by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions, Politics
By Amulya Ganguli,
Just as Narendra Modi mocked the Congress on the rural employment scheme by saying that it was a living example — “jeeta jagta smarak” — of the party’s failures, the parliamentary approval of a 10 per cent quota for the economically weaker sections under the government’s aegis underlined its inadequacies on the economic front.
Had the economy been booming and there were jobs aplenty, there would have been no need for providing the crutches of reservations for another group in addition to the existing provisions for the scheduled castes (Dalits), scheduled tribes (Adivasis) and the Other Backward Castes (OBCs).
It was the perceived discontent over the absence of employment opportunities which made the government identify an additional 10 per cent of the population for affirmative action.
It may have felt that the initiative was all the more necessary because the popular angst over a moribund economy had found expression in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) recent electoral defeats in as many as five states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.
The BJP’s earlier failure to cross the halfway mark in Karnataka must have also been seen by the party along with the latest setbacks as a warning sign in the months before the next general election.
Moreover, the defeats in the heartland states were attributed to the disquiet among the middle and upper classes over not only the BJP’s economic policies, but its social stance as well in the context of its hesitancy to effectively counter the judicial relook at the law on atrocities affecting the Dalits and Adivasis, which annoyed the middle and upper classes/castes.
The latest set of quotas, therefore, are aimed both to assure the new beneficiaries about jobs and education and to reaffirm the party’s long-established brahmin-bania bias.
The twin objectives are unlikely to have an easy run. For one, by exceeding the judicial stipulation about a 50 per cent limit on reservations by introducing the new quotas, the government courts the risk of running into legal difficulties.
For another, in its attempt to woo the middle and upper castes, the BJP may open the gates for the quota warriors to create mayhem with various demands. Already, an OBC leader has called for doubling the quota for his community from 27 per cent to 54 to bring it closer to his estimate of the actual number of OBCs in the country.
For a third, the BJP’s pro-upper caste tilt can alienate the Dalits, Adivasis and the OBCs to the electoral advantage of the party’s opponents, especially in the Hindi heartland.
At the same time, the few “forwards” in these parties of the backward castes can move towards the BJP, compounding the confusion created by the reappearance of the caste-based “Mandal politics” of the 1990s.
But how will this divisive brand of caste mobilisation play out in the new era of economic aspirations? In the 1990s, the promise of assured jobs was deemed enough for the caste-based outfits to reap electoral benefits, sidelining the Congress and compelling the BJP to turn to the temple issue to keep its Hindu flock together.
But, now, the provision of quotas will mean little in the absence of jobs, as Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari recently told the Marathis demanding reservations.
The BJP will have to contend, therefore, not only with the legal hurdle relating to the quantum of quotas, but also the charge of making promises in a vacuum, as it were, since the expectations of the unemployed are unlikely to be fulfilled.
But these are not the only criticisms which it will face. No less strident, especially among the middle and upper classes, will be the charge that the BJP is turning its back on the economic reforms unlike the period immediately before the last general election and for a few years afterwards when it was seen to be in the forefront of the private sector-led rejuvenation of the economy.
Now that Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan has called for bringing the private sector within the ambit of the quota system, the feeling may grow that the BJP will have no option but to follow this regressive advice since the government and the public sector will not be able to provide enough jobs for the needy.
Since the Congress, too, had called for reservations in the private sector in 2003 and has not formally dissociated itself from the party’s 1955 pledge to usher in a “socialistic pattern of society”, it can be assumed that the Indian political class will not hesitate to move backwards towards a licence-permit-control raj.
The fact that the new law on quotas was passed almost unanimously in the two House of Parliament with only a few courageous MPs showing that they still live in the 21st century is evidence that the political class across the spectrum not only believes in a controlled economy, but also has no time for meritocracy.
To them, all that matters is cynically favouring their respective caste- and community-based vote banks through quotas and the strangulation of a free market since investments will dry up in such a society.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Describing the coming Lok Sabha elections as a “battle of two ideologies”, BJP President Amit Shah on Friday hit out at the proposed opposition grand alliance describing it as an “eyewash” and attacked the coming together of the SP and the BSP in Uttar Pradesh because they have realised that they cannot defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi on their own individually.
Asserting that 2019 will be a year of expansion for the BJP, he said Modi was leading the NDA that has 35 parties, the opposition does not have either a leader of a policy.
