Hypocrisy has become a norm in politics. A few days after Yogi’s elevation as UP chief minister, Bhagwat said at a function at Nagpur “Doors to political assignments are closed when one joins and works for the RSS. The speculative reports in the media about my being in contention for the Presidential post should be seen only as entertainment.” The RSS chief perhaps forgets that doors for political assignments had been opened by him for a large number of leading RSS functionaries and activists who are now occupying key political posts including those of prime minister, chief ministers and other top BJP offices. One is not aware if Yogi Adityanath had also been an RSS activist. But the fact that his elevation had the stamp of the BJP’s ideological mentor whose organization is claimed to be a “non-political and cultural and social” is indicated by Yogi’s nomination as party’s CM only after top BJP leaders secured Bhagwat’s approval.

The above situation needs to be seen in the backdrop of the developments that have been taking place in the last three years. Ignoring their eligibility or suitability for the posts, Sangh Parivar’s members have been appointed as heads of many top constitutional and autonomous institutions of excellence including universities, film certification and censorship bodies. History is also being re-written giving it saffron touch. In the new texts “Faith replaces evidence, mythology replaces history and theology replaces philosophy”.

ABVP, the RSS affiliate student body, has been trying to forcibly take over the elected students bodies of some of the leading universities leading to clashes inside and outside the campuses. Efforts were made by ABVP activists to prevent scholars and other luminaries who are not known to toe their line, from attending official functions often leading to law and order problems forcing the authorities to cancel the functions.

In the first remarks after campus violence fuelled a debate on free speech versus nationalism in Delhi University President Pranab Mukhrjee last week said “there should be no room in India for the intolerant Indian. There must be space for legitimate criticism and dissent” and “universities must engage in reasoned discussion and debate rather than propagate a culture of unrest”. He lamented that universities which are meant to provide the space to engage in “reasoned discussion and debate”, had been “caught in the vortex of violence and disquiet”.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari In his address at the 66th convocation of the Punjab University on March 25 also underlined the need “for protecting universities as spaces of independent thought, intellectual freedom and liberal values” Alluding to the incidents of campus unrest, he said. “Recent events in our own country have shown that there is much confusion about what a university should or should not be. The freedom of our universities has been challenged by narrow considerations of what is perceived to be public good.”

The comments need to be seen in the light of the attempts by our self-acclaimed ‘patriots’ to achieve their objective of converting the plural and diverse Indian society into ‘Hindu Rashtra’. They forgot what the Preamble to the Indian Constitution says “we, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic”.

They also perhaps forget the fate theocratic Islamic Pakistan and Hindu Rashtra Nepal have met. Religious extremism mothered terrorism whose offspring Frankenstein has politically and economically destabilized the “Islamic federal republic” of Pakistan and created political and economic uncertainties in Nepal. Chinese have taken advantage of the political instability and economic backwardness of our two neighbours.

The foregoing narrative raises the question: Will the Opposition parties be able to stop Modi’s juggernaut from sweeping the 2019 Lok Sabha elections? The answer is ‘not possible’ if there is no radical change in the opposition parties attitude and the prevailing politico-electoral situation.

One needs to look at the state of non-BJP parties. The Opposition is a divided house. Congress is failing to emerge as the main challenger to the BJP led by Modi. With its only charismatic leader Sonia Gandhi having become relatively inactive because of her health problems, there is at present virtually no leader to replace her. Party vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s ways of functioning and incapability to handle sensitive political situations have contributed to the present miserable state of the party. Even many senior party leaders want Priyaka Gandhi who look to them as a replica of India Gandhi and has the potential of providing effective leadership to the party, has so far not shown interest to take active part in party affairs or take over its reins.

The other national parties, particularly the Leftists, no longer enjoy the mass support they once enjoyed. Despite their inter-party and clashing state specific interests, the regional parties can meet the saffron party’s challenge in 2019 Lok Sabha polls provided they and the national parties untidily fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. They did so by forming mahagathbandhan in Bihar which virtually routed the BJP leading to formation of the Nitish Kumar ministry.

The Opposition parties are perhaps not unaware of the English proverb “A stitch in time saves nine”! (IPA Service)