for the saffron party itself, let alone the nation at large. We also discussed the series of undemocratic incidents such as attempts to manipulate election results, demolishing the regional parties and unsettling the democratically elected governments. Then we have had cases of the government targeting and jailing the opposition leaders with cases by the ED, CBI and the Income Tax Department. For long – in fact, ten years – the opposition could not get their voice across the majority media. And, this column has advocated a united strong opposition and backed the idea of INDIA bloc to defend democracy.

Continuing the tirade against the opposition leaders and breaking all norms of decency, BJP leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Smriti Irani and UP CM Yogi Adityanath have been literally spewing venom.

Modi has, in fact, been leading the rain of lies, damn lies and communal politics on the Congress and the rest of the opposition calling them all sorts of names. He has been harping on the things that have not been said in the Congress manifesto and not saying a word about his own party’s performance and promise. He landed himself in a soup by asking the Congress if they had taken tempo loads of black money from the big industrialists. This would have sent the BJP running for cover, but they did not have to. Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer himself gave the BJP the fodder with his out of context and irrelevant statement about Pakistan’s nuclear capability.

Actually, Modi has kept the opposition busy by forcing them to respond to his allegations covering mutton, machli, X Ray machine, mangalsutra and buffalos. He brought down the standard of electioneering to less than street level arey-turey fights. Then the Ambani-Adani episode. And he was back with his Hindu-Muslim rhetoric in Bengal. Less said the better about the intervention of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The Congress has consciously relied on Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo yatras and the lessons that he learnt. All those who dismissed Rahul as a political novice and an irrelevant character are now forced not only to sit back and take note of him but stand up and focus only on attacking the Congress prince (Shahzaada). Check, even Amit Shah was forced to admit that the election fight is Modi Versus Rahul Gandhi. That is a big achievement for the Congress leader.

Rahul may not be a good orator and shouting speaker. In fact, he is not. But he has certainly evolved as a political speaker. The way he flashes a copy of Constitution of India, the way he tries to connect with the youth (Aap ka shirt kitney ka hai?) and the way he raises the common man’s issues of employment, price rise and poverty and representation (of the lack of it) of the SC, ST, Adivasi and general caste poor across the sections – from the government to media jobs – definitely strike a chord with his audiences.

Does anyone in BJP remember demonetisation? Why does it not form part of the party’s manifesto? Why doesn’t Modi discuss its benefits and how it helped uncover the black money and end terror funding? Let us not forget that Modi himself had made a prestigious issue and even dramatically volunteered to take any punishment in public. But Rahul keeps saying how demonetisation wrecked the medium and small businesses and threw many out of their jobs. And how the wrong GST unsettled the small economies.

Well, apart from speaking about big infra projects, road development and the GDP growth that supposedly made India the 5th largest economy, neither the BJP nor PM Modi have specific to talk about. The per capita growth remains low and according to worldometers.info, India ranks 120, one step above Bangladesh and much below nations such as Grenada, Peru and Egypt. This is where the Congress talks of Nyay or justice for the poor and backward. The BJP is silent except saying that 81 crore people are getting free rations. It turns out that the so-called free ration is just a 5 kg food grain bag (with Modi’s photo on it) per month and one is supposed to survive on it.

The national Godi media fails to question Modi on his own statement that he is vehemently against freebies as they hurt the economy and fails to tell the nation as to how he plans to pull the people out of this freebie poverty. From the manifesto to the latest speeches, the only thing the BJP has to offer is the 2047 Viksit Bharat Carrot.

Let me present the case study of a small painter and civil worker from Uttar Pradesh who was forced to run away to his native village in Jaunpur district during the lockdown and had to return to Mumbai soon. He says: If I am unemployed and if I am poor, it is not enough for the government to tell me that by 2047, my country will be a developed country. I need to know what I am going to get now when I desperately need a job. Ram Mandir is fine, all are happy over it. I want Ram Rajya in which there is happiness all around.

Rahul, Priyanka and INDIA block leaders are definitely getting impressive crowds and the people are clapping in the opposition’s election meetings.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Tejaswi Yadav, Sanjay Singh have all emerged as good speakers who attract equally good crowds. Arvind Kejriwal, too, began getting fair attention in his public addresses after getting SC relief to campaign. Mamta Bannerjee is as usual fiery in her speeches. Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray do enjoy some sympathy after the BJP split the Shiv Sena and the NCP. But it is noteworthy that Uddhav too evolved and made his point against the BJP-engineered split and those who said backstabbed the Shiv Sena formed by Bal Thackeray.

The opposition has been quite quick in cornering the BJP on the Prajwal Revanna sex scandal and the Ambani-Adani donation jibe while trying to provide answers to the socio-economic crisis. It is important for all the INDIA leaders to maintain unity.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has accepted a suggestion by some former judges and a senior journalist for a public debate on the issues raised by the BJP and the Congress leaders. PM Modi has not addressed a single press conference as the Prime Minister during the past 10 years and we do not expect him to accept the one-on-one public debate challenge with Rahul Gandhi.

We will know on June 4 whether it is going to be Char Sau Paar or Tadi Paar, but for now the emergence of a cohesive opposition is a good sign. Will they remain united after the elections, irrespective of the results? The answer is in this question: Do they have a choice? It is their credibility that will take a big hit if they repeat the flop show of the Janata Party of 1979.

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