Dr. K. Veeramani
The election for the Legislative Assemblies of five states is to be held from the mid of the current month and the results are expected by 3rd December. Next year the general election for the Lok Sabha is due. With a mandate given for two terms to Narendra Modi government, there have to be many achievements to announce to the public. But on the independence day, the PM Modi while addressing the public after hoisting the National Flag at Red Fort, New Delhi, announced that he would list out the achievements of the Union government, headed by him during the next flag hoisting on 15th August 2024. But before that the tenure of Lok Sabha would conclude and prior to that the election has to be held countrywide. Modi as the PM has ruled the country for about a decade. Still Modi is unable to tell about the achievements of the government headed by him. He seeks another mandate in 2024 to tell the achievement. What does it show? Nothing but absolute travesty!
What did happen since 2014?
The Constitution of India commences thus:
“WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a ‘[SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC] and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;………”.
The cited Preamble is the core of our Constitution. The sprit of it is consistently violated during Modi’s rule. It is not accidental but designed ideologically. The BJP is the political branch of the RSS. After the Constitution of India was accepted by the Constitutional Assembly on 26th January 1949, Organiser, the official Organ of RSS, through its editorial was critical about it. The core point of our Constitution is ‘all humans are equal. Equal opportunities must be made available to all’. The editorial of Organiser (30th November 1949) commented that the Constitution is contrary to “Manusmriti’, the code of the faith of present Hinduism thus:
“But in our Constitution, there is no mention of the unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day, his laws as enuniciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing”.
The core point of Manusmriti is ‘Humans must be discriminated and dehumanised by Varna Dharma and that too in graded inequality.
Democracy is signified by reasonable space for discussions, debates and dissents. But the country has faced a lot of crises arisen out of the utilateral decisions taken by Modi’s government and its hasty implementation.
Economic front
One example is the 2016 – year demonetisation: its failure in bringing back the black money from abroad and also locking of the black money within the country and for that demonetisation of Rs.1,000/- and Rs.500/- currency notes was declared with the introduction of Rs.2000/- notes. Later on it was withdrawn. What does it show? Failure to check the flow of black money. Many micro, small and medium enterprises became defunct. Unemployment already prevailing has risen to new heights. Still the aggrieved are unable to come up and continue the normal activities. Usually any demonetisation exercise would be aimed at blocking of black money. But in the 2016 demonetisation, all the unaccounted money kept in the form of demonetised currencies were not blocked. The notes came back to Reserve Bank of India through banking channel. What follow up action was taken on the flow back of currencies, has not been announced so far.
GST regime: After assuming power at the Union government, Modi introduced a new tax viz. Goods and Services Tax (GST) that curtailed the avenue of revenue of the State governments which are already under financial restraints due to the fiscal policy. When the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the Congress party initiated earlier the move of GST, Mr.Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, strongly opposed the move. At the floor of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Modi declared that if at all GST was introduced, it could occur only on his dead body. Such a brave Modi ji, ‘U’ turned after becoming the Prime Minister and implemented the GST. Political federalism of our country could be healthy only if the fiscal federalism prevails. Every move of the Union government during the last one decade has systematically curtailed the States’ revenue mobilisation. The State governments directly move with the people. They are being ruled by the representatives of the respective people of the state and they are answerable and accountable to the mandate secured from the people. Is it desirable in the democratic federalism to keep the State Governments always in grave revenue deficit? People’s sovereignty as adumbrated in the Preamble of the Constitution is not respected by the RSS backed BJP government.
Social Justice: Among the three categories of justice to be dispensed with, social justice assumes primacy as stated in the Preamble. The RSS is diagonally opposite to the principle of social justice and it has been speaking against it. At the time of election in order to secure the votes of oppressed people it would utter palatable statements in favour of reservation measures for the oppressed. The same is the modus-operandi of RSS and BJP.
