BJP
Government has miserably failed on each account and the Indian electorate is
feeling the punch now.
Disclaimer: This essay may look like a myriad mix of issues put together to make a larger point. Yes it is, because if we look through the dirty dingy kaleidoscope of Modi Govt’s failures; where each failure reflects on the other ; we come across the real tyranny and treachery of the Modi regime.
We are seeing at multiple issues boxed into one fascist regime- A regime where a fringe party has become mainstream but has not shed its core divisive emotive agendas.
At the cost of being long, this
essay reflects that deep-seated treachery which every Indian is feeling at the
hands of Narendra Modi and sometimes is unable to articulate.
A
deep sense of betrayal has engulfed the people of India. A million mutinies are
taking place in the hearts and minds of the people. Everyday a new socio-political
issue bothers them and for a moment and enrages a feeling of utter disappointment.
That is the moment of truth. Some try to brush that aside by imagining the
alternative, which they feel would be inferior. Some try to find silver linings
of religion in the dark clouds of despair and want to cling to that line to justify
their choice. Some have just learnt to take all this in stride and have given
up altogether. Some have manifested their mutinies by active political and
societal participation and have borne the brunt of the backlash from the state.
Some have just remained silent for the quinquennial ritual of democracy to
arrive and shall only react through the ballot to reply in kind to the tyranny
of the present dispensation. Yes, we all are feeling a churning within; but we
all are guided by our very own paths to reciprocate to this deep sense of
betrayal which the Narendra Modi Government has forced India to.
The
world’s largest democracy’s present fascist regime is jailing people in public
life on concocted charges of building an ‘anti-fascist front’ and justifying it
by linking a Dalit-Maratha self-engineered tension to a Naxal plot. On top of
it, it uses the perceived excesses of the previous regime as a convenient alibi
to justify its sins. Fighting Naxalism is not a sin. But targeting individuals in the name of fighting Naxalism is a sin. Naxalism is the biggest
internal security threat which India is facing since the last couple of
decades. It is a roadblock to development in one third of our districts. It can
be prevented by various methods. Force is only one of them. Engagement is
always a better option. Inducements and leverages are a third. Development and
confidence building is the best option. Sometimes all of them have to work
together in tandem to wipe it out. Congress has done it in the past in many states-
Andhra Pradesh & Maharashtra. Also, No other party has borne the brunt of
Naxalism, as does the Congress. Its entire Chhattisgarh top brass was wiped out
few years ago. If you a have political
will and support of the locals, you can wipe it off. Targeting NGO’s, activists,
writers et al, only reveals a mindset of a fascist impotent regime that lacks
the statecraft, the democratic principles and the roadmap to tackle this
serious and sensitive issue.
Moreover,
Dalits and Marathas have been peacefully living together in Maharashtra since
ages and Dalits have been observing the Bhima Koregaon anniversary peacefully
since decades. The cheapest form of appeasement politics laced with religious
fundamentalism has been employed by the BJP to ‘divide and conquer’ these
castes in Maharashtra. They are employing the same tactic in Haryana (Jats vs
Non-Jats) and Uttar Pradesh (Brahmins vs Rajputs).
Emotive
issues are the flavour of the political climate in India. In faraway Assam, an exercise
which was supposed to accomplish a solemn accord- ‘Assam Accord’ was
surreptitiously used by the BJP for ulterior political motives. Thanks to the
people of Assam, the state by itself did not slip into communal chaos, even as
the BJP used its full media might in Delhi to whip up passions. What was
supposed to be a Citizen vs Illegal migrant issue was turned into a Hindu vs
Muslim issue and was used by the ruling Govt to target the minorities of Assam.
It is an undeniable fact that even though Assam there are fissures between Assamese
people and Bengali (or Hindi) speaking people, those tensions have been limited
to a language/cultural issues. People of Assam did not have a Hindu-Muslim
issue, to put it bluntly. But exploiting societal fissures to win votes lies at
the core of BJP’s ideology.
So,
BJP- the double headed snake was precisely vying for that blood. ‘Double headed’
because contrary to the tall claims of BJP President maliciously pinning the
blame on the Congress for ‘encouraging the stay of illegal Bangladeshis’ (sic);
Facts show that between 2005 to 2013, Congress-UPA deported 49 times more
illegal Bangladeshis to Bangladesh, than Modi Govt. For the record,
Congress-UPA deported 88,792 illegal Bangladeshi migrants, while Modi Govt
(till 2017) deported only 1822 of them. Moreover, Indian citizenship, according
to India’s Constitution is provided by the ‘birth’ and not merely by ‘ancestral
lineage’ as is being espoused by the BJP- so the question of having an NRC to
weed out Indian citizens by birth with foreign lineage, across the country does
not arise. Execution of NRC was shoddy and the blame for its mal-implementation
lies squarely with the BJP.
