EDITORIAL
Howsoever much Gujarat CM Narendra Modi is able to inspire rank-and-file BJP cadres, steeped in the Hindutva mindset, the fact is that the person who was recently appointed the chief of the BJP's campaign for the 2014 general elections is fast turning out to be a liability for the principal Opposition party at the Centre. This has been borne out by the outcome of his recent statements.
First came his assertion that he was a ‘Hindu nationalist'. The emphasis on the word ‘Hindu', many felt, was an unnecessary move to magnify his Hindu identity with the ulterior motive to accentuate the Hindu-Muslim divide. Then he accused the Congress of taking shelter behind the burqa of secularism thereby once again revealing his majoritarian bias. Thereafter he made a strenuous effort to express, for the first time, regrets for the 2002 riots in Gujarat. But from the manner in which he conveyed his views he exposed himself. He said he always felt sorry for any loss of life even when a puppy comes under a car and is crushed to death.
The “puppy” analogy was most inappropriate. What had happened in Gujarat 2002 was a premeditated state-sponsord pogrom resulting in the massacre of thousands belonging to the minority community. In fact those were not riots in the true sense because there was no retaliation by the Muslims Murderous armed squads of the majority community had butchered the minorities with the full backing of the state and its organs of power. Those were not accidental deaths—something the “puppy” analogy sought to underline. Modi was trying to distort history.
These remarks by one who is supposed to be the PM-in-waiting have come in for sharp denunciation not only from the BJP's political adversaries and all secular democrats but also from within the party. The most significant was the reaction of well-known theatre personality Aamir Raza Husain who was also the Vice-President of Delhi BJP. On July 15, he told a TV news channel: “Modi's statements... are despicable, divisive and can never draw support from Muslims”, adding: “Modi is a BJP leader, not my leader.” The following day he tendered his resignation from the party. Thereafter he lucidly explained to the media:
People like me who live in a liberal as well as minority universe want an anti-Congress option which a Vajpayee or an Advani-led BJP provides. By promoting Modi, the BJP has closed that option for us.
This response from a leading Muslim in the BJP offers a clear idea of how the minorities are looking upon the new BJP outfit under Narendra Modi's stewardship.
Meanwhile after seeking to placate the aam aadmi with the food security ordinance, the Manmohan Singh dispensation has embarked on big-bang FDI reforms, including opening up foreign investment in defence besides telecom, in a bid to attract foreign capital so as to bridge, to the extent possible, the yawning current account deficit in the wake of the rupee's steady decline over the past few weeks.
Assailing the steps the BJP described them as flowing from a “panic” reaction while the Left was predictably sharper in its attack. “This bankrupt policy of the government is motivated by the need to attract more foreign capital flows to meet the widening current account deficit. But the supine attitude of the government to foreign capital is only going to lead to further flow of profits and resources out of the country,” the CPM Polit-Bureau said in a statement. As for the CPI, its Central Secretariat maintained: The Congress led UPA-II Government, instead of reviewing its anti-people, neo-liberal policies, is relying upon FDI. After the multi-brand retail trade, now the government has decided to open up all sectors including defence, a sensitive sector, and to increase the FDI cap in very strategic sectors like telecom.
The country is yet to overcome the loot and losses due to the 2G spectrum scam. Now the 100 per cent FDI in the telecom sector will be disastrous not only in terms of the economy but also in terms of national security. After the disclosure of US spying into the affairs of other countries including India, this is a matter of serious concern.
The neoliberal policies of the Union Government will spell disaster while further widening the rich-poor disparities in the days ahead. And a glimpse of the prevailing conditions of the poor in the countryside was available yesterday when the reported presence of an agricultural pesticide in the midday meal served to the children at Gandaman primary school, Chhapra in Bihar's Saran district resulted in the death of 22 children, most of them offsprings of day labourers. Not only that. Fifty kids were taken ill after midday meal in another school in Bihar's Madhubani district. These highlight the pathetic state of affairs in the poor regions across our landmass. As The Hindu aptly pointed out,
It is a matter of concern that man-made tragedies such as these can shake the faith of the citizen in a crucial welfare programme, rightly lauded as the biggest school meal programme in the world covering 10.54 crore children.
What is most unfortunate, such mishaps once again provide a measure of the value of life in this country when it comes to the poor and the marginalised. A recipe for insurgency or revolt by those at the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder?
July 18 S.C.