The Modi’s regime has moved one step ahead in diluting the principle of social justice by bringing 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), a ‘strange poor’ among the upper castes. Practically, the beneficiaries are the upper most in the upper castes, mostly brahmins. Preferential or compensatory treatments are required as reservation measures who are socially and educationally backward as per the Constitutional provisions [Articles 15(4), 16(4) and 340]. Such bases of backwardness are centuries old. But Modi regime has ill-designed with economic criterion which is fluctuating (‘elastic’ in economics parlance) and amended the Constitution with its brutal majority to bring reservation for EWS. For the first time in the history of Constitutional amendments, this Amendment was cleared and formalities were completed within a week to implement the EWS reservation.
On 26th November 1949, the concluding day of the Constituent Assembly, Babasaheb Dr.B.R. Ambedkar spoke thus:
“…however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work, it happen to be a good lot.”
The provisions of our Constitution had been wrongly understood, of course deliberately, and the EWS Bill came into effect with the bulldozer majority of BJP in the Parliament. When the reservation related Bills for the “socially and educationally backward classes” were passed, the data about the position and numerical strength of their population were called for at various layers, of the authorities of the governing mechanism. The same details were not called for for the ‘new’ reservation for EWS in 2019.
In respect of reservation for the backward classes brought in Central services and undertakings for employment in 1992 and for the admission in Central educational institutions in 2006, the due percentage of reservation has not been fulfilled so far. No initiative was taken by Saffron rulers. But they are particular about seeking the votes of the Backward Classes, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
Unemployment
Our country exceeded China in population as per the projected figures. To that extent avenues for employment are not created; not even sustained by filling up the vacancies in government services. In 2014, during the electioneering, Modi promised the creation of 2 crores of new jobs every year. Even after a decade in power nothing concrete has been made by the saffron rulers. When it was reminded, the Union Home Minister replied, “These are all jumla!” What an irresponsible response from the responsible person! The vacancies, arisen owing to the superannuation of government servants are not filled up through the recruitment of new personnels. Many public sector undertakings, even while they were earning sizeable revenue, are being privatised where there is no reservation policy, meant for OBCs, SCs and STs. The reverse dictum of socialistic pattern, contrary to the promise in the Preamble has been carried out by the BJP. This facilitates concentration of wealth only with a few corporates and persons. The economic inequalities will be widened further with inadequate distribution of income generated causing set back to the welfare and wellbeing of the people.
‘Manudharma’ Yojana: The height of atrocity of a decade long rule of saffonists is bringing back the people, by bringing Masusmriti into practice and encouraging the measures to sustain it. Denial of education and succession of family profession by the next generation are the inhuman features of Manusmriti. In order to upkeep such features Modi has designed and implemented Viswakarma Yojana this year, on his birthday on17th September. By identifying 18 caste groups, like barber, washerman, goldsmith, carpenter, etc, the scheme encourages the wards to undertake their parents’ occupation in succession at the age of 18 – the age at which they are expected to pursue higher education. To encourage the traditional family profession, they are being granted loan assistance from banks.
What a retrograde scheme under the disguise of welfare!
It is high time the people must think and act to bring down the rule of saffronists through their invaluable votes in the forthcoming election to the Lok Sabha.
The Constitution of India, that is evolved by the people for themselves must be understood in proper perspective by the rulers. On the contrary, PM Modi worships the Constitution as divine and acts completely against the spirit behind its provisions. With the brutal majority, the mandate given by the electorate to BJP has not been properly used but improperly. The decade old rule of saffronists has led the country to a different direction contrary to the Constitutional letter and spirit.
But in our country the People are Sovereign. The sovereignty has to be utilised effectively at the time of elections. The voters from the aggrieved section should always think of our future and democracy and the wide gap between election announcements and zero achievements of it by saying ‘jumla’ and dismal performance all these years of woes of the common people and their sufferings. To put an end to it to save the constitution, democracy and above all our country and people, is the dire need today.
A good verdict through the mandate is the fitting and proper answer to all our sufferings to end in future.
