A Prime Minister is the highest functionary of a democracy. We Indians can proudly claim that India is a vibrant democracy in the world with the largest population of 140+ crore citizens. However, it is very unfortunate and a blot on the fair name of our democracy that our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been communalizing the election narrative time and again. It appears to be a result of his fear and frustration based on the feedback on the expected outcome of the three phases of the general elections.
How can one explain Mr. Modi’s recent explosive speeches during his tour of certain States in which he said that there is a conspiracy against him, a conspiracy of ‘vote jihad’.He appealed to people to give him over 400 seats so that Congress would not put a Babri back on Ram temple in Ayodhya. He added that he requires a 400-plus mandate to foil Congress’ conspiracy to bring back Article 370 and reservation for Muslims on religious lines by snatching SC/ST and OBC quotas. He further referred to another conspiracy of Shahzada (Rahul Gandhi) to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision on Ram temple as his father (Rajiv Gandhi) had done in the Shah Bano case.
There is no demand from Muslims for a reversal of the Supreme Court’s Babri Masjid verdict. Muslims have accepted the verdictdespite the feeling that it was an unjust decision that went against the demands of justice and constitutional norms.
Should the highest functionary of the largest democracy rake up such controversies? Will it not stoke the fire of animosity in the Hindu majority against the marginalized, demonized and battered Muslim community? If some street speaker or petty worker of BJP speaks in such poisonous tones, it might have been overlooked. But it is being done from the highest seat of power that the Prime Minister holds.
Media outlets and newspapers the world over are bewildered by such statements as many newspapers have strongly criticized these irresponsible utterances. The Election Commission’sModel Code of Conduct expressly prohibits such statements. But unfortunately, it seems, the handpicked commissioners are not taking and won’t take any action against Mr. Modi. They have not forgotten what was done to Mr. Lavasa, former Election Commissioner.
The mudslinging and verbal attacks, rather the instances of verbal terrorism, which we witness during the election season compel us to give seriousthought to the worsening social and political atmosphere. We must think about the deterioration in the moral standards of our politicians.
Politics should have been the most honorable and respectful profession because politicians and rulers are the models for common citizens. There is an Indian proverb that says jaisa raja waisipraja (as is the king so are the citizens). Therefore, the well-wishers and intellectuals should come forward to set better examples of responsible governance and leadership. Religious leaders too can play a positive role of principled leadership. Only then we can expect a change in the present chaotic and unprincipled leadership. We should remember that only those nations succeed and survive that base their collective life on the fundamentals of fear of God and sound and time-tested moral principles. The present pseudo-religiosity cannot help us in this chaotic situation. Only genuine religiosity can help us. Because we are continuously witnessing how fake religiosity is being used to deceive people. This also should be remembered that a country can become great on the basis of God-ordained moral principles of collective life rather than only on material development.