Sounding the poll bugle at the inauguration of the party’s two-day National Convention, he asked the BJP workers to resolve to bring Modi back to power in the general elections saying the people of the country will elect a “mazboot sarkar (strong government) and not a “mazboor sarkar” (compromising government).
Under pressure from the RSS and other members of the ‘Sangh Parivar’, Shah utilised the opportunity to assert that the government is keen on the construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya in accordance with Constitutional norms but accused the Congress of creating hurdles.
“This ‘mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance) is an eyewash. Everybody is fighting for their survival. We defeated them in 2014 and it is time to defeat them again. Politics is not physics but chemistry in which when two compounds meet they can lead to unintended consequences. They have come together for their self interest and for power. This is a battle that will have a far-reaching impact for centuries to come. It is necessary to win it.”
Touching upon the proposed alliance between arch rivals in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP President asked “if bua-bhatija’ (aunt-nephew) come together what will happen. They did not want to see each other’s face a few months back. They cannot sit together.”
“We are ready to fight the battle to get over 50 per cent vote share in Uttar Pradesh. We will get not less than 74 seats (one more than what the BJP and its allies got in 2014). They have united because they cannot defeat Modi on their own. This is acceptance of our strength, of the strength of Prime Minister Modi,” he said.
“There was a time when it used to be Congress versus all. Today it is a matter of pride that it is Modi versus all. He is a pole of Indian politics on the strength of his hard work,” he said.
Calling upon the BJP workers to take a resolve for the re-election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, Amit Shah compared the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to the third battle of Panipat.
Shah said the party was gaining momentum in Odisha and West Bengal and he was personally keen to see a BJP government in Kerala.
Referring to the contentious issue of the Ram Temple, he said it was being said that the party has deviated from its earlier words.
“The ideology with which we started in 1950, the journey is continuing in the same direction. The BJP wants that Ram Temple should be constructed at the earliest and a grand temple should be built at Ayodhya. We are trying that the issue is settled soon as per constitutional norms. The matter is pending in the Supreme Court. Congress is creating road blocks. We were and are committed for Ram temple,” he said.
He laid out the issues that will be the campaign themes of the party in the next three months including upper caste job reservation and welfare measures for the poor including toilets, gas, housing, Ayushman Bharat and financial inclusion.
Shah accused Congress President Rahul Gandhi of “manufacturing” allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal and talked of surgical strikes and said Modi had enhanced India’s stature in the world.
Speaking of the rise of the Marathas under Shivaji and subsequent warriors, he said they lost in the Battle of Panipat in 1761 and the country later came under the rule of the British for 200 years.
“That was a decisive battle. Today the situation is the same. The country’s politics saw several ups and downs in the last 70 years. The BJP started its journey from Jan Sangh and got full majority in 2014 under Narendra Modi. In 2014 we were in power in six states, today we are in power in 16,” he said.
He said the Modi-led government was transparent, decisive, sensitive and based on democratic values.
“When we went for election in 2014, we had cadre. Today we have nine crore active workers. There are 22 crore beneficiaries of government schemes. Last time people wanted to give Modi a chance, this time we are fighting on the basis of his performance.”
“We have leadership of the most popular, hardworking, transparent and visionary leader. I am working with him since 1987. He has never been defeated. There is no question of stopping. We will again make a full majority NDA government in 2019.”
He urged the people to have faith in Modi again and said no one else can give a strong government.
He said the Modi government had a “spotless record” and attacked Rahul Gandhi and his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
“Those who are on bail and are facing income tax notices are making allegations of corruption against us. People of the country are not going to believe this.”
He said the Supreme Court had said that there was no need to probe the Rafale fighter deal and answers were given in parliament but Rahul Gandhi was still making allegations.
“What is this frustration. Five years are about to end. If they do not rake up allegations, how will they fight. They (the Congress) has indulged in corruption in every defence deal. If Michel mama is caught, they start sweating.”
“The history of their four generations is marked by corruption and you are making allegations against us.”
Referring to fugitive economic offenders Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya, he said they were “in comfort” during the UPA rule but were forced to flee when the Modi government came to power.
“Chowkidar will bring all the thieves. It is only a matter of time. They will have to return the money pending against their names,” he said.
