The Indian politics
has been witnessing a ‘strange political era’ ever since the BJP came to power.
As the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi had done all possible
ground-works in order to capture the chair of Prime Minister in 2014. And he
had succeeded in making a “back-door entry” to occupy the same chair again in
2019. To his bad luck he has emerged as a man of contradictions. The examples
given below and his own “statements” made on various occasions, time and places
will serve as evidences:
·
He was
born twice – (a) the date of birth known to the public is 17-09-1950. (b) the
date of birth mentioned in his Degree Certificate is 29-09-1949.
·
Modi seemed
to have sold tea at Vadnagar railway station at the age of 6. This is what Modi
has told the public. Strangely, there were only railway tracks in Vadnagar at
that time. Actually, the railway station at Vadnagar was built in 1973. If Modi
was born in 1950, then, his age must have been 23 when the railway station came
into existence.
·
During the
Emergency period Modi claims to have led a ‘hidden life’. Yet, he seems to have
completed his UG Course in Delhi University in 1978 without any Graduation
Certificate.
·
In 1983 he
completed his Post-Graduation studies in “Entire Political Science”. Strangely,
he was the only student who had done a course on this subject. He wrote the
exam alone and obtained the PG Certificate alone. Till date no student has been
found to be his classmate and no professor has been found who had taught him.
Even Gujarat University professors were not aware of such a subject in the
University Syllabus/Curriculum.
·
Ten years
before and ten years after 1978, the University Certificates were written by
hand. However, Modi obtained a “Computerized Certificate” in 1978.
Interestingly Microsoft’s ‘Approved Font’ of 1992 was used in 1978 to print a
certificate for Modi. Another surprising fact is that this Certificate was
printed on a ‘Sunday’ (when all offices and institutions usually remain
closed).
Modi has been quite
sure that people will never-ever notice these “mismatches” in his bio-data.
When a cat closes its eyes, it will think that the whole world is sleeping.
Likewise, Modi thinks that whatever he ‘blindly speaks or does’, will be
‘blindly accepted’ by the people. As the CM of Gujarat, he was one of the prime
and strong opponents of Congress Party and the UPA government. Whatever he
considered as a ‘curse’ during the UPA period has turned to be a ‘blessing’
during his regime. I wish to highlight some of the important issues that were ‘vehemently
opposed’ by him in the past but they are ‘vigorously promoted’ by him now.
Goods and Services
Tax (GST):
When the former PM Manmohan Singh was introducing GST, Modi opposed it by
saying, “As far as the economic reformation and GST are concerned, our stand in
Gujarat has been clear from the beginning. I had a meeting with the Finance
Minister Pranab Mukerji in Gujarat. I told him, “Unless the IT sector is not
created, GST will not be successful”. During his regime, soon after
demonetization Modi introduced GST. He also propagated by saying, “The BJP
government takes pride in introducing GST. By doing this our long-term dream of
‘One nation-one tax-one market’ is fulfilled. I want to call GST as ‘Good and
Simple Tax’ because this is applicable to everyone in the country”.
Aadhar Card:
Regarding
the introduction of Aadhar Card by the UPA government, Modi criticised it
strongly, “I want to ask the great personalities of the Congress Party to
answer the people of this country. Crores of rupees have been wasted in the
name of Aadhar Card. What sin have you committed that the Supreme Court has to use
its stick on you?” When Modi took over as the PM, he brought the Aadhar Card
scheme and made it mandatory. He said, “The Cabinet has passed the Aadhar
Act-2016. Henceforth whether it is subsidy or other grants, ‘direct cash transfer’
can be made through Aadhar Card. As on today, an ordinary simple card has
become the sign of empowerment of ordinary people. We should all feel proud
about it”.
Foreign Direct
Investment:
Modi was unhappy with FDI and said, “I am really
confused about what the PM is doing. He does not want the small retail
businesses to grow and he has decided to lock them up. Rather, he has given
permit to the foreigners to start their retail business in India. If this type
of retail business grows, then, who will buy from the Indian retailers?” On the
contrary, during his regime he has started speaking all good things about FDI
and convinced people saying, “These days there are lot of discussions happening
on the FDI and this is normal. I look at this issue from a different point of
view. For the 135 crores people in India FDI is a responsibility. For all those
who want to develop their businesses/markets in the world, FDI is a wonderful
opportunity. I repeat again. For the people of India FDI is a responsibility and
for the foreign investors it is an opportunity. Hence, I wish to give a new
meaning to FDI for the people of India. It is ‘First Develop India’.
India-China
Relationship:
When he was Gujarat CM he said, “It is being said that
the Chinese troops have gone back from our border and the Indian troops also
have been asked to go back from the border that is our own land. I am really
confused and concerned. China crossed our border and came inside our land and
they were asked to move back from our land. This is okay and we understand. But
why does the government make the Indian troops to move back from our own land?
This is a simple question that comes to the minds of the common people. The
government has no answer. What a shame for our country?” Strangely, the present
Modi government has informed the people that India and China have pulled back
their troops from the disputed border. As per the government report, China has
moved back 1.5 KM from the border and the Indian troops also have gone back
from the border. What was not justifiable during the UPA government is being
justified by the BJP government.
