Opinion View From The Right: Message in the polls
Is it that the Congress is shying away from taking a position on two critical bills, pertaining to criminalising triple talaq and taking action against illegal migrants? The Organiser editorial flags these issues.
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The report says it is weird that Rahul Gandhi, who has been in politics for two decades, campaigning in one election seriously is considered an achievement. (File)
The cover story of Organiser is on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh election results. The report says the Congress played the dangerous game of caste politics by hobnobbing with the Hardik-Alpesh-Jignesh trio, but people seem to have rejected it. Add to it the loss of Himachal Pradesh, which was overshadowed by Gujarat, and the Congress seems to continue its losing spree. The report argues that the party will have to end sycophancy to make a real comeback. The report claims the BJP has achieved a miracle in last three to four years in Indian politics. The change in the Opposition cry from “They cannot win by doing Hindu politics” to “They win because of Hindu politics”, indicates a major shift in Indian politics. The report argues that this election was the first signal the BJP will have to listen to every segment of the Hindu society. The voices, which express the aspirations of people and reactions to the massive changes the Modi government is bringing in all fields of governance, need to be heard.
The shift of SC/ST vote, the party’s decline in rural areas, also reflected in the recent UP local body elections, need to be addressed. These takeaways are significant since elections are scheduled mostly in BJP-ruled states next year. The report also says that throughout the Congress’ campaign, there was no mention of “post-Godhra” riots. Rahul Gandhi’s temple visits and the creation of a “Hindu” image points to the victory of Hindutva, it contends.
The report argues that the consolidation of casteist forces, communists, the Church, Muslim fundamentalists and NGOs etc. in favour of the Congress made this election truly bipolar. The report says it is weird that Rahul Gandhi, who has been in politics for two decades, campaigning in one election seriously is considered an achievement!
Stalling Parliament
The Organiser editorial focuses on the disruption of Parliament. It’s a cliché that the treasury benches are responsible for ensuring the smooth functioning of the House. But can the Opposition completely abandon its responsibility in a parliamentary democracy by blocking the legislative business? Is it that the Congress is shying away from taking a position on two critical bills, pertaining to criminalising triple talaq and taking action against illegal migrants? The Organiser editorial flags these issues.
The editorial examines the Congress’s demand that Prime Minister Modi apologise to former prime minister, Manmohan Singh. It claims Congress leaders including Singh and former vice- president, Hamid Ansari, had a secret meeting with former Pakistan foreign minister, Khurshid Kasuri, and Pakistan’s envoy to India, Sohail Mahmood, on December 6 at the residence of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar. The editorial says the Ministry of External Affairs was not informed about the meeting. It claims the Congress, initially, denied that meeting took place, but when Prime Minister Modi raised this issue in an election meeting, the party made it a prestige issue. The editorial says that there is a tradition of consensus building in Bharat on foreign policy issues. Instead of explaining why its leaders had the meeting, the Congress first denied it and then gave a twist of “insulting the PM office”, the editorial argues. The Congress, especially is new president, Rahul Gandhi, did not show much respect to Manmohan Singh when he was the PM. The derogatory words used by Congress leaders and allies during the election campaign against the present PM is more demeaning to the PM’s office. So the logic of disrupting Parliament for the honour of the PM’s office does not hold ground, it argues.
The agenda for the current session includes important bills like the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, intended to stop the influx of migrants from Bangladesh and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 to declare the practice of triple talaq a criminal offence. The Congress will have to take a stand on these issues and the pseudo-secular face of the party will be exposed again. This must be the real reason to block Parliament, the editorial concludes.
Smelling a conspiracy
Panchjanya has targeted the media for reporting the alleged molestation of a Bollywood actor during a flight. An article says that the actor (it mentions her name) got a person lodged in jail by making a complaint of molestation. The article says that now when its clear that Vikas Sachdeva was not at fault news channels did not report the development. According to the article, unconfirmed reports said the actor made the complaint to get publicity ahead of her upcoming movie. The media, which peeps into the personal life of Bollywood “stars”, ignored the “lie” of the actor and “propaganda” behind it, the article claimed.
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