He said India is the fastest growing economy and the government had implemented its promise of giving farmers prices at 50 per cent over their input cost.
He talked of efforts to bring justice to various sections including the Sikhs and efforts to empower weaker sections including Dalits, women and tribals.
Shah said the NDA had made a difference to the lives of the poor by providing a record number of houses, toilets, banking, electricity and gas connections in the last five years.
He made repeated mention of the bill to provide 10 per cent reservation to the economically backward sections among the upper castes in education and government jobs and said the poor among the general categories will get their first opportunity for a slice of the pie of reserved government jobs.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions, Politics
By Amulya Ganguli,
Unlike the Congress, the communists or the socialists, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has rarely seen major fissures.
Occasionally, a person may have become involved in political feuds within the party, as was Balraj Madhok, who was the president of the Jan Sangh, the BJP’s earlier avatar. But such ruptures were few and far between in the saffron camp whereas the Congress, the communists and the socialists had split more than once.
The reason why the Jan Sangh and the BJP escaped such break-ups was that the former was never a major party, having always been on the sidelines of national politics and, therefore, never seriously felt the pulls and pressures of ideological and organisational competitions with rival outfits.
As for the BJP, it is only now that it has emerged as a formidable force, mainly in northern and western India, and is still gingerly feeling its way elsewhere which includes suppressing some of its basic tenets relating to lifestyles.
The first major shock which the BJP experienced was when the Hindutva activists brought down the Babri Masjid in 1992, which is believed to have made Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of the party’s tallest leaders at the time, contemplate resignation.
But the storm passed, making a party stalwart, Vijayraje Scindia, note with relief and satisfaction that the BJP did not split.
Since then, even as the party’s footprints have increased, those of its opponents have shrunk, viz. of the Congress and the communists, while the socialists have virtually disappeared.
The year 2014 marked the BJP’s rise to the top of the mountain. But, now, suddenly, after several electoral setbacks, there are signs that it may not be able to stay there for long.
Not surprisingly, there are hints of disquiet among the BJP’s allies, leading to patchwork repairs as in Bihar, where the party succeeded in smoothing the ruffled feathers of the Lok Janshakti Party.
But it could not prevent another ally, the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party, from leaving for the rival United Progressive Alliance.
Meanwhile, the ever-resentful Shiv Sena, which formally remains an ally, has continued to needle the BJP, this time over the Rafale deal by echoing the Congress’s line.
But these rumbles may have been dismissed as typical of responses when Big Brother appears vulnerable. But what is a great deal more significant than what the allies say or do are some of the observations of the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, which look like a direct attack on the party bigwigs.
For instance, his view that elections cannot be won by someone merely because he speaks well cannot but be interpreted as criticism of none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, whose oratorical skills have become something of a lifeboat for the BJP for navigating troubled waters.
However, the fact that Modi’s rhetorical flourishes were not of much help to the party in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh recently have not escaped the attention of political observers.
If Gadkari is saying that eloquence is not enough to cross the electoral Rubicon, it may be because he believes that others in the party are not playing their part.
For instance, he has said: “If I am the party president and my MPs and MLAs are not doing well, then who is responsible? I am.” The dig is too clearly aimed to need elucidation.
In addition, his opinion that the views of juniors have to be factored in and that “people must have collective spirit” is again a barb at the persons in organisational positions.
But even more than this not-too-veiled criticism, what was noteworthy was Gadkari’s reference to the country’s pluralist ethos, which runs counter to the BJP’s homogenising outlook based on a Hindu agenda.
By saying that India’s reputation as a tolerant country has attracted migrants to come and settle down, Gadkari has expressed a view which has little in common with Veer Savarkar’s concept of outsiders as “aliens” and M.S. Golwalkar’s preference for the status of second-class citizens for them.
But perhaps what is most suggestive of Gadkari’s distinctive line of thinking was his laudatory references to Jawaharlal Nehru, the man the BJP loves to hate at the moment.
Gadkari’s comments have naturally set off speculations about his motive. It has been said, for instance, by former BJP leader, Yashwant Sinha, that the Union minister is positioning himself as a person who can take Modi’s place in a coalitional arrangement in case the BJP does not get a majority of its own, as is generally believed.
