Delhi is not just another state or city. It is the heart of the country. Let us hope that Modiji will hear the heartbeats and instead of multiplying his arrogance will signal to the country that he has learnt by his mistakes. The first proof of this will of course be either revoking CAA altogether or include Muslims in this. If he fails now, the country will have tough time in the years ahead. But one thing is sure. Ultimately, the nation and its secular credentials will bounce back and prevail, opines J J Ahmad
The Delhi election results are less of Kejriwal’s victory and more of Narendra Modi’s defeat. It was no usual state elections. They were held at a time when the country was facing huge crisis in terms of its secular and democratic credentials. The mood of the public was totally overwhelmed by the emotions related to the Citizenship Amendment Act. This law followed Triple Divorce Act, abrogation of Art 370 and the SC verdict in favour of Ramjanam bhoomi. The passing of CAA confirmed the worst fears in the minds of not only Muslims but also the Secular minded people belonging to the other communities that the Modi Government is bent upon advancing its Hindutva agenda in a no bars way. The rise of Indian people against CAA with protests in the universities all over the country and participation of all the communities unnerved the Hindutva lobby. BJP found in Delhi elections an opportunity to prove that the nation was behind them. They threw all their power in the elections with all their MPs and State Chief Ministers taking Delhi by a storm. Through their fiery slogans, statements full of hatred and open call for revolt against one particular community; they hoped that all the non-Muslims of Delhi who formed more than 80 pc of the population will throng to the polling stations in their favour. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister did not miss any opportunity to demonise Muslims through Shaheen Bagh. Just a few months back, they had won the Lok Sabha elections with massive margin. They thought that they would be the natural choice of the people. But all their efforts failed. Secularism triumphed. The people of Delhi declared that they are with those who reject Modi’s divisive agenda. Hatred can win in one or two elections but soon people realize that hatred leads to nothing but chaos and ultimately all suffer.
During last two years, BJP has lost almost all the state assembly elections. If they are in power in Haryana and Karnataka, it is through manipulation rather than winning. They have lost big states like Jharkand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Punjab. They are no more in power in Maharashtra. But every time they lost, they and their media supporters would try to pin the blame on local leaders and save Modi. The truth is that, with the kind of big propaganda and divisive politics and the big campaign by Modi in all state elections, local issues would have only a partial effect. The results there showed that the people have lost faith in him. If he could win the Lok Sabha elections, it was not due to his performance in the previous five years but due to the emotional schizophrenia created through Pulwana. If Pulwama was not there, either he would not have got the power at all, or it would have been with a very thin majority. In that case, either he would not have embarked upon the Hindutva agenda so quickly or if he did, his government would have fallen by now.
If Muslims have voted for Kejriwal, it is not because they love him. They have noted that Kejriwal did not choose to openly confront Modi on CAA. He supported him on Article 370. If they voted for him, it was not because they thought him to be a friend but because they considered him an enemy of their enemy. Now, Kejriwal has to prove that he is not an enemy of BJP just for the sake of elections but he abhors their agenda by heart.
Delhi is not just another state or city. It is the heart of the country. Let us hope that Modiji will hear the heartbeats and instead of multiplying his arrogance will signal to the country that he has learnt by his mistakes. The first proof of this will of course be either revoking CAA altogether or include Muslims in this. If he fails now, the country will have tough time in the years ahead. But one thing is sure. Ultimately, the nation and its secular credentials will bounce back and prevail.
In the democratic country a party comes to power to serve the people. Today, there is a wave of mass opposition against the BJP, not only from the local masses, but also internationally. What a barrier to serving his own people. Indians living abroad are very good people. Indian people are very good. How they turn out to be bad locally. It is noteworthy that not only the most local politicians but also the intellectuals living here have good moral qualities. There are errors somewhere. The time has come already for the so-called leaders to look for what they are, correct their mistakes and shortcomings and make the world realize that Indians are the best people. Opportunities should not be missed. Then we are going to handcuff ourselves. Our Prime Minister Modi became to this responsible position after passing all the aspects of life. There will surely be wisdom in how good and bad the environment is. It is the duty of the elders like Mr. Modi to let go of the bad and learn about the good. If he had the intention of granting the rights to Muslims, could he be any better man? Never!