Modi turns unassailable
Shaadaab S. Bakht
@ShaadaabSBakhtShaadaab S. Bakht, who worked for famous Indian dailies The Telegraph, The Pioneer, The Sentinel and wrote political commentaries for Tehelka.com, is Gulf Today’s Executive Editor.
Amit Shah, the head of the BJP party (second from left) and Narendra Modi after the election results were announced. File
Narendra Modi is back again as premier. And we mustn’t grudge him for that because he has been elected and not selected, and by millions. Some of us may not agree with his ways — pro-corporate stand, an inconsiderate plan to get rid of black money, extremely tardy response to fugitive tycoons — and that is our democratic right.
That he went ahead with his agenda sidestepping all concerns was his democratic right.
‘India is the world’s largest democracy, which recognises nothing but numbers, and Modi has them in unchallengeable proportions’
India is the world’s largest democracy, which recognises nothing but numbers, and Modi has them in unchallengeable proportions.
The voting, that took place over weeks, indicates and in no uncertain terms that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) completely blew the Congress Party out of the water and left it unhealthily beached.
The record margin of the victory can’t be attributed to the economy because it is stuttering or to the agricultural sector because its woes are common knowledge or to the employment factor because it is anything but sound.
Therefore, there is a serious temptation to believe that apart from the sanitation and the rural electrification programmes what must have really brought home love for the BJP was its unadmitted campaign to conquer the fear of the insatiable advocates of majoritarianism, who felt that all political outfits had gone too far with their policies of minority appeasement.
The fear-stricken had thought that the minorities’ share of the pie was growing at an alarming rate and had to be stopped.
The subtle effort of the BJP on that front was reflected in the speeches of its leaders. A party big-timer referred to the minorities as termites. Another heavyweight said, “If you want to eat beef go to Pakistan.”
That kind of front-bench rhetoric was expected to earn rich dividends in a country where the political boiling point is extremely low. And it did.
Well, all isn’t lost for the nearly 12 per cent of the Indians. The prime minister did speak of an inclusive India as he reacted to his incredible triumph.
“Unfortunately, minorities of this country have been kept in fear, used in elections. We have to end this cycle,” Modi said, calling for winning the trust and confidence of the minorities.
He accused the opposition parties of keeping the minorities confused and frightened, instead of working on the improvement of education and health among them.
We are sure Modi will not change his position on the minorities, but unfortunately his colleagues could because in the world of realpolitik truth is viewed as a highly demanding intruder and fair play an unrelenting adversary.
