There seems to be a pattern in the disinformation drive carried out by the members of a democratically defeated dynasty. Unable to digest its humiliating defeat in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and its caucus have hatched a plan to criticise India’s vibrant democratic values. In 2015, when heads of state and ministers of 54 African countries visited India to discuss global economic, social, and cultural issues, these pessimist political players started the “Award Wapsi” campaign and raised the bogey of intolerance in the country. When the US President was in India in 2020, they staged the Shaheen Bagh protest and now when India is presiding over G20, there is a planned attack on Indian democracy, its parliamentary system and transparent constitutional institutions. This speaks of the dynasty’s intolerance towards the people’s mandate.
Some frustrated people are unable to digest India’s rising global stature under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When I analyse his success in tough and challenging circumstances, the words of American entrepreneur Biz Stone come to mind: “Willingness to take risks is the path to success”. In the past nine years, PM Modi’s emphasis on hard work, honesty, decisiveness and delivery of services has crushed the conceit of clan in Indian politics. Modi has replaced the praxis of polarisation with the politics of prosperity. Be it villagers, farmers, the poor, women or youth, every section of society has benefited as a result of PM Modi’s thrust on development with trust. The BJP has emerged as a natural party of governance.
In 1977, a coalition of various political parties known as the Janata Party and its allies secured a majority. But the government collapsed in two years and Congress succeeded in convincing the people that it is the only party that can make a stable government. In the next general elections, the party gave the slogan, “Choose who can run the government.” In the 1980 elections, Congress and its allies returned to power. In successive parliamentary polls since 1989, no single non-Congress party or non-Congress alliance could get a clear majority in Lok Sabha. Either these governments walked with the support of Congress’ crutch or they crawled with contradictory ideologies.
The BJP’s stellar performance from the north to the south and from the west to the northeast proves that it is no longer a Hindi heartland party. It had a negligible presence in the northeastern states about a decade ago. Today, it has become the primary pole of the region’s politics. This positive change has become an eyesore for the dynasty. The Congress and its allies are frustrated at the inability to digest India’s rising global stature under Modi.
The Congress and its friends are unable to digest the fact that for the first time, a non-Congress government has ensured the country’s dignity and prosperity with “stability and credibility”. In frustration due to its constant failure in elections, the Congress often joins the “anti-India syndicate” that is desperate to defame PM Modi. They questioned the surgical strikes, created a ruckus on the Rafale deal and questioned the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic, but to no avail.
India is today free from fear of terror and riots and the country is moving forward on the path of prosperity. The last nine years have been decisive and directional years with a focus on the welfare of the common man. Under the determined and diligent leadership of PM Modi, the government has given an unprecedented boost to infrastructure, business, manufacturing, health and well-being of every section. The Modi government has broken the barrier of caste, community, region and religion to ensure that every needy person gets the benefits of development without any discrimination. Today, even the BJP’s critics admit that after 2014, the country has witnessed a significant change in the delivery of welfare schemes and public services — be it constructing houses for the poor, toilets, basic infrastructure and financial assistance to the deprived sections, irrespective of their caste and religion.
The Modi Government has taken several bold decisions such as the abolition of the social evil of triple talaq, abrogation of Article 370 and the amicable resolution of the centuries-old Ram Temple dispute — a grand temple is now being constructed in Ayodhya. India successfully implemented the world’s largest vaccination drive during the Covid pandemic, and “Made in India” Covid vaccines emerged as major shields in saving lives and livelihoods.
While several nations of the world, including India’s neighbours, are suffering from a shortage of essential commodities and skyrocketing prices of food, India has been providing free food grains to about 80 crore people under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the world’s largest food security programme. These sensitive and pro-poor measures are being admired and lauded all over the world.
The writer is a BJP leader and former Union minister
