By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Three incidents of March 21 have significantly altered the political narrative for the Lok Sabha Election 2024 – First, the chief opposition Congress informed the nation that their bank accounts have been frozen; Secondly, under the direction of the Supreme Court of India all details about electoral bonds were published by Election Commission of India; and thirdly, Delhi Chief Minister was detained by Enforcement Directorate (ED). These considerably dented PM Narendra Modi’s image to be just a political don of a film rather than a hero, triggering adverse sentiments against him not only in India but across the world, making him extremely nervous which he is trying to cover with aggressive political campaigns.
These three incidents have completely unmasked PM Narendra Modi. Now people knew with certainty that he was presiding over an extortion racket through unconstitutional Electoral Bond Scheme to fatten his party BJP with funds while financially starving the opposition. People now tell that PM Modi has considerably crushed the opposition for an electoral battleground empty of opposition, and hence he would return for his third term. However, electoral battlefield is not yet empty – it is slowly being filled by the people of India who are reading themselves to defend democracy themselves, if the crushed opposition can’t. Nature, after all, hates emptiness.
Political parties of opposition INDIA alliance have shown their unprecedented level of unity at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on March 31. A huge rally was organised against detention of Arvind Kejriwal in which key leaders of all constituent parties have assembled. Despite several opposition leaders were raided and detained by the Central investigating agencies on corruption and money laundering charges, they showed an impressive unity and sharply attacked the tyrannical actions of PM Narendra Modi. It is in no way an ordinary thing, since it instils hope among the people that the electoral battle is not entirely empty of the opposition, though due to paucity of funds and physical disruptions, the opposition in little seen in the media campaigns. Most of the media space are bought by the BJP directly or indirectly by government and private actors, as far as political campaigns are concerned.
It is really frustrating scenario not only for PM Narendra Modi and the entire RSS-BJP clan. Having lost his image after publication of details of donors and beneficiaries of the unconstitutional electoral bond scheme, PM Modi just tried to divert attention of the people from it by arresting the Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. However, in the first 10 days after March 21 revelation of electoral bond details, extortion of the business and corporate and quid pro quo remained sensation for the media, and people’s attention remained focused on how PM Modi presided over that Rahul Gandhi said an “extortion racket”.
People knew how benefits were given to those who donated to BJP, which included financial and other favours such as services and contracts, and in many cases investigated “offender individuals and companies” were pardoned. The person whom ED called “kingpin” in the Delhi Liquor Scam, actually purchased his pardon by donating 55 crore to the BJP. ED finally made him approver and it is on his confession the investigating agency detained key AAP leaders, the latest being Arvind Kejriwal. Now several other leaders of AAP are being investigated not only in Delhi, but in all states where AAP has considerably presence which included Punjab and Goa.
PM Modi has been defending detentions of not only AAP leaders but also several other leaders of other opposition political parties, such as of TMC, DMK, BRS, Congress et al for quite some time and telling the country that INDIA bloc is a pack of corrupts and his government would continue taking action on corrupt leaders. Though, he has never given answer to the question as to why actions are not taken against the corrupts and criminals within the BJP, or those leaders who join hands with the BJP, even often giving them clean cheat? What BJP is not able to do itself, it does through its NDA partners, such as rewarding father of the Delhi Excise Case “kingpin” made approver with a Lok Sabha ticket. One Maharashtra leader, a former Union Minister has recently been given clean cheat in a corruption case when he deserted his party and became NDA partner. These are talking point among people now, not the nationalism and India first image of PM Modi.
Another important talking point at this time among the people of the country is how PM Modi is bent on financially starving the opposition. Apart from raids and seizure in corruption cases, the Department of Income Tax has been unleashed against political parties. Congress has become the chief target because it is the largest opposition political party in the country.
On March 21, Congress has said that I-T department had asked Rs135 crore from the party as tax and penalty, and had frozen their four bank accounts with 2.1 billion rupees, preventing them to use that money. However, after the sharp attack from the Congress on PM Modi on the electoral bond extortion and quid pro quo, I-T department became more aggressive and started sending notices one after the other for a total amount of over Rs3500 crore so far. Congress total worth right now is only a little more than Rs1300 crore, much less that I-T has demanded as tax and penalty.. The Congress got some relief on Monday as the centre assured in the Supreme Court that there would be be no coercive action by the IT dept to raise the resources before the Lok Sabha polls.
It is worth noting that political parties in India are exempted from tax, but Modi government has cancelled this exemption. Congress has said that all their bank accounts have been frozen, and they don’t have money for election campaign. Height of the matter is that taxes and penalties are imposed even on third party entries found in documents seized in raids on other people. Congress has asked in Birla-Sahara document PM Modi’s name was found, then why I-T department should not tax and penalise him in similar manner it is penalising the Congress? Why should BJP not be taxed and penalised in similar manner as the Congress is being penalised? There are no answers to such questions.
PM Modi has been claiming that he will fight the corrupt opposition till the end. He has also said who are dancing over it (the electoral bond details) and taking pride in it are going to repent. These are veiled threat, and the people have noted this. The entire RSS-BJP clan are trying to convince people how they are doing the right things, but finding themselves in great difficulties with their newly unmasked face, and dented image of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially when they try to explain the latest developments unfolded in the last 10 days.
It is in this context, the opposition INDIA alliance rally held on March 31 has acquired new dimension that stressed on the “Democracy is in Danger”. It has given clear message to the people who would need to defend their hard-won democracy after a great freedom struggle of India, and now a time has come when they need to defend it again from the all-gripping claws of PM Narendra Modi, through centralising everything in his hand, in utter disregard to the Constitution of India.
Presently PM Modi is seen everywhere in the electoral battlefield of 2024, but with his dented image.. PM Modi and the RSS-BJP clan are heading for a tough time in convincing the electorate that they are good people, they have not been crushing the opposition, they have not been extorting money from business and corporate by intimidating them through ED, I-T, or CBI cases, and they did not sell government favours, including pardons or clean cheats in criminal offences, in lieu of donation money. The real electoral battle this time will thus be PM Narendra Modi vs. the People of India, since the opposition has been considerably suppressed, physically and financially. PM Modi has been trying to save himself behind Hindutva and ultranationalism, to brighten his unmasked face, but only election result will reveal how Indian electorates would react. (IPA Service)
