|
New Delhi: Good news, at last! The just
announced election results strongly indicate the
possibility of formation of a secular government at the
Centre a piece of good news to the minorities and the
Christian community in parti-cular especially in view of
the persecution it had to suffer at the hands of
communal forces in Orissa and Karnataka.
It is seen as a verdict of the people against the
communal politics indulged in by parties like the BJP.
One of the significant confessions made in a repentant
spirit, by the party is that it was wrong on its part to
have projected Narendra Modi as a future prime minister.
Piqued by the defeat of the BJP-led NDA’s dismal
performance L K Advani had even submitted his
resignation.
The arrogant leadership of the CPM, which had been
threatening to bring down the earlier Central government
on the issue of India’s nuclear agreement with the
United States suffered the worst humiliating defeat. Mr
Prakash Karat, who was seeking the role of a King maker
in the third front, was reduced to a deflated balloon.
Single handedly he had caused a nightmare to the
Manmohan Singh government threatening to derail it day
in and day out! And the people had showed him his place.
With the Congress victory, the ambitions entertained by
power hungry politicians like L K Advani , BSP leader
Mayavati, third front aspirants and NCP chief Sharad
Pawar have been dashed to the ground. For Advani, this
was his last chance to wear the crown. The party failure
is bound to affect his leadership even according to
indications.
The Congress Party, winning all the seven seats in
Delhi, considered a stronghold of the Sangh Parivar,
signals a serious blow to communal forces. This is also
a tribute to the good governance presented by the Sheila
Dikshit government. But will this reverse teach any
lesson to the BJP? Will it abandon its minorityhating
Hindutva agenda like the building of Ram Temple at
Ayodhya or enactment of a common civil code? Will it now
give up its cacophony assailing the Christians for
imagined conversions or branding the Muslims as
terrorists? Such a change of heart is unlikely to take
place.
Varun Gandhi of the BJP had won the Pilibhit seat with a
huge margin; he might have won his mandate by
polarization of voters. He has reaped benefits from his
hate speeches against Muslims. There are many fire
brands like him who would like to divide the people on
the basis of caste and creed. The minorities need to
stand united against such anti national ‘champions’ of
caste and creed. They seek to capture power by their
brand of vote politics. It just happened that they could
not succeed this time. But the minorities and the well
meaning people of the majority have to remain vigilant
against these communal forces. The BJP continues to
dominate MP, Karnataka, Gujarat and a few other states.
One of the best things that happe-ned to this country on
the dawn of independence is the Constitution, drawn up
by Ambedkar and other leaders of his time, guaranteeing
equality, justice and freedom to all Indians. The
Congress party has promised to adhere to the
Constitution and has been striving to dovetail its
policies for translating the objectives of the
Constitution into reality. But in the course of the past
six decades, it had compromised on principles under
pressure and this had affected its image and popularity.
But under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, Dr Manmohan
Singh and Rahul Gandhi, there is now a renewed attempt
to set right past mistakes. Rahul had talked of
introducing ‘inner party democracy’ and eliminating
‘power brokers.’ Recent projects like the rural
employment programme, waiving of agricultural debts,
etc., were measures intended to serve the masses. The
civil nuclear deal was signed with the US and two other
countries agreed to work unitedly against terrorism in
mutual interest. People have come to recognize these
achievements, despite the consistent propaganda by the
Leftists and the BJP.
The election process brought out the crass opportunism
and double standards practiced by our politicians.
Ideological enemies were willing to come together if
that meant they could share power. For instance,
Mayawati, the prime ministerial aspirant began
collecting funds and installing her own statues in an
immature attempt to build up her ‘image’ and began to
behave arrogantly, drunk with power. The poll results
show that this “Indian Obama” will have to go a long way
before she can capture power at the Centre. Her social
engineering, it is becoming increasingly clear, is only
a means to capture power for herself and not to benefit
the Dalits and ‘backward’ communities.
One of the developments that is heartening is the
strengthening of the civil society. Human Rights groups
and whistle blowers lend some strength to the weak and
the oppressed. The minorities need to be vigilant yet
seeking to lend voice to the voiceless and the
marginalized. Their leaders should be the conscience
keepers of the nation working for harmony and
understanding between communities. They must make sure
that no political party or section makes inroads into
the rights of the people or perpetuates injustice on the
basis of caste or creed in violation of the sacred
principles of the Constitution. It is good to remember
that ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’
|
