Attack on Opposition should be tempered

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a recent interview to Swarajya magazine, has chosen strong words to attack his political opponents, in effect calling them opportunists just because they criticise him and seek to replace him.

There is something odd about this approach, especially in a democracy. If a government’s opponents did not point out faults, who will? Who will present people with political options for the future? Indeed, it is a good axiom that a strong democracy needs a strong and robust Opposition so that the government is not tempted into committing excesses.

Criticising the government is healthy. This is a luxury most countries of the world do not have as they are dictatorships, medieval monarchies or authoritarian regimes. We are fortunate to be outside these categories. Our aim as a nation should be to preserve our present status and to seek to improve upon our democratic credentials about which there is so much to criticise. Indeed, the government should offer good governance and not seek to discredit the Opposition.

Nevertheless, the PM’s gesture of openly coming out in self-defence, and using language to attract public sympathy, is a sure sign that the battle has been joined and the election season inaugurated. It is a matter of time before we will know whether the next Lok Sabha election will take place in May 2019 when it is due, or earlier, depending on the political convenience of the ruling BJP.

From the side of BJP’s opponents, the first opportunity to showcase their intention — it is still only that and is yet to evolve into a picture with decipherable contours — to pool efforts (in whatever form) to defeat the present ruling dispensation presented itself when the Congress and the JD(S) struck a coalition arrangement to form the government in Karnataka after defeating the post-poll skulduggery of the governor and the BJP. But there is a long way to go.

There are several questions within the Opposition ranks, and Mr Modi’s intervention through an interview is perhaps intended to widen fissures amongst his opponents. The PM finds this necessary because fissures have widened within the BJP-led ruling NDA itself. In order to balance the equation, Mr Modi’s — and the BJP’s — effort will be to try and discredit the very notion of Opposition parties coming together.

In an earlier era, there was indeed a worry about regional parties getting into governing arrangements at the Centre. The notion lent itself to easy criticism. However, since the minority government of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao completed its five years in 1996, the country has known only coalition governments, including the present one. There is a strong body of opinion now, which regards coalitions, rather than single party dominance, as the healthier way forward. The Modi regime does have a challenge on its hands as its performance is under serious scrutiny.

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