This election, it has to be the nation first

In every election, there are winners and losers. But there are a few elections in which the winner or the loser is not any political party but the Nation. The 2019 general election is one such in which it will be the Nation that will win or lose.This election is an opportunity to show that dictatorial and communal forces can be defeated by democratic means; that Democracy is also a way of life, that no violence on this is acceptable. Consequently, the only slogan that matters in this election is ‘Dal Nahin, Desh’.

In case people do vote for the return of this Government, they would be opting for a political party which has lost all its credibility. All that survives is the caricature of a leader who has tried his best to equate himself with the nation. This is also an election fraught with ominous possibilities.

First threat: If this government returns, it would be impossible to reclaim our democracy. Democracy means governing the country in accordance with the Constitution. But then this government does not believe in democracy. Both the head of the ruling party and the head of the Government are known to have misused the state machinery in Gujarat to protect perpetrators of heinous crimes ranging from loot and arson to murder. The Supreme Court was constrained to rule that it was impossible to carry out independent investigation and that it was imperative that cases be tried in courts outside Gujarat.

There is no other state in the country which attracted such opprobrium from the highest court of the land. Do we want to see India become like ‘their’ Gujarat?

Second threat: If this Government returns, the social fabric of the nation will be under attack. Attempts to disrupt the social fabric can only end in tragedy. This government will again drive a divisive agenda.

Third threat: If this government returns it will destroy all checks and balances. This applies also to bodies such as the Reserve Bank of India, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), CBI, parliamentary committees, Election Commission and the media. But this government considers these institutions as obstacles.

Fourth threat: If this government returns, mega capital, mega corporations, mega scamsters will together to loot the poor and fool people with false statistics.

Fifth threat: If this government returns, dictatorship will become entrenched. whenever an individual or a party becomes bigger than the Constitution, democracy has suffered. The result is that such an individual creates his miniature prototypes so that people live under a permanent state of conflict, dissatisfaction and violence.

Sixth threat: If this government returns, the sole objective of education will be to drive the youth into a frenzy over non issues and get them indoctrinated by false narratives and irrational superstition. That’s why we need to vote for the nation, not for the party.

(Translated from Hindi by Nachiketa Desai. The author is chairman, Gandhi Peace Foundation)