By posing as a kinder, gentler person, Gadkari may be more acceptable to the old and new allies in a post-general election scenario.
He has two plus points. One is his proximity to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which will keep his critics in the BJP at bay, and the other is his reputation for efficiency, which has been amply demonstrated in the highway constructions and other infrastructural developments under his aegis.
For analysts, the expected ups and downs at personal levels in the coming weeks and months may well represent the mainstreaming of the BJP from being a rigid, sectarian outfit.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : The revised triple talaq bill, which the government is keen on pushing through Parliament, could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Monday as the opposition insisted on sending it to a select committee. The treasury benches said the passage of the bill is being delayed deliberately.
The stalemate saw heated arguments between the opposition and the government, forcing Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh to adjourn the house for the day. Both sides accused the other of “doing politics”.
When the House met for the post-lunch sitting following an earlier adjournment, the Deputy Chairman said that the House will be taking up the triple talaq bill, passed by the Lok Sabha last week. However, opposition members were on their feet demanding that the bill be sent to the select committee.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government has been disregarding since 1993 the practice of sending important bills to the standing committee for legislative scrutiny.
“Since the government does not send such bills to the standing committee, the opposition in the Rajya Sabha is forced to fight for sending them to select committee,” he said.
Azad said the bill would affect crores of people in a positive or negative way and its scrutiny by parliament was essential. He said the opposition parties want to move a resolution that the bill should be sent to select committee.
Referring to the protest in the House by AIADMK members over a proposed dam on Cauvery river, he said 90 per cent of the opposition parties want the House to function.
Trinamool Congress member Derek O’Brien said most opposition parties are united in their demand for select committee and are willing to debate and pass it after due parliamentary scrutiny. He said he had given notice for sending the bill to select committee.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said that the opposition is delaying the passage of the bill by demanding scrutiny by select committee.
“A message should go to the country that the opposition is creating road blocks to the passage of the bill. They are not in favour of Muslims. They are not in favour of giving women their rights. They are doing politics,” he said.
“We are ready to debate it. The debate should begin now,” he added.
As the stalemate persisted, the Deputy Chairman adjourned the House for 15 minutes. When the House reassembled, opposition members were again on their feet, persisting with their demand.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said the minister has cast aspersions on the opposition and made false allegations.
He said the opposition is not opposed to the bill. “The government is doing politics. Without legislative scrutiny, the bill cannot be passed,” he said.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the issue concerns humanity.
“Triple talaq is taking place despite Supreme Court outlawing it. The bill should not be delayed. The government is willing to consider suggestions of the opposition,” he said.
Harivansh had earlier expressed his anguish over repeated adjournments of the House, saying the entire country is watching.
He said people are seeing that Lok Sabha is conducting its business but the upper house is not functioning.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
By Brajendra Nath Singh,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP face a tough challenge in the Lok Sabha elections in the coming summer in the wake of its defeat in the recent Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and mounting worries on the economic front.
Even at the end of 2017, no one would have given the opposition a chance in the next general elections after BJP’s sweeping success in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in the wake of demonetisation and surgical strikes on terror hideouts across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and its ability to come to power in other states where it was not the largest party.
However, the BJP was contained in Modi’s home state of Gujarat in the year-end Assembly elections where it was stopped short of the 100 mark, signalling the green shoots of recovery for the Congress.
The change in the last one year became evident after a united Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samajwadi Party defeated the BJP in the Lok Sabha by-elections in its strong holds like Gorakhpur and Phulpur and along with the RLD, in Kairana in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress worsted the BJP in parliamentary by-elections in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and in Karnataka.
Also, the Congress was quick to learn from BJP’s game elsewhere and surrendered the Chief Minister’s post to the JD-S in a post-poll tie up to keep the BJP out of power in Karnataka, despite the saffron party emerging the single largest in the summer of this year.
The results of the recent Assembly polls in five states, where the Congress snatched power from the BJP in the Hindi heartland, has given a major boost to the opposition parties and could be a factor in the battle for control of the next Lok Sabha.
During the year, the BJP had lost seven out of the 13 by-elections in parliamentary constituencies. Of these, it held nine since 2014. It could retain only Palghar in Maharashtra and Shimoga in Karnataka.
Since 2014, the BJP managed to retain just six Lok Sabha seats in by-polls. Besides Palghar and Shimoga, it had won Lakhimpur in Assam, Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh, Beed in Maharashtra and Vadodara in Gujarat.
