The article, titled ‘Yes, Kiren Rijiju, I Doubt You. Thank God for That’, which was published on NDTV on November 3, 2016 was a yet-another round of criticism of the ruling party in the center on the pretext of constitutional rights and civil liberties. It is the killing of 8 SIMI men by the Bhopal policemen in the aftermath of theirescaping jail post slaying one cop on duty that has been twisted in such a manner that all BJP leaders appear as supporters of totalitarianism, let’s however look at it through a lens of unprejudiced cognizance.
The author of the article is a member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly and also General Secretary of the party ruling the state, TMC. A member of the same political party, who is also a member of parliament and a regular blogger on same news house, attended the funeral of an army veteran (who allegedly committed suicide over the One Rank One Pension issue) the same day when the said article was published. Politics is running high in the country, be it the encounter of terrorists or the shocking and sad incident of a retired army man ending his life.
Has politics become so central that the grief of families (including that of the cop killed by SIMI terrorists in Bhopal Central Jail and of the army veteran who consumed poison to meet unfortunate end) has been overshadowed, and it is done so by politicians who either have lost ground or are about to lose their hold in the post-2014 milieu of better governance and reassured internal security.
Ever since the grand alliance triumphed in Bihar, the opposition is convinced that being united while accusing the central government can bring them political gains. Leaders from various political factions and with diverse ideologies (even contradictory at times) gathered for the funeral of the army veteran not to speak of and share the grief of the family, but just to make the best out of this opportunity. Let’s go back to the text of article and judge if it was an authentic act of discussing civil liberties or was it one moreshot in the series to condemn actions taken under the rule of one political party, BJP.
One reading through this NDTV article will inform the reader of the potentially dangerous context on which it is based. The statement of BJP leader referred to in the article goes as ‘First of all we should stop this habit of raising doubt, questioning the authorities and the police. This is not a good culture. But what we have been observing in India that the people have developed this habit of raising unnecessary doubts and questions’.
I have underlined two extremely defining and crucial words that are a part- habit and unnecessary. Is it not true that ever since the Modi-led government has taken charge, a section of the media and civil society, plus opposition parties have openly criticized the BJP’s stance on matters related to religion, human rights and freedom of speech? It was all there when many decorated writers returned their awards and when politicians shockinglysupported a scholar who raised anti-India slogans in JNU campus.
The two words resonate in this framework. There are no limitations on freedom of expression in the world’s largest democracy, not only by population but also by its track record of democratic values. But is this right so very capable of undermining the state itself? Encounters by policemen have happened in the past as well, some have also been declared fake by courts, but does that give an inalienable right to politicians to blindly come in support of criminals and terrorists? This is new trend indeed.
The minister of state for home affairs did mince his words while delivering that sentence by including ‘habit’ and ‘unnecessary’, the author of the article however did not think twice prior to recording in her writing the word ‘extra judicial’. Was it an extra-judicial killing by police of 8 terrorists? There may be doubts lingering over the incident, but declaring it as something not legally authorized (literal meaning of extra judicial) is clear political mileage sought by the WB politician.
Invoking Article 21 of the Indian constitution has become a day to day activity or a leisure work for politicians from opposition parties today. In its garb, they have been endorsing anti-social elements, and are even not letting the government deliver on Constitutional subjects like protection of animals and applicability of Uniform Civil Code cutting across all religions.
Why is it that sentiments of opposition parties arouse only when either the union government proposes an act that shall apply uniformly on all Indians or when state agencies perform their duties diligently?
It is so very easy to write endlessly on the Bhopal incident or to condemn union government by falsely accusing it of a role in the suicide of an army veteran. But do these so-called representatives of people realize that there are far many vital subjects awaiting their acquaintance, creating conducive environment for farmers and uplifting the poor are some. Have state governments achieved their part in amending respective APMC Acts to accord more freedom to farmers in marketing their produce? If not, please select this as your next topic for writing.
There is no defending of the union government on subjects like ease of doing business ranking and sluggish industrial and farm sector growth rates. The nation awaits wise writings and deliberations on these, the opposition, however, is busy exploiting sensational events. The NDTV article is an addition to this series, and it serves no purpose. On the contrary, the two words, habit and unnecessary, must be deliberated upon to pave way for real democracy, not a democracy of habitual and exacerbated disapproval of the government.
The article titled ‘Yes, KirenRijiju, I Doubt You. Thank God for That’ by MahuaMoitra can be read at, http://www.ndtv.com/blog/yes-kiren-rijiju-i-doubt-you-thank-god-for-that-1620821
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