Talking
about nonperformance, two large of constituencies of the Indian electorate are
particularly displeased and distressed by the present regime – Youth and
Farmers. Lofty promises of creating 2 Cr jobs every year made by Narendra Modi
has yielded no results. In the age of the millennials, the PM is telling us we
don’t have data to measure how many jobs India created. It is not as if that
the data was not collected in the previous regimes. Labour Bureau Survey is the
most authentic government data on jobs. But Modi Govt. has failed to release
the same for Oct-Dec 2017. Modi’s tall jargon and unscientific methods to
somehow count and claim the number of jobs infact act a rubbing salts on the
wounds of an already disappointed youth. EPFO, MUDRA loans and even anecdotal
evidence is being sighted by the BJP to fool the people of India.
EPFO
data cannot be a measure of job creation because according to statutory
requirements, when an organization has 20 or more employees it comes under
EPFO’s ambit. So, if a firm has 19 employees and it adds one more to its
payroll, then all 20 will have to be registered under EPFO. This gives a false
picture that 20 jobs were created instead of just one. As explained by many
economists – one MUDRA loan cannot be counted as one Job, because the average
size of MUDRA loans disbursed just Rs 47,268. In this paltry amount, no
sustainable job can be created. Not even a proper Pakora stall or a Paan shop
can be opened in this amount of money!
Millennials
are also being continuously monitored by this regime. The Orwellian maxim of ‘Big
Brother is Watching You’ is ubiquitously on display under this government. In
the garb of AADHAAR leakages, ‘Social Media Communication Hub’ and accessing sensitive
data through NaMo App- the Modi Govt is truly working like the ‘Ministry of
Truth’ that violates and curbs our Right to Privacy. Additionally, youth are
being told ‘what to wear’, what to eat’, what to watch’ and ‘what to do’.
Banning of Art and Censorship has reached monstrous proportions. Couple all
this with numerous agitations and conspiratorial campus unrest that have taken
place in virtually every University of India, has further vitiated the space
for dissent and has led to suppression and oppression of India’s youth. ‘Beti
Bachao’ has only been relegated to sloganeering and advertisements. Only 5
paisa is being spend on a girl child- Yes- That is the budget of Modi Govt,
this year, on ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’. We have seen how many horrific and
gruesome incidents have taken place in home shelters in BJP ruled states and
how BJP men were involved in Naliya, Kathua and Unnao.
Farmers
are definitely very angry. They were promised ‘Cost +50%’ as MSP. They are
still being promised smooth supply chain from ‘beej’ to ‘bazaar’- But
nothing has been delivered to them. On top of that, for the first time in
history, Agriculture is being taxed through the GST. Modi Govt attempted to
disguise the MSP announcement of 4th July, 2018 as an ‘Electoral Lollipop’ for
credit seeking and duping the farmers. But that also was too little too late.
For example- MSP of Paddy according to Cost +50% should be Rs 2340 per quintal,
but Modi Govt has only provided Rs 1750 per quintal i.e Rs 590 per quintal less
than Modi Govt's promise. Similarly, the MSP of Jowar according to Cost +50%
should be Rs 3275 per quintal, but Modi Govt has only provided Rs 2430 per
quintal i.e Rs 845 per quintal less than Modi Govt's promise and the MSP of
Moong according to Cost +50% should be Rs 9241 per quintal, but Modi Govt has
only provided Rs 6975 per quintal i.e Rs 2266 per quintal less than Modi Govt's
promise.
The
biggest disservice that the BJP could have done to this country is to
completely decimate its economic foundations. There is no exaggeration in this
assertion. The foundations of India’s economy were embedded in its thousands of
small and medium businesses and the unorganized sector. Both received a severe
blow because of the mindless decision of Demonetisation. No matter how many
idiotic reasons the Modi Govt presents and no matter how many goalposts it
change- fact is that Demonetisation virtually demolished the structures of a
thriving economy and couldn’t achieve any of its stated purposes. Even this
freshly propped goalpost of increasing the tax base is a white lie. There are
two important facts that cut through this fog. First, the direct taxes grew by 151% over UPA
I tenure and by 68% during UPA II tenure, but have only grown by 43% so far
during the Modi Government's tenure. Second, had the BJP matched the UPA II
growth rates in direct tax collections for last four years, direct tax collection
would have crossed more than 10.5 lakh crore. But they failed at it miserably
and still take pride in achieving net collection of around 9.5 lakh crore. All
the other goalposts to enact Demonetisation have been successfully demolished
in the past.
A
flawed implementation of the GST, unending midnight knocking at the doors of
small-medium businesses which is called ‘Tax Terrorism’ in economic parlance
further assaulted the economy. Bank Loot Scams have become a norm and NPA’s are
soaring by the day. The escape of Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Mehul
Choksi, Jatin Mehta and many others could not have happened without the active
connivance of the Modi Government. Banking sector is in peril and people have
lost faith in Banks. Investment is low and exports are plunging. Rupee is
trading at its historic worse and Modi Govt has earned 11 Lakh Cr in taxes in
the past four years alone due to central taxes on Petrol and Diesel. There is
no respite from Price Rise and Current Account Deficit is rising. Forget 100
SMART Cities, no tangible investment in infrastructure is taking place and
Stalled Projects are rising by the month. This is how the BJP is banishing our
economy.
Economy
might be dead. But emotive issues are left. That is the opium for BJP’s
survival. If those people who look at the previously stated ‘silver lining’ of ‘religion’
in this dark cloud- open their eyes and minds. India would be a better place in
2019.
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