Liberal opinion believes the BJP, because
of its RSS parentage, has never really accepted the constitution as the final
arbiter of public affairs. In the first place, M S Golwalkar, supreme leader of
the RSS, was dismissive as is evident from the following excerpt from his 1966
book, Bunch of Thoughts:
“Our Constitution…is just a
cumbersome and heterogeneous piecing together of various articles from various
Constitutions of Western countries. It has absolutely nothing, which can be
called our own. Is there a single word of reference in its guiding principles
as to what our national mission is and what our keynote in life is? No! Some
lame principles from the United Nations Charter…and some features from the
American and British Constitutions have been just brought together in a mere
hotchpotch.”
No surprise then that members
of the BJP, notably Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, have paid scant attention to
constitutional norms. They have pointedly challenged the secular nature of the
Republic. Their relationship with the constitution is casual at best; indeed, there
are several other instances of overt defiance of its provisions, having to do
with the right to life, freedom of speech, due process, among others.
Most egregious is the cloud
hanging over the winter session of Parliament. Challenged by a likely anti-incumbency
backlash, Mr Modi and his lackeys in Gujarat winked at the Election
Commission’s delay in announcing the Gujarat elections. This prompted the
Congress Party’s P Chidambaram to quip: “EC has authorized PM to announce date
of Gujarat elections at his last rally (and please keep EC informed).”
Suspense over the winter
Parliament session stems from the apprehension the outcome of the election may
not be in the BJP’s favor. For similar reasons, its campaign managers felt the
need to delay the model code of conduct so they could announce sops plus try to
polarize the electorate along religious lines.
Instituted with the agreement
of all political parties, the code pertains to the conduct of parties and
candidates once the dates of an election have been announced. The primary
objective of the code is to place curbs on communal appeals and corrupt
practices.
Right on cue, the party
campaign rained sops on the state, unfazed by considerations of constitutional
propriety. More worrying, the Election Commission, under pressure from an
activist’s widely publicized complaint, ordered a probe into a
blatantly communal campaign video doing the rounds of social media. Whatever
the findings of this inquiry, the very fact a communal message like this is
circulated reaffirms the scant respect the BJP and its ecosystem of hatemongers
have for the constitution.
Earlier, the BJP got egg all
over its face when the Election Commission disallowed a campaign commercial it
proposed to release in the mainstream media. The script featured a central
character whose name was a derogatory term the BJP’s vast trolling machine used
to describe Rahul Gandhi.
Another widely-discussed issue
is the single-minded proclivity of this regime is to manage the headlines. In
the event, the media generally ignore news or shout down opinions that are
detrimental to the regime and play up those stories and viewpoints that
advocate their perspective. This tendency was highlighted by Rahul Gandhi in a
town-hall style interaction with the Congress Party’s social media team in
Gujarat. “Journalists report the truth,” he said, gesturing
appreciatively at the media representatives present. “But Narendra Modi and
Amit Shah fine-tune it in cahoots with the media owners,” he added, amid
applause.
It is apparent that the BJP’s
“one-man band” and “two-man army” don’t understand or disregard the
implications of their actions on freedom of speech that is guaranteed by the
constitution. This is now no longer being discussed sotto voce. People are
coming right out and saying it in mainstream as well as in social media that
the Modi regime has sought to place curbs on press freedom through intimidation
and persuasion.
Now, things are beginning to
boil over and in the whoosh of a backwash, the saffron regime risks being
knocked over by the strong current of disaffection. Its cavalier disregard for
the constitution could cost it dearly in Gujarat and later on, all over India.
Incredibly, Modi and his
minions continue their unrelenting propaganda bringing to bear “endorsements”
for the government’s proven disastrous economic policy from the World Bank,
Moody’s Investors Service and for Modi’s rapidly declining popularity from Pew
Research Center. Among other endorsements sought seems to have been a statement
by an obscure American author, who hailed Modi as the only world leader to
stand up to China.
How it will all pan out in Gujarat
is a matter of fevered speculation with mainstream media plumping for Modi and
the BJP. However, disillusionment is growing, with experts and
commentators openly deriding Modi’s penchant to lure the electorate with lofty
promises backed by a steady undercurrent of dog whistles to the communal base.
