The din and bustle of Lok Sabha election is continuing and the great democratic process is only half way through. Yet parties and formations are making tall claims of forming the next government at the Centre.
“We will have the largest number in Lok Sabha. Congress will have to support us,” claims a Third Front stalwart. “We would be guiding the destiny of the nation,” asserts another politician. BJP’s national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad announced with an air of confidence that BJP will form the next government. Who will win the confidence of maximum number of Indian voters and what equations and combinations emerge after the completion of the electoral process only God knows. Mr. Arun Shourie, the renowned journalist turned politician, articulated the line of succession also and announced that Mr. Advani would be the next prime minister, then Narendra Modi will succeed him.
God save the country from evil stars and evil times. We have no dearth of unscrupulous politicians, turncoats and strange bedfellows. Party-hopping and bandwagon jumping has become popular pastime of our politicians. It is difficult for you to recall how many times a politician changed his affiliations, and even some of them do not remember which party they belonged to in a particular year.
But one thing is certain, as veteran human rights activist and former Judge of Supreme Court V.R. Krishna Iyer declared, that communalism is the greatest danger the country is facing, therefore the communal forces must be defeated. In this regard the prospect of BJP forming the next government is fraught with great dangers for future of the country. The record of prime ministerial hopeful Mr. Advani is smeared with gross communalism. It was he who had poisoned the minds of millions through his rath yatra and collected lakhs of frenzied people who finally demolished the venerable House of God in Ayodhya. This led to widespread riots and conflicts throughout the country resulting in deaths of thousands of innocent people and large scale destruction. It would be a sad day if such a person becomes our Prime Minister.
About Narendra Modi less said the better. The other day he told a TV channel that he had nothing to apologise regarding Gujarat genocide. The state abated Gujarat massacre was enacted under his very nose and under his benign supervision. The police openly told the victims that they did not have orders to act against the criminals. What happened in Gujarat is fully documented and will remain a black chapter in the history of post-independence India. He did not visit any relief camp in spite of Vajpayee’s reminder of his Rajdharma. He did not fully utilise the relief provided by the central government. Maya Kodnani, who has been now arrested by SIT for her involvement in Naroda Patiya massacre, was till recently occupying a seat in his cabinet. It is natural that he refuses even to apologise even after seven years. How can he apologise when he does not have any anguish or remorse.
If a person like Modi comes to the helm of affairs of this great country, it will certainly lurch into tyranny. Therefore every voter should see that no person with fascist or communal mentality is sent to Lok Sabha. Let this be our motto in the remaining phases of election.