Modi government has proved to be colossal failure in handling the economy. Also the damage done to our society by the RSS promoted hatred is unprecedented. The damage to our democracy and the values on which it was built is also immense. However, the BJP, aided by a compliant press and compromised institutions, is trying to project India as a superpower under Modi’s messianic leadership. In this background, these elections must be seen from the point of view of our people, especially the marginalised, suffering under the gravely aggravated issues like hunger, unemployment, under BJP rule.

While the current political environment is totally saturated with the phrase “Modi’s Guarantee”, the General Elections are the opportunity where we must ask what happened to his earlier promises? People can see that Modi’s guarantees shuffle between vote-bank politics to outright lies. The promises made by Modi before the 2014 elections about employment, doubling farmers’ income security for women, 15 lakhs into each bank account etc. are some of the issues are not even discussed by BJP leaders now.

So-called ‘master strokes’ like demonetisation, which were nothing but whims of an unaccountable leader, have been forgotten with the help of diversionary tactics and a compliant media. It is astonishing to see how much effort the RSS-BJP eco system make in moving attention away from burning issues of the day. BJP is dedicatedly engaged in swindling the people instead of serving them. Modi continues to resell his promises of prosperity to all, while the common people suffer from his misrule. All this is being hidden behind the smokescreen of ‘Viksit Bharat’. The real constituents of Bharat, its workers and farmers, student and youth, mourn the loss of one full decade of opportunities.

Prime Minister Modi and his lieutenants continue regurgitating the empty promise of five trillion dollar economy. What will be the form and structure of that economy, they never discuss. They never discuss what will be the share of common people in those five trillion dollar or it will be squarely owned by corporates. In reality, strength of any economy depends on how good its citizens are faring and how the government enables them to avail opportunities. India witnessed a large expansion in the coverage of social sector schemes under the Left supported UPA1 government which benefitted all sections of population and greatly enlarged the scope of rights available under the Constitution.

These rights were numerous, including the right to work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act, 2005,theright to get informed on government actions under the Right to Information Act, 2005, the right of tribals over forests under The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act(Recognition of Forest Rights), 2006 Act and the right to free-and compulsory education under the Right to Education Act, 2009 enabling Article 21-A of the Constitution. These schemes touched every household of the country and India was ready to reap its demographic dividend based on an increasingly robust and growing social sector. The focus was on investing in people and making them empowered to avail and create further opportunities through education, work, security.

The Modi government, with its high rhetoric, was supposed to enhance the scope of these crucial rights but opted for the opposite. The coverage and wages under the MGNREGS saw no major improvement as the lock down was hastily imposed and the scheme protecting the Indian economy also faced problems. Demands for increasing the available number of work-days and enhancing wages fell to deaf years. The right to information faced major blows and the position of the Chief Information Commissioner was made toothless to hide the uncomfortable truths of a failed government. Resources of tribals saw major encroachments and their entitlements were routinely given for corporate plunder. Mining was allowed in densely forested areas due to corporate lobbying , letting aside all rules, regulations and promises of tribal welfare.

The scope of the right to education remained static while continuous demands being made to increase the age group of 14-18 under its ambit. This, coupled with heavy privatisation, neglect of public education and focusing on irrational curriculum changes resulted in disastrous consequences for our future generations. The Annual Status of Education Report found that most rural kids aged between 14-18 cannot do class 3 mat handover 25 per cent cannot even read. Modi’s prioritization of corporates came at the cost of sacrificing the future of our country with the government dealing blow-after-blow at the foundations of our economy, the people of India.

As a result of the disastrous pro-corporate turn under Modi, unemployment soared to a 45 years high but BJP or the Prime Minister did not utter a word on it. What happened to the guarantee of 2 crore jobs per year in ‘Acche Din’? International Labour Organisation’s report on India says 83 percent of those unemployed are youngsters. BJP has trampled the aspirations of a generation due to its misrule and continues to mislead the youth by using religion. Prices for cooking gas more than doubled under the BJP and food inflation is making life tougher for the common people. Real wages are stagnant for the majority of our working force. But BJP is trying to shift the focus to polarizing issues like the Ram Temple and the CAA.

The unconstitutional Electoral Bonds scheme proved beyond an iota of doubt that the BJP is most corrupt party independent India has seen. In fact, Modi will go down in history as the Prime Minister who legalised and institutionalised political corruption. BJP’s shady dealings with corporates and quid pro quo measures have landed the country in a situation when the top one percent Indians’ wealth share in total wealth is higher that it was under the British Rule! Its clear that these new ‘guarantees’ will find the dustbin in the equally hollow term ‘Amrit Kaal’, again coined by Modi.

Modi’s electoral victories are based on dividing the people on religious and castelines, creating artificial fractures among the non-BJP political parties, controlling the media and stopping free flow of information, amassing money from the opaque electoral bonds and by intimidating critical voices through draconian laws and by misusing central agencies like ED and CBI. While Modi attempts to become the champion of anti-dynasty and anticorruption politics, BJP itself has become a hub of dynasts and a panacea for anyone facing corruption charges. Its evident that the BJP and Modi stand completely compromised on all its so-called ‘guarantees ’. People are realising that they are worse-off under Modi than they were before. The task before us is to mobilise these people on the burning issues of unemployment, inequality, health, education, wages, food security, housing etc. A united people fighting for these issues will show the BJP that even after using money, central agencies, religion and divisions, they are not invincible.

The last decade has seen major reverses in our nation’s quest for Equality, Liberty and Fraternity, as enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution . The hateful march of Hindutva is trying to push our country back to theocratic, monarchical times through a demagogue. From one nation, one tax, we are moving towards one religion, one language, one party and one leader. The consequences of the cult will be felt by generations to come. If we are to protect the very foundations of our Secular Democratic Republic, the RSS-BJP and its contemptuous ideology of Hindutva must be defeated.

The prophetic advice of Dr. Ambedkar should ring alarm bells for all democratically minded people of the country. He said in the Constituent Assembly that “If Hindu Raj becomes a reality, it will undoubtedly be the greatest misfortune of this country… This is incompatible with democracy. Hindu Raj should be prevented from being established at any cost.” The question before all secular-democratic forces in the country is that are we ready to protect the legacy of our freedom movement, at any cost? Men and women of our country, cutting across the divides of religion, caste, language and region, fought unitedly to liberate our country from British Raj. Now, the time has come to unitedly defeat the RSS-BJP Raj to save our nation and in its future. (IPA Service)