Modi was in Kerala the other day. His
speech was distressingly interspersed with the ominous phrase “Modi’s guarantee”.
For example, he would say: “Every Indian will have a toilet, this is Modi’s
guarantee” or “India will be a $5 trillion economy, this is Modi’s guarantee.”
This morning, the latest edition of a Malayalam weekly, Sathyadeepam, reached me along with
other subscribed publications. I was impressed by its editorial. Please allow
me translate it and bring it to you because I think it deserves to be read by
many more people than the limited subscribers of Sathyadeepam. Those who
wish to read it in the original Malayalam can do so here. The
translation is not literal, I have taken the liberty to edit it for the sake of
better clarity to a non-Keralite reader. I hope the Sathyadeepam editor will
forgive my transgressions.
Modi is not the guarantee, the country's
constitution is. Since the prime minister has the
constitutional obligation to ensure development and security to the people of
India, Modi's guarantee in his political speech at Thrissur on January 3
actually surprised political observers.
Modi's repeated declaration that he is
'guarantee for everything' from projects such as Ujjwala gas for 10 crore
people, piped clean water for 11 crore people, toilets for 12 crore families
and bank accounts for 60 lakh women sounded as if he was doing some personal
charity to the nation.
What is the credibility of Modi’s
guarantees anyway? One of the big guarantees of the first Modi government, the
recovery of black money and the 'guarantee' of an additional Rs 15,00,000
deposit into every Indian’s account, is yet to be implemented. What about the
guarantee of jobs, women empowerment, food security…?
The Supreme Court's recent observation
that there was no need for a special investigation team against the country's
leading industrialist Adani in the wake of the Hindenburg Report came as a big
relief not only to Adani but also to the BJP government. The opposition
parties, especially the Congress leadership, are constantly raising the
allegation that Adani's astonishing growth rate is due to Modi's
'guarantee'. The main allegation was that the market value of Adani
companies was inflated by manipulating the stock market.
While guaranteeing the inauguration of the
Ram Temple in Ayodhya has become the main campaign weapon of the BJP as it
prepares to capture the North in the 2024 general elections, the political
battle in South India is dominated by development rhetoric.
When BJP claims that Modi's guarantee is
decisive in bringing back Indians safely from any disturbed part of the world,
does Modi not know the concern of secular India that the same guarantee is not available
in Manipur, a land of unrest and brutal genocide, even after months?
Is Modi, who claims to have become
teary-eyed while seeking the blessings of some Christian leaders during the
Christmas dinner hosted at the Prime Minister's residence, not aware that the Christmas
Eve in Manipur was riotous and violent this time? Both Modi and the
Christian leaders conveniently forgot Manipur while enjoying their Christmas
dinner and the newfound camaraderie.
The BJP grew from two seats in 1984 to 161
in 1996, 282 in 2014, 303 seats in 2019, and a vote share of 7.74% in 1984 to
37.46% in 2019. It is now arming itself with the Ram Temple and the Citizenship
Amendment Bill for the 2024 succession. Now when Modi the individual becomes
the guarantee for everything, it is the very principle of democracy that dies
in public spaces. Don't forget that in the new era where 150 MPs are
expelled from the parliament and 'democratic protection' is assured in the
'Modi guarantee', the continuation of the old totalitarian era of 'India is
Indira' is also being sought here.
Opposition MPs were expelled 71 times
during the Modi regime. The introduction of the bill that
castrated the Election Commission in the absence of the opposition was a major
move on the path of the destruction of democracy by the Modi government. It is
extremely sad to note the extent to which the legislature and the judiciary
have been made puppets in the hands of one man called Modi. The Modi
government has already opposed the collegial system of appointment of judges. With the appointment of a Modi and Amit Shah confidant
as the CAG, that neutrality system also effectively disappeared. Is it a
coincidence that chants of Jai Hind keep turning into Shree Ram chants and
finally to Modi Jai slogans?
'Modi Guarantee' should be seen as a
constitutional crisis rather than just a slogan coined by Modi himself. Modi
seems to think that democracy can be turned into a mere 'harvest' festival when
public relations are degenerated into a 'show' on the road.
The crowd in Thrissur seems
to have forgotten the agricultural black laws that have reduced millions of
farmers to terrible poverty and driven many of them to suicide, the sports
women in India who are forced to abandon their dreams in fear of Modi’s brutish
partymen, and the development concept which accelerates price hikes.
The sceptre has reached the palace, now
all that remains is the coronation. It remains to be seen whether the
Congress, which takes advantage of the hypocrisy of soft Hindutva, and the
Left, which supports reactionary politics to the point of undermining even
those who protest democratically, will continue to provide the guarantee of
constitutional rule during the election period. That is the guarantee of
their future. What India needs is not the guarantee of any individual whose
policies are making subjects of citizens. What India needs is the
guarantee of a Constitution that liberates the citizens into individuals who
can dream high and fulfil those dreams.
Hari Om
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to prepare this article. It's a riveting and somewhat disturbing read. And a brave one to have written given the Modi inclination to take down 'negative' journalism. YAM xx
This weekly is a Catholic publication with limited circulation. But its editorials usually draw attention so much so that mainstream media often quote them.
DeleteBeautiful blog
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeletePlease read my post
ReplyDeleteI did.
DeleteWhy are these sorts of leaders showing up everywhere now? I don't like the times in which we live.
ReplyDeleteI too wonder why there is an excess of narcissism in politics today.
DeleteThank you for translating it. After yesterday, the coronation is indeed complete 🤐
ReplyDeleteTrue. Not only coronation, it's also a deification. As Mohan Bhagwat puts it, Modi is now the King of gods.
Delete