An open letter to the surgeons of the Verdict2014
Hypocrisy,
ignorance or "the intellect beyond comprehension"
16th May 2014 and India ushers into a new era with a
historic mandate of clear majority for a single non-Congress party. Narendra
Modi-led NDA alliance scaled new heights with 336 seats, something beyond
prediction of anyone except the one exit poll by Chanakya.
Never in the history of election in India, I have seen
the kind of post-mortem of the verdict that is floating these days. I have seen
the analysis of the reasons of winning and also why a particular party lost but
for the first time I see that there is a directed effort in proving that the
winner has actually not got the mandate. The verdict is seeming too hard to
swallow for some of the elite class of intellectuals and they are trying to
bring in all sorts of intriguing parameters to prove that the mandate is not
for the winning party/coalition. The flood of posts in this direction forced me
to write this blog.
What is a democracy? Is it a meticulously laid down
system to provide people the freedom of choice to elect their representative?
Then why so much dissection of the people's mandate? It is a sheer hypocrisy
that the intellectuals who vouch for the 'freedom of expression' do not have
respect for the 'freedom of choice' of the Indian voters. Look at the kind of
explanations they are trying to bring in to prove that the winning team has
actually not won.
The funniest argument starts with the point that
majority is not won by only 31% of votes. First of all, in a multi-party system
this logic fails to hold. But, lets take this logic for a moment and analyse
the results from this angle. BJP-led NDA got 39%, Congress 23.4% &
others got 37.6% of vote-share. So considering this, the BJP-led NDA is the
least opposed coalition. The least opposed is the most accepted.
A rather stronger one is that the PR machinery worked
very well. The PR machinery was used because BJP did want to win and did
not lay any stone un-turned to ensure the victory. Now, to blame them for this
is like complaining that why Yuvraj hit 6 sixes in an over. Where did the money
come from is a valid question and we have a right to ask that question. Keep a
hawk eye and see if we can get the answer. But tell me which PR machinery
had worked in 1977? Remember, that it was a defeat of one of the strongest
leaders India ever had. Indian voter is prudent. The message is simple that
when it is beyond limit, the people of India resolve to 'sabak sikhana'. Considering
that the election was won with the PR power is an insult to the prudence of the
Indian voter who votes based on the immediate circumstances. The apt example is
Punjab where voting was against the incumbent Akali government rather than
against Modi. Why PR did not work in Punjab? Orissa chose BJD for the record
4th time because of the able leadership of Patnaik ji. Jayalalitha and Mamta
got due share of the work they did in their states.
Are we blind that we don't see the kind of insult
being hurled at the poorest common man of the country in the last few years?
They don't have food in their plates and newspapers daily report a new bigger
scam unfolded. The incumbent government seemed living in complete oblivion with
their plight. This is where NaMo connected well when he said that we have to
fight poverty and poverty has no religion. When a man fallen in a well is shown
a rope, he does not analyze or judge the strength of the rope. He just sees a
hope in the rope that he will come out of the well with the help of this rope.
Modi ji succeeded in showing this rope to the poorest of the poors. NaMo struck
the right chord.
The latest I read from the so-called liberals is that
secularism took a back-seat in voters' mind. This secularism is a bogey which
has most tickets sold and has largest passenger at the time of election. That
too, this has degenerated into pseudo-secularism. Whether I want to go to
temple, masjid on Friday, Church on Sunday or Gurudwara on anyday is my
personal choice and prerogative. Please leave it to my personal space. I want
everyone to be treated as an Indian rather than discriminated in the name of
religion. I want a right to fight if I do NOT get because I belong to a
particular community rather than getting a dole for being a minority. It would
be better in the interest of nation if we fight to separate religion from
politics.
You should have been objective about informing the
voters. You did not put any effort in enlightening the voters about the
criminal/corruption charges of the local candidates. What I have noticed is that
if you tell a kid to not do something, he will go and do that again and again.
Public played as that small kid. The more you told them not to vote for NaMo,
it all the more resolved to give him strong mandate. You failed to realize that
NaMo was the man of the moment who had raised hope in millions of hearts.
Some are worried about what will happen to the
'freedom of speech' in future. Surprisingly, they never came forward when this
freedom was curbed by the incumbent Central and State Govt of Congress who did
not allow Salman Rushdie to attend the JLF in 2012. No voice was raised when
the voice of Taslima Nasreen was silenced in West Bengal. In fact, they did not
think it appropriate to oppose the moves by Raj Thackeray led MNS against North
Indians in Mumbai. 2002 keeps echoing in the mind of elites and media but these
watchmen of human-rights and intellectuals go in hiding and fail to be
equivocal about recent Muzaffarnagar and Assam. Those who keep quiet on the
happenings in front of them are worried about the things that have not
occurred. This is undermining the power of the critics around you and also the
Indian Constitution. No one is above the Constitution and you should resolve to
preserve its sovereignty at any cost. An unsolicited advice - "Overcome
your fear and resolve to fight any wrong, anywhere but there is no point in
spreading negativity. Be positive, spread positivity and attract
positivity".
What you fail to appreciate is that
the Indian voter rose above the politics of caste, creed or religion. The most satisfying results are from UP. Not because it has given the
highest number of MPs but because the parties who thrived only in the name of
caste/religion-based politics have been routed out. To highlight, BJP did
win in the constituencies where a particular so-perceived anti-BJP community is
in majority. This was the vote for real inclusiveness.
Does freedom of speech means writing what is approved
by everyone? Then, how can 'freedom of choice' mean electing someone of your
preference? I would have expected a rather saner and objective assessment of
the win and also a roadmap of what should be the priorities of the next
government.
Votes can be bought but not the sense of belonging
that NaMo supporters have in this win and the way they feel one with this
victory. The overwhelming joy and love showered on him is priceless.
It is the time when we rise above our perception of
Modi ji and work together to take the nation forward with the slogan of "sabka
saath, sabka vikaas".
Wishing India a great future and may better sense prevail in
the minds of intellectuals.