Indian Railways:
As the CM
of Gujarat Modi spoke at a public meeting, “From among you there could be many
who have been associated with the Indian railways for 10 or 15 or 20 or 25
years or more. I am associated with the Indian railways from birth. So, I have
more love for the railways than any of you. My life has been shaped due to
railways. Those people, who are spreading rumour that the Indian railways will
be privatised, are completely wrong. There cannot be anyone who can show more
love for the railways than me. There seems to be discussions going on about the
privatisation of Indian railways. My dear brothers and sisters! please remember
that I have no thought or desire or plan on the privatisation of Indian
railways. I will never move in this direction and I assure you of this. Please
do not worry about it”. The same Modi has now changed his thought, desire and
plan. His government has given its approval to introduce 151 private trains to
run in 109 routes. Their operations will begin by 2023. The Chairman of the
Railway Board has confirmed the government’s plan of introducing private trains
built with fully modernised technologies.
New Education Policy:
The BJP
government takes pride in introducing the new education policy. On the one side,
Modi and his cabinet want that all the children in India must benefit from this
new education policy. On the other side, many Ministers in his cabinet have
sent their children to foreign countries for education. Modi is aware of this.
However, they want the poor to study in Hindi and Sanskrit as it robs them of a
future. Of course, Modi does not have a child and so he can boldly force other
children to follow this policy. May their “Double Standards” rest in peace!
Ram Temple-Ram Rajya:
The
height of contradiction is the recent incidence – i.e. the foundation ceremony
at Ayodhya on 5th August, 2020. As a member of the RSS, Modi always spoke about
ushering in ‘Ram Rajya’ in India. One of the steps towards this direction is
the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. Lord Ram was a person of values and
he tried to ensure that all important values such as love, fellowship, selfless
service, hard work, tolerance and self-sacrifice etc. were upheld and practiced
in his Kingdom. Lord Ram had no craze for power. Rather he renounced it and
went into ‘Vanvas’ for 14 years. On the one hand, Modi does lip service about
Ram Rajya without even understanding its characteristics. On the other hand, he
has buried all the values of Ram Rajya. In order to hide all his failures and
divert the people’s attention especially from the alarming rise in Covid-19
positive cases (touching 20 lakhs) and the death toll (almost 50 thousand), he
conducted a mega-drama at Ayodhya by laying 40 KG silver brick as the
foundation for the construction of a new temple for Lord Ram. As usual, it was
a “Modi-show” and Lord Ram was nowhere. Modi did this puja while thousands are
dying due to coronavirus and starvation. According to some scholarly Swamijis,
the foundation must be laid only by an experienced spiritual Swamiji and not a
politician. According to them, Modi has set up a wrong trend at Ayodhya and
moreover the day (5th August) too has been ‘inauspicious’ for them. By
doing this, Modi has brought a great dishonour to Lord Ram. If Lord Ram were in
Modi’s place, he would have been tirelessly and selflessly working to
“construct the lives of the people” rather than a temple.
In short, Modi has
failed in all sectors due to ‘poor governance’. To name a few: the
demonetization killed the overall economy; faulty GST wounded businesses; the
Chinese incursion hurt the sentiments of the Indian people and the gross
mismanagement of Covid-19 pandemic led to humanitarian, health and economic
crisis all at once. During the UPA regime from 2005 to 2014 about 270 million
people came out of poverty. Shockingly, under the BJP government, about 400
million people are facing the risk of sinking into poverty since March 2020. During
the UPA period the unemployment rate was 2 to 4.9% whereas it has risen to 11%
during the BJP period as on June 2020. The GDP during Manmohan Singh government
was between 7.75 to 8.9 %. But the GDP projected for the entire FY-2021of Modi
government is -3.1% to -7.3%. Since Modi came to power, petrol and diesel prices
have increased by 13% and 48% respectively. It is the first time in the India’s
history that diesel is more expensive than petrol. Prices of essential
commodities have increased between 20% to 167% in the last six years. And even
the world’s largest democracy is not safe under the Modi regime. While the
national institutions are made to function like puppets, Modi-led BJP has made
a mockery of the entire electoral process. His whole focus is on the promotion
of Hindutva ideology, self-popularization events like “Howdy-Modi”, “Namasthe
Trump” and building monuments like new Parliament building and renovation of
the Rashtrapathi Bhavan that will speak of his glory for many generations. He
does not seem to be bothered about building the lives of the people and
constructing a nation that vibrates the basic human values – a Dharma Rajya.
The fact is that in
every sector and in every aspect of governance PM Modi government has failed. Today
our nation stands in a very dangerous position because the BJP fails to address
the biggest problem. Political power does not translate to good governance. The
people of India have observed all his speeches and actions from the time he became
the PM in 2014. At every level Modi has proved to be a person of
contradictions. Trusting on the “weak memory” of the common people, he has been
telling lies after lies – e.g. the promise of Rs.15 lakhs to every citizen. He
has taken the people from all walks of life for a big ride and he continues to
do so. He seems to have an immense courage to lie, cheat and contradict himself
without any ‘prick of conscience’. He does all these with a selfish agenda to
be in power for a long time because he has tasted all the pleasures of being in
power – i.e. undemocratic style of functioning, costly lifestyle, highly
trained security, sophisticated car and a 5-star- style plane (Sky Home)
costing 8,458 crores etc. Probably, this is what Gandhiji called “Pleasure
without conscience” and “Politics without principle”.
While criticizing the
UPA government Modi had said, “There is a limit for hypocrisy”. Today we all
need to ask a question to him: “Modi-ji! Is there no limit for your hypocrisy?”