In the last four-and-half-years, the party has lost Lok Sabha by polls in Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, Gurdaspur in Punjab, Alwar and Ajmer in Rajasthan, Kairana, Phulpur and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Bhandara-Gondiya in Maharashtra and Bellary and Mandya constituencies in Karnataka. The BJP’s tally in the Lok Sabha has come down to 268 from 282 in 2014.
The results of the recent Assembly polls and the by-elections may have signalled the weakening of the “Modi wave” of 2014 the road ahead may not be easy for the saffron party, given the fact that major parties like SP and BSP in Uttar Pradesh are planning an anti-BJP alliance and formation of the RJD-led alliance in Bihar, the two states which send 120 of the 543 elected MPs to the 545-member Lok Sabha, where two members are nominated.
Although the BJP-led government has been counting various of its schemes including Mudra, Ujwala, Saubhagya, opening of ‘jan dhan’ bank accounts, One Rank One Pension, and decisions on demonetisation, GST and the surgical strikes across the border in Pakistan as its major achievements in last four-and-a-half-years, the issues related to farmers and impacts of demonetisation and GST, NPAs crisis have come as a major dampener for the ruling party.
Unlike in 2014, when they were the challenger at the Centre and in many states, when an untested Modi made various promises, he and his party would now face a lot of questions to answer on the “achhe din” they had offered to the electorate.
During the last election campaign, Modi had promised one crore jobs a year and depositing of Rs 15 lakh in each persons account from the black money to be repatriated from abroad. The opposition is likely to rake up the issues and demand answers over the crisis of unemployment and agrarian distress among others.
Besides, the party is also facing the heat from the VHP and RSS, which have been mounting pressure on the government for constructing a Ram temple at Ayodhya by bringing a law or ordinance. Opposition parties allege that the sangh parivar, headed by RSS, may like to raise the political temperature on their pet issues to polarise the political situation.
Although the Supreme Court has given a clean chit to the government on the Rafale fighter jet deal, the issue remains live as the Congress has been pushing for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe.
In the Hindi hearltland of Bihar, where the BJP had won 22 of the 40 seats in 2014, Chhattisgarh (10 out of 11), Haryana (10-10), Himachal Pradesh (04-04), Jharkhand (12-14), Madhya Pradesh (16-29), Rajasthan (25-25), Uttarakhand (05-05), Uttar Pradesh (71-80) and Delhi (07-07), 182 out of 225 seats came into the party’s kitty in 2014.
In the present political scenario, political analysts feel the BJP is unlikely to repeat its performance of 2014, especially in key states like Uttar Pradesh as the coming together of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, social equations are likely to change.
In Bihar, the ‘mahagathbandhan’ of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Samata Dal has already been formed. Though the Janata Dal-United has now allied with the BJP and the LJP, the grand alliance remains focussed on social engineering of Maha Dalits, extremely backward communities, along with RJD’s traditional Muslim-Yadav votebank.
In Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh the BJP has already lost power to Congress and the BJP’s numbers are likley to drop in 2019.
In Maharashtra, the BJP ally, the Shiv Sena, may cause anxiety as both the parties don’t sharing good vibes. Maharashtra is the largest state after Uttar Pradesh as it sends 48 MPs to Lok Sabha. In the last election, the BJP won 23 seats and the Shiv Sena won 18.
In Gujarat, which is considered the BJP’s bastion and the Hindutva laboratory, the state to which Modi and BJP President Amit Shah belong, it may not be easy to repeat the 2014 performance given the Congress’ fightback in last year’s Assembly polls.
Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats in the Lok Sabha. Earlier, the BJP and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) fought together, with the BJP winning two seats and the TDP 15. Now, the TDP is out of its fold, the BJP is trying to woo a new ally in the form of YRS Congress – at least post poll.
In Tamil Nadu, where it is facing heavy headwinds, the party is trying to woo the ruling AIADMK, which is itself split, to take on a formidable DMK-Congress combine in which a number of other regional parties will also find a place. The state has a tradition of voting one way and the results in 40 seats including one in Puducherry will be crucial to the national outcome.
(Brajendra Nath Singh can be contacted at brajendra.n@ians.in)
—IANS
