While it is no one’s claim that politics is as pristine as it used to be [if it ever was so], the current level of discourse is nauseating. While no political party in the country is absolved of guilt in politicizing the issues for political gains, the current trend of Goebbelsian propaganda warfare against the government by an unholy nexus of desperate politicians, media and intelligentsia, miffed at the loss of prominence under a new dispensation is a new low. Caste and communal tensions are being fanned with impunity. By holding central government directly responsible for every unfortunate incident in the country and seeking to portray it as a regressive regime stamping on minorities, weaker sections, and free speech without any basis whatsoever is not only giving fodder to our enemies abroad but also throwing a spanner at the integrity of the nation. Minorities are driven to fundamentalist tendencies due to fear mongering by the so-called “secular” messiahs while the majority is made to feel victimized, resulting in polarization. Politics over dead bodies
Politics over dead bodies
A constructive opposition is an oxymoron today; but, the vile intention of somehow smearing the government even if it means throwing the country to dogs is abominable at best. What is more disturbing is the culpability of our fourth estate; driven by a ravenous desire for TRPs, and loaded with many grudges against a government they are highly prejudiced against, they are going all out to paint individual incidents as part of some grandiose plan executed by the government for an imagined “nefarious” agenda. Even, dead bodies of little children are being exploited to bolster their bogus claims. To give more thrust to their allegations, they use the perception that the government is pro-Hindu or even pro upper caste to the hilt.[A laughable charge with many of the powerful leaders including the current PM being from the so-called “lower castes” ]They selectively highlight and indulge in selective outrage to aid their vicious campaign. This results in incidents where minorities are at the wrong end being given continuous coverage to invoke communal passions while giving a quite burial to incidents where majority community is at the receiving end. Similarly, BJP and the current central government are blamed and the so-called “secular” parties are treated with kid gloves even if they are in power in the states [or even when they were running the country] where something unfortunate happens. They have no qualms about giving twists and spin to statements or quoting out of context to create an artificial outrage. This invariably drives a wedge between communities as one section feels like being targeted by the government while the other feel victimized. Politics over dead bodies
Politics over dead bodies
The less said is the better about our intelligentsia and social activists. Beneficiaries of state patronage for decades, they were left high and dry when a new dispensation with no love lost for their Socialist-Marxist ideology stormed to power. Their ivory towers of megalomania came crashing down as they were no longer a party to policy decisions or part of a “super cabinet” like the NAC during UPA rule. The Lutyens’ Delhi lost their relevance which they had nurtured over decades. As endless perks, cushy positions and living off the government money stopped abruptly as a political landslide demolished their political patrons, they took umbrage at their loss of stature and relevance, just like many senior journalists got miffed when their customary foreign junkets during state visits almost dried up. Results are out here for us to see; media and intelligentsia cooking up daily theories about how the central government is out to destroy the secular fabric of the country or concocted stories about how right dissent and freedom of expression being trampled upon. Wonder, then how, many of these guys are managing to go on expletive-laden tirades against even the PM with impunity! Politics over dead bodies
Politics over dead bodies
This manufactured revolt of the vanquished, as rightly suggested by the FM, who cannot digest their electoral defeat gracefully is ludicrous at best. Of course, we cannot paint everyone with the same brush. But, most of the vociferous protesters from the intelligentsia and the writers who returned their awards are Left/socialist/Congress sympathizers, beneficiaries of an ecosystem cultivated by the successive Congress governments. It reeks of hypocrisy when people who didn’t bat an eyelid during emergency, people who feigned sleep when the nation was ravaged by communal riots from Bhagalpur to Assam or even Gujarat, people who slept through the Sikh massacre suddenly wakes up to the growing intolerance in the country in the name of a few isolated incidents of violence. It is pertinent to refresh our memories about how many of these “eminent” persons had gone on a rampage against the current PM during the general election campaign to get an idea about their prejudice. Consider the abominable murders of rationalists and writers like Dabolkar, Pansare, and Kalburgi. In every incident, the respective state government was ruled by Congress; they were in power even at the center except when Kalburgi was killed. But, alas, the blame is solely put on the BJP to derive political mileage; well you cannot expect them to bite the hands that fed them. Politics over dead bodies
Politics over dead bodies
The only agenda of the opposition and their cronies in media and intellectual space seems to be, somehow derail governance and development. They fully know that, if the PM has his way and fulfills even half his vision, they will be wiped out from the political and intellectual landscape of the country. They are ready to resort to any means as evident from the continuous blocking of crucial legislation and manufactured outrages against the government. So, it is time government wake up to the reality that their opponents are ready to even derail the nation’s core interests in their desperation to regain prominence. They should have the vision and dexterity to stick to their plans and to not get waylaid by the clutter sent their way. In a democracy, the public is the ultimate judge. Stick to you development agenda and deliver on at least half the promises, you are sure to get another term. Further, in this age of social media, there is a limit in the power of media to damage anyone. So, it is better to treat concocted stories with the scant respect they deserve, rather than trying to defend against cooked up charges and giving them the opportunity to stoke more controversies by twisting statements made. The government cannot afford to screw up now as the next few years are crucial for India. We have a good shot at emerging as an exuberant global power provided we do things right. The last thing we need as a nation is to mess up now and get stuck in a quagmire of mediocrity. Our future generations won’t forgive us for the mistake. Politics over dead bodies
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