‘Elections’ in Indian democracy are like a great festival in which people exercise their franchise to form a public welfare government for their country, society and their own future. If we understand in the context of India, then the public gives opportunity to all those leaders and parties who say that I will change the future of the country, I will take the country on the path of progress. Believing in these promises, the public expressed confidence in Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014 and 2019 and both times it formed a government with full majority and in both the elections, Narendra Modi made huge promises to the public –‘Bohot hui gareebi/mehengai ki maar. Abki bar Modi sarkar.’ “We will provide 2 crore jobs annually’’, ‘’We will bring black money back from abroad and put Rs. 15 lakh each in public’s account, for that all the poor people were made to open Jan Dhan accounts’’, Thousands of dreams like ‘Make in India’ and ‘doubling the income of farmers’ were shown to the public!
But the same people to whom the promise of reducing inflation, eradicating poverty and providing employment was made – their opportunities for self-employment were taken away through demonetisation. The small industries and manual workers were left in a state of starvation. On top of that, the backs of small traders were broken by imposing the wrong GST. Far from giving jobs to the youth even after showing them the dream of jobs worth Rs. 2 crores, the Modi government did not even recruit 30 lakh vacant posts, on the other hand, by bringing a scheme like ‘Agniveer’ for four years, the 10 lakh vacant posts in the army were filled by youth, which, along with making fun of the country, also played with the security of the country. At the same time, the whole country saw what it did with the promises of doubling the income of the farmers, how the farmers kept protesting on the border in the sun, rain and winter, how thousands of farmers kept losing their lives, despite that the Modi government was proud of its majority. It was so intense that bullets and water cannons were fired on the farmers and they were called ‘Khalistanis’ and false cases were filed against them and they were put in jails. Contrary to the power of majority which should have been used to remove the problems and sufferings of the people, the Modi government adopted a dictatorial attitude and used power for its own benefit by crippling all the institutions and controlling the entire media on the basis of money power. It didn’t let the failures of our government reach the public. Every voice that was raised against Modi was seen as a traitor.
On the other hand, the job of the opposition is to expose the failures of the government and show the right path to the government. But the opposition leaders who criticized the wrong policies of the government were implicated in false cases and sent to jails. They were implicated in ED, CBI, Income Tax’false cases and the arrogance of Modi’s majority government turned into a complete dictatorship, which was clearly visible during the incidents of brutality against the daughters of Manipur fighting for justice and brutality against women wrestlers.
False cases were filed against opposition leader Shri Rahul Gandhi, his Parliament membership was terminated, his house was snatched away, lakhs and crores of rupees were spent and his image was tarnished by making false memes. Despite that, Shri Rahul Gandhi stood like a hero and kept criticizing Modi’s policies in the interest of the country. The same warrior, whom the media did not even show, connected with the general public through ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and conveyed his views to the people. By traveling 4500 km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, he conveyed his message to the people and shared their problems and sorrows, which can be clearly seen in the Congress Manifesto (Nyay Patra) today.
On the other hand, by taking out ‘Nyay Yatra’ from Manipur to Maharashtra, he made the people aware to save the country from dictatorship and to get justice and fight for their rights. He exposed the wrong policies of Modi to the general public. The plans to change the Constitution and gain power through dictatorship by snatching away people’s rights were conveyed to the public. The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections-2024 has passed, as Modi ji is continuously trying to prove it to the public by telling lies after lies. He is giving speeches that create animosity and division of society like Hindu-Muslim, Ram Mandir. This clearly shows that in these 10 years he has not done any work for the welfare of the public. Therefore, he wants to come to power for the third time by diverting the attention of the public and fooling them. But the public cannot be fooled again and again because “this public knows everything”.
Today the public is fed up with Modi’s words and divisive and provocative speeches. The public is expressing confidence in the Manifesto of Shri Rahul Gandhi and Congress. “Five Justices” are becoming popular among the public. All over the country, the promises of the alliance are being trusted by the public. On the other hand, Modi ji has lost his popularity by giving boring speeches on Hindu-Muslim topics instead of talking about the 10 years’ report card. There is no vision of giving a new direction to the country in his speeches. Therefore, we can say that Modi’s spell seems to be getting cast away. Everyone is waiting for June 04. Everyone wants the country to go into visionary hands.
(The Author is a State Co-Coordinator, Rajiv Gandhi Study Circle, Rajasthan)