Oh Almighty! Grant them the wisdom to keep hatred at bay…

 

    The Supreme Court recently upheld the demonetisation decision. In the judgement, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court maintained that the central government had abided by all the legal procedures before taking the decision of demonetisation. However, the Modi government was severely criticised for this decision at all levels. The Congress, the Communists and even Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut had criticised saying that the decision to demonetize was taken arbitrarily in an autocratic manner and had ruined lives of thousands of poor people. The members from the Opposition had also claimed that following the decision of demonetization, the country’s economy went into an abyss. During the hearing of the petition filed in this regard before the Supreme Court, all the major objections against demonetization were thoroughly discussed. The Supreme Court disposed all these objections. Interestingly, keeping aside the political implications, the Opposition had resorted to spreading false news in this regard. This reaffirmed how far their hatred had gone in this political race. But after the Supreme Court’s verdict, both Rahul Gandhi and Uddhavrao Thackeray once again fell flat on their faces.

    Even earlier, Rahul Gandhi had been slammed by the Supreme Court on various occasions. It may be recalled how Rahul Gandhi had resorted to spreading false news about the purchase of Rafale aircraft. He had claimed that since Rafale was purchased at a hiked price, the country would suffer huge losses. But in December 2018, the Supreme Court had ruled that the purchase procedure of 36 Rafale aircraft from France was valid. This aircraft purchase deal was worth Rs 58,000 crores. The Supreme Court had clearly stated that there were no irregularities in the execution of this deal. Interestingly, former union finance minister Dr. Yashwant Sinha had also alleged that there was corruption in the Rafale procurement. Ever since the Modi government came to power, it has been observed that the Opposition, some sections of the media and a handful of self-proclaimed intellectuals are deliberately spreading false information. In politics, criticising the opponent is inevitable. But in the last eight years, there have been deliberate attempts to systematically create dissatisfaction in the minds of the people and thereby generate violence.

 

    After the demonetization decision was announced, the common man had to queue up outside banks to get their currency exchanged. At that time, the media had also spread false news that since people had to stand in long serpentine queues, some of them had lost their lives. There was a clear intent to get violent reactions from the people against demonetization. It must have been for the first time ever since independence that the opponents must have resorted to such bad mouthing and maligning the image of the government. It was also observed that not just the domestic forces, but even some foreign elements were active in spreading fake news. And despite this extreme propaganda, the common man still did not trust in the wrong information.

    Also, ever since the Modi government came to power, it has been observed that some people are constantly trying to create a divide in the society on the basis of caste and religion. Recently, the Modi government had announced the Agnipath Yojana for Army recruitment. Against this decision, there was sponsored violence in North India that was conducted in a systematic manner by spreading false information. After the Modi government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, there were attempts to create fear in the minds of the minorities, especially the Muslim community by propagandizing that the minorities will be deported.

 

    Various forces had tried to create violence and discontent in the minds of the society against the Modi government during agitations like the protest at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, the subsequent riots in Delhi, the farmers protest that had lasted for several months on the borders of Delhi against the Agriculture Bill, the attempts that were made during this agitation to enter the Red Fort and instances of attacks on the police. But the Modi government ensured that these attempts fail and do not create the furore in the society. Even the citizens made sure that these attempts do not create unrest in the society.

 

    Also, during the Covid-19 pandemic, these forces had once again got united against the Modi government. They were not even ashamed to take recourse to an epidemic like Corona to satisfy their motives. During the pandemic, fake news was making rounds – India has recorded maximum deaths due to Covid-19 in comparison to the other countries, and that hundreds of bodies were drifting down the Ganga River. Fake photographs were also being circulated throughout the media. There was no reason for this kind of news to be circulated. The opponents of the Modi government were not even ashamed that in doing so, they were actually maligning the image of the country. When other countries had failed miserably in inventing an effective vaccine for the treatment of Corona, it was India that had refused to take vaccine from developed nations and instead focussed on preparing an indigenous vaccine. This vaccine was delivered in a planned manner to villages and even to the other remote parts of the world.

 

    Since independence, the country has witnessed several epidemics. But at that time India had to import vaccines for those diseases. Now, when India had indigenously got its own vaccine, instead of being proud, these opponents spread propaganda that there was no use in taking this vaccine. The Modi government had also prepared a systematic age-wise vaccination drive. And as per this plan only, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like any other citizen, had got himself vaccinated from one of the government hospitals.

 

    At that time, the Opposition had also raised doubts regarding the economics of manufacturing the vaccine. But the common man refused to believe in these allegations. Vaccination of 100 crore citizens was completed within record period, thanks to the efficient administration of the Modi government. It was only because of the vaccination that the spread of Corona was prevented in the country. Let us not even imagine how disastrous it would have been had the citizens fallen prey to the Opponents and their fake strategies. The Opposition did not realise that in order to malign and exhibit their animosity against the Modi government, they were in fact, betraying the motherland.

In this backdrop, I am reminded of the moderate politics of Rajiv Gandhi. It may be recalled that in 1989, Rajiv Gandhi had stepped down from power. Later, in a short span that he had, there were many incidents of agitations happening across the country against the implementation of the Mandal Commission and the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation. But at all times, he never let his opposition stoop low.

 

    Unfortunately, his son, has sacrificed all political values. It is ironic, that despite repeatedly getting slammed by the Supreme Court and by the citizens, the Opposition is not gaining any political wisdom. I sincerely wish to bow down in front of the Almighty and seek blessing – “Oh Almighty! Grant them the wisdom to keep hatred at bay.”

 

(Article Pre-Published in Times of India –09 Jan. 2023)

 

Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson