Modi launches campaign from Red Fort but silent on divisive politics that poses danger bigger than dynastic politics, corruption and appeasement

 

Divisive politics poses bigger danger than dynastic politics, corruption and appeasement

Grounder Zero

Jagtar Singh

Chandigarh: Starting this write-up by maying tributes to the lakhs of people who paid supreme cost and lost their home and hearth so that the people in the present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh could breathe in the free air.

This is the day of both pain and dreams.

India is at the stage when the younger generation thinks big and rightly so.

It is time to shed last vestiges of mental colonialism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the nation from the ramparts of the historic Lal Quila in Old Delhi, rightly called to the people to root out corruption, dynastic politics and politics of appeasement. All such menace must go.

However, he left out yet one more menace that poses threat even to the unity and integrity of the country and has the potential to derail the big dreams.

The country is already witnessing this politics being played  from Manipur to Mewat (Nuh).

Modiji was silent on this very menace, although he assured the people of Manipur of restoration of peace.

The issue is the divisive politics that is visible at every level is getting sharpened in the run-up to Lok Sabha polls 2024.

It is not that it is for the first time that Parivarvaad is under attack from the BJP and the Sangh Parivar.

Even Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used to be targeted by these forces (earlier avatar of BJP was Jana Sangh) when she started promoting her son Sanjay Gandhi who died young in an air crash. He himself was piloting that small plane. (Comparision with cow and calf election symbol of the Congress once).

Of course, no party remains untouched by the menace of dynastic politics. One can find examples even in the BJP now with second generation leaders being active.

The attack, however, seemed to be more targeted at Rahul Gandhi who is now fifth generation leader.

His maternal mother Indira Gandhi and his father Rajiv Gandhi met with violent death.

Perhaps it could not be visualized about two years back that Rahul Gandhi would at one time start posing threat to the ruling BJP as the Congress had been in tatters and continues to be so.

However, Rahul reinforces that well known dictum that nothing can be ruled out in politics.

He has started hitting at the ruling dispensation where it hurts the most and it is the divisive politics.

Modi repeatedly hammered the words “Modi” and “I”. He did not mention the BJP. But then this is nothing new.

Being solipsistic now seems to be part of political fashion.

He today launched poll campaign with the target to unfurl the national flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort in August 2024 too.  He exuberated confidence as usual.

It is perhaps in this context that his attack on the opposition was sharp and pointed but without mentioning any person or party.

The election speeches are always high decibel.

But then there are issues that concern the people at grassroots.

Punjab Raj Bhavan last month dropped tomatoes from its purchase list.

This is just one example of the state of affairs on ground zero.

With Modi completing two terms, the thrust should have been on performance to seek third successive terms.

Why should be likes of Monu Manesar be unleashed to inflame passions and divide the people?

Why should Manipur be burning?

INDIA poses threat to the ruling dispensation in this backdrop.

INDIA can’t be countered by rhetoric.