If an extraordinary Lok Sabha verdict was meant to humble the country’s political leadership, it appears to have had just the opposite effect. The Modi government is acting as if it has actually achieved its ‘char sau paar’ 400 seat objective and the Congress as if it has crossed the majority mark. The result is a renewal of hostilities at a time when Indian politics desperately needs a breather from hyper-polarised politics. The entirely avoidable confrontation over the Lok Sabha speaker’s election is only the latest example of a lack of conciliation and consensus building.
There are other worrying signs too. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is still being hounded by the law enforcement agencies. Just hours before his bail petition in an Enforcement Directorate case was to come up before the Supreme Court, the CBI has moved in to arrest him. A fourteen year old case against novelist Arundhati Roy has been revived and sanction for her prosecution given under an anti-terror law. Bulldozers continue to demolish homes in Uttar Pradesh. And cow vigilantes are on the march in Chattisgarh once again: three cattle traders were brutally killed earlier this month.
Nor should we be surprised at the utter disregard for the voters mandate. An integral part of the Narendra Modi power playbook is never to reveal any trace of political vulnerability, at least not in public. In 23 years of uninterrupted power, both in Gandhinagar and Delhi, not once has the prime minister acknowledged weaknesses or judgment errors. Which might explain why despite the setback of a shrunken June 4 verdict, Modi has gone about giving the impression as if nothing has really materially changed. A similar looking cabinet, a series of well-choreographed events at home and abroad, Modi isn’t in any mood to let up in his third term, even if he now heads a coalition arrangement. Instead, stability with continuity is the buzzword. But is it really business as usual or is this all a great pretence of invincibility? Is the ruling arrangement still trapped in hubris rather than realism?
Take the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exam issue that has brought scores of affected students on the street. Typically, Mr Modi hasn’t said a word, leaving it to education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to front up for the government. Pradhan was education minister in the previous Modi government as well so he can’t even act as if this is all a novel experience for him. The fact is that the paper leak mess is a classic case of chickens having come home to roost. In the last seven years, more than 70 national and state level papers have been leaked as the authorities struggle to cope with the menace. For the minister to initially be in denial mode, even blame the protesting students, and then dismiss it as an aberration is to live in a parallel make-believe universe. Mr Pradhan would have probably preferred being Odisha’s first BJP chief minister but for now he must bear the cross of an examination system in deep crisis.
Ironically, the prime minister has prided himself on his annual ‘pariksha pe charcha’ wherein he addresses students across the country on how to prepare for competitive exams . Like all Modi-centric events, the ‘charcha’ follows well-rehearsed optics with the prime minister playing feel-good guru. Yet when the same students are now desperate for help, there is scarcely a word of empathy for them. It is almost as if any bad news is anathema for a government that doesn’t want to be taken out of its comfort zone.
Take another instance of a government in denial. For 13 months now, Manipur has been caught in a cycle of violence. Rather than use his political equity to face upto the challenge of peace-making, the prime minister has chosen not to get involved, not even making a single trip to the troubled state during this period. Even during a long election campaign when the prime minister held dozens of media interactions, not once did the prime minister address the Manipur situation (nor was he asked a question on Manipur by a mostly craven media) . Instead it has been left to home minister, Amit Shah to try and restore the primacy of the state and end the blood-letting. Shah has held a series of high-level review meetings on Manipur with security officials but where is the much-needed political outreach that could provide a healing touch? Turn to an area where the Modi government prides itself : railway infrastructure. The most recent rail accident — a head on collision between the Kanchengunga Express and a goods train — has once again revealed gaps in the rail safety system. The much anticipated ‘kavach’, anti collision system still covers only a fraction of this country’s vast rail network. Like the education minister, railway minister Ashwani Vaishnav is also a symbol of continuity in governance, with the ministry of information and broadcasting added to his existing portfolios of railways and information technology. Ironically, on the day of the tragic accident, the multi-tasking minister was also given the added responsibility of being co-in-charge for the crucial Maharastra elections. Shouldn’t the country have a full time railway minister, or is asking that basic question also considered out of the syllabus? And if credit taking accompanies the flagging off of every new Vande Bharat Express, who will take responsibility when things don’t go as planned?
Truth is, a deeper governance deficit stares at a regime which is tightly controlled by a handful of people , where the lines between government and party remain blurred, where opaque decision-making leaves little space for accountability. This is where the ‘business as usual’ approach maybe subject to diminishing returns. A brute majority allowed the Modi government to proceed with unilateral action, to treat the opposition with disdain and to brand any criticism as ‘anti-national’. But the 2024 elections have shown that narrative setting is no longer a Modi monopoly: a revitalised opposition also has an effective voice and can even set the agenda at times. A putative autocrat may not change his spots but sooner or later, fantasy does catch up with reality. After a decade in power, living in denial is no longer a wise option.
Post-script: This weekend, the prime minister will resume his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address. It is perhaps again his way of showing he isn’t changing his communication style either. Well then maybe Mr Modi would like to address some of the questions raised in this column in his Mann ki Baat, howsoever inconvenient they may seem?