The recent general elections back in India were a watershed moment in Indian history. It was the first time in 30 years that a single political party was able to get a simple majority in parliament all by itself. The people's mandate was clear, we want the BJP and we want Narendra Modi as our Prime Minister.
But is it really that simple, were the outgoing Congress and its allies really that bad in comparison to the incoming BJP? True- the number of corruption/graft cases that the Congress and its allies were involved had crossed all levels of tolerance. This in a society where corruption is seen quite frequently on a day to day basis.The outgoing PM, a very qualified and dignified person was seen as too silent and lacked authority to push through his own reforms or even reign in on party members. The real power, it seemed lay, as it has been for most of India's independence with the Gandhi family.
Going with all that, the anti-incumbency feelings were at an all time high.Where the Congress was seen as weak, indecisive and bereft of ideas, Modi was seen as strong, decisive and more than capable. All that the Congress lacked, Modi and the BJP had(or rather projected). His rags to riches story and strong man image during the Gujarat riots certainly endeared him to a lot of people.This is the part where it gets a little concerning.It does seem that people voted based on personality . Maybe Modi is a capable leader, but to vote in more than 300 MP's to power based on a single person is a bit antithetical to democracy. In a future post I'd like to tackle the credentials of the current PM , but for now I'll stick to just the general assembly of MP's from the BJP.
I came across an interesting article in which an independent watchdog agency found that the number of MP's with criminal charges actually increased in this election. 34 % (or 186) MP's can technically face jail time. What was also disturbing was that a staggering 82 % of MP's were millionaires. A government of the people, for the people and by the people. It appears not.
Reference - http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/every-third-mp-in-16th-lok-sabha-has-criminal-charges-adr-114051800683_1.html
The BJP and the Shiv Sena fared the worst , with 35% and 83% of its MP's facing criminal charges.Are these the people we'd really want to represent us? Why such blind devotion to one party and person.
I'm of the opinion that a strong vibrant democracy is directly proportional to the how accountable the people hold it's own government. If we were just to assume that one person would fix everything, that would be disastrous. It would indicate one of two things- we assume that the PM should be a dictator or that we feel that being an engaged electorate is a once in a five year thing.
Another concerning thing has been the complete lack of criticism of the BJP and Modi. Surely no one is perfect. There have been many insults against the Congress or the Gandhi family, but very very few if at all against the BJP. Has there been some sort of suppression in the opposition? It is articles like the one below that concern me- Will opposition to the BJP or Modi be seen as anti-national ?
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/goan-youth-likely-to-face-arrest-for-anti-modi-facebook-comments/
I've never seen this , when anyone criticized the Congress or its allies.
For the benefit of the country i hope Modi and the BJP take India to new heights, but the signs don't look good. I'm all for a good and capable leader after the Government we just had, but we must always tread with caution.
In a future post I'd like to explore the much touted 'Gujarat Development'. Was there suppression of individual rights even in the face of development?
But is it really that simple, were the outgoing Congress and its allies really that bad in comparison to the incoming BJP? True- the number of corruption/graft cases that the Congress and its allies were involved had crossed all levels of tolerance. This in a society where corruption is seen quite frequently on a day to day basis.The outgoing PM, a very qualified and dignified person was seen as too silent and lacked authority to push through his own reforms or even reign in on party members. The real power, it seemed lay, as it has been for most of India's independence with the Gandhi family.
Going with all that, the anti-incumbency feelings were at an all time high.Where the Congress was seen as weak, indecisive and bereft of ideas, Modi was seen as strong, decisive and more than capable. All that the Congress lacked, Modi and the BJP had(or rather projected). His rags to riches story and strong man image during the Gujarat riots certainly endeared him to a lot of people.This is the part where it gets a little concerning.It does seem that people voted based on personality . Maybe Modi is a capable leader, but to vote in more than 300 MP's to power based on a single person is a bit antithetical to democracy. In a future post I'd like to tackle the credentials of the current PM , but for now I'll stick to just the general assembly of MP's from the BJP.
I came across an interesting article in which an independent watchdog agency found that the number of MP's with criminal charges actually increased in this election. 34 % (or 186) MP's can technically face jail time. What was also disturbing was that a staggering 82 % of MP's were millionaires. A government of the people, for the people and by the people. It appears not.
Reference - http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/every-third-mp-in-16th-lok-sabha-has-criminal-charges-adr-114051800683_1.html
The BJP and the Shiv Sena fared the worst , with 35% and 83% of its MP's facing criminal charges.Are these the people we'd really want to represent us? Why such blind devotion to one party and person.
I'm of the opinion that a strong vibrant democracy is directly proportional to the how accountable the people hold it's own government. If we were just to assume that one person would fix everything, that would be disastrous. It would indicate one of two things- we assume that the PM should be a dictator or that we feel that being an engaged electorate is a once in a five year thing.
Another concerning thing has been the complete lack of criticism of the BJP and Modi. Surely no one is perfect. There have been many insults against the Congress or the Gandhi family, but very very few if at all against the BJP. Has there been some sort of suppression in the opposition? It is articles like the one below that concern me- Will opposition to the BJP or Modi be seen as anti-national ?
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/goan-youth-likely-to-face-arrest-for-anti-modi-facebook-comments/
I've never seen this , when anyone criticized the Congress or its allies.
For the benefit of the country i hope Modi and the BJP take India to new heights, but the signs don't look good. I'm all for a good and capable leader after the Government we just had, but we must always tread with caution.
In a future post I'd like to explore the much touted 'Gujarat Development'. Was there suppression of individual rights even in the face of development?
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