Modi Ji stood in the Parliament and mocked the protesting farmers by calling them ‘Andolanjeevi’. This comes as no surprise since Modi Ji learnt his politics in the RSS, an organization that has neither accepted our Constitution or the value of Democracy enshrined in it. Democracy for Modi Ji is no more than elections that must be fought, won and mangled by any means possible. This is therefore a good time to remind Modi Ji of the true meaning of ‘Democracy’.

Democracy is the running of a society as per the will of its people. It takes more than just regular elections to make a Country a Democracy. Those elected in a democracy are not Rajas or Maharajas but the REPRESENTATIVES of the people. The task of a representative is not to rule, command, dictate or oppress people, it is instead to listen to people, to speak to them and to understand their wish for society. Modi Ji believes only in one way ‘Mann Ki Baat’ where he speaks and all others can only listen. He has not bothered even once to visit the protesting farmers, sit with them and listen to what they have to say.

The next requirement for a democracy to function is that the representatives of the people must have platforms to raise their voice and the opportunity to shape policy. That means laws must be discussed in the Parliament before they are passed, and power must be decentralized and taken to those who represent people. Today, all the power is concentrated in ‘Hum do, Hamare do’ and the Parliament has been reduced to a rubberstamp for whatever whims and fancies our modern-day Maharajas allude to.

Finally, democracy requires robust dissent. No human being is perfect and no one can know the hearts of 130 crore people. For us to forge a collective path requires that we listen to every voice, especially those who do not agree with us. In the Modi Raj though, most media are puppets; anyone who questions the government is labelled ‘anti-national’ and those who protest in frustration are water-cannoned and lathi-charged. Modi Ji has used the mandate, that India’s democracy has given him, to kill the soul of India’s democracy. Modi Ji, those, whom you have branded as ‘Andolanjeevis’, are not merely fighting for their rights as farmers, they are fighting to preserve the Democracy and the Constitution which you took an oath to protect. It is the patriotic duty of every Indian to stand with those who are raising their voice to save our Nation.

Jai Hind. Jai Congress. Jai Jagat.