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Friday, March 29 2024
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NDA: Authoritarian ego and the failure to negotiate

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In a blog in the Times of India, on 11th August 2015, Gurcharan Das, the bestselling author and the former CEO of Procter & Gamble India, articulated the frustrations of Indians about Narendra Modi’s government’s management of the nations thus:

“During his campaign, he mentioned vikas 500 times for each time he mentioned Hindutva. For the aspiring young who elected him, vikas was a code word for opportunity in the competitive market.

Modi promised to create an enabling environment that would allow people to do business without stifling red tape and notorious ‘inspector raj’. So far, he has failed to deliver on that promise.”

After 15 months in office and after several parliament sessions to his credit Modi government’s success rate in legislation is pathetic. Having promised that India will be a nation where investors will have great opportunities and the youth will have great chances of employment, besides selling pie in the sky dreams that everyone will enjoy ‘ache din’, by even promising Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts brought back from black money held abroad, nothing significant has been accomplished. But what Indians witnessed in the meantime is a politics of authoritarianism, intrusion into their private lives, trying to stifle dissent by using selectively state apparatus against the NGOs, the media and businesses.

After having failed in every manner to produce important legislation in the two successive but crucial legislative sessions, now Modi has asked his party MPs and foot-soldiers to agitate and take rallies against the Opposition MPs in their constituencies. So, after all, Modi is just imitating what Kejriwal did in his first term as Chief Minister of Delhi. Instead of managing the state Kejriwal had continued with his agitational politics. So does Modi. Instead of being in the legislature and facing the opposition face to face answering their questions Modi is back on his campaign mode where he is most comfortable and enjoys a sense of achievement. One should not wonder some more rhetoric about development, ache din and how the Opposition is to blame for failing to achieve the legislative aims will be heard from the Red Fort on Independence Day.

Why does NDA fail to produce legislation despite its brute majority in the Lok Sabha while UPA as a coalition could manage? It’s true that in the Rajya Sabha NDA does not enjoy a majority. But that will not be good enough an explanation. After all, NDA had played the same tactics time and again against the UPA and set standards for no compromise behaviour. Despite its abysmal record in dealing with corruption, that Congress and other opposition parties assume moral high ground to protest against corruption and ethical lapse is a matter that should not surprise anyone because being in the Opposition such hypocrisy is expected of them as did the BJP. But that the government cannot manage the opposition through a process of dialogue and symbolic give and take transactions speaks volumes about the authoritarian ‘ego’ the leaders and the government as a whole exhibit. There are even voices within the BJP that notice the failure by the government to manage the legislative process. The lack of dialogue and an attitude of bulldozing the opposition without giving an inch to their demands is not a democratic way of functioning. It may be that Congress and the Opposition are weak, but in a democracy, and as long as the present structure continues, despite their small numbers, the Opposition will use its clout. If the government cannot conduct in a manner of give and take, integrating some suggestions from the opposition, offering some gestures of accommodation and cultivating an atmosphere of respect and generosity of spirit, certainly not much can be expected by way of legislation.

Ideology over national development
What lies behind the rigidity and the lack of give and take attitude of the NDA in legislative matters? One would have to assume that the attitude is an extension of the authoritarian personality of the Prime Minister and the government as an extension of this attitude. It smacks of totalitarian behaviour as described by Orwell in his novel, 1984, where he notes the dominant trait of an authoritarian leader:

The chief qualification of a mass leader has become unending infallibility; he can never admit error.

Mass leaders in power have one concern which overrules all utilitarian consideration……

The problem with Modi and the NDA (whose hidden ideological force is the RSS, an organisation with fascist and totalitarian world view) is that they think, being the sole promotors of Hindutva, they are the only true and legitimate group to rule the country and the rest are imposters. What they do to promote Hindutva as the national identity is the only way everyone should see India. From such a stance stems the attitude of disdain towards secular parties, progressive intellectuals, leftist unions, minority perspectives and practices, liberal social attitudes and of course dissent of every kind. The first signs of an attitude of authoritarianism and totalitarian ways of acting are already evident in multiple areas of life in India. As Orwell has noted, that when it comes to protect the ego of the leader from being tainted by failure or being perceived as weak due to compromises made to accommodate the demands of the Opposition or the critics, Modi government is prepared to forgo national interest (utilitarian consideration). This exactly has what happened in the last to washed-out legislative sessions.

The government, though it has failed to pass key legislation, is not short of exhibiting totalitarian behaviour and promote its Hindutva ideology over multiculturalism and plurality. Beginning with banning books such as that of Wendy Doniger’sThe Hindus: An Alternative History, and recently withdrawing a text book about Ambedkar from Gujarat Schools citing the reason that the book contains criticism about Hinduism as a caste ridden, unequal and unjust society, banning beef, failed attempt to ban porn, scapegoating NGO’s and social activists such as Priya Pillai, TeestaSetalvad and others, culminating its selective war against the media by sending notices to renowned TV channels for daring to air views from people who disagreed with Yakub Memon hanging. These are only a few instances of how this government exhibits some early signs of totalitarian behaviour intent on total control over the public and private sphere of citizens’ life.

It is easy to blame the opposition and shout slogans in an election mode. But the nation gave an overwhelming majority to BJP on its own expecting to see a corruption free and governance oriented government which Modi promised. What we have is a government that worries about protecting its leader’s and its own image more than function on a spirit of give and take, facilitating important legislation. This government is not even prepared to call corruption as corruption but wants to change its very character. Instead, those who dissent or are found to be dangerous are just eliminated as is happening in the Vyapam scam or pilloried through laws as is happening with Teesta and the TV channels. Now that the Hindutva mob is let loose on Opposition parties it looks like that we will witness some mob rule against the secular or those the Hindutva terms as sikulars. As time runs out for action, people grow impatient, media and the intellectuals grow critical against the Prime Minister, the Bhakts will awaken to protect the symbol of their hope, the authoritarian Modi. If our experience with Hindtuva mob is anything to go by the nation will witness more and more communal riots, disappearances and punitive state actions. This time the targets will be expanded beyond the Muslims and Christians to secular parties and communists. (Does it sound familiar? National Socialism did it when Hitler came to power in Germany). The only hope is that Modi and his RSS mentors come to their senses and begin to talk a language of accommodation and respect to the opposition parties so that crucial legislation is passed and the nation is on the path of development once again.

About the Author:

Samuel Sequeira is a Postgraduate Researcher, at the School of English,  Communication and Philosophy at the Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom. He is currently researching on issues such as South Asian immigrants in Wales, Immigration discourses in the UK and Identity and conflict.

 

 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Newskarnataka.com and Newskarnataka.com does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same

 

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