Amit shah’s virtual rallies are meant to foment tensions; Non-BJP states are the target during pandemic

The Indians are not only naive but possess a very feeble and short memory. Else there was no reason that they preferred to subscribe white lies of BJP Shaurya Purush Amit Shah without any murmuring.

Shaurya Purush of BJP riding on the back of virtual rallies is on the mission to convert the entire Purvanchal (eastern India) into a saffron fort. His address at the Odisha rally should be remembered for many reasons, the primary being his speaking plain lies without any hesitation.

He said: “Odisha now has to be made a ‘garh’ (fort) of the BJP. The party organisation has to be strengthened to make Odisha a developed state so that no one has to go outside to earn a living”. He did not speak about the plights and miseries of the workers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh where the BJP has its governments.

Why did the BJP fail to prevent migration from these states to others states and cities? The chemistry of the plight and miseries of the poor from these states could be understood from the number of the workers migrated from these states.

A rough estimate puts the figure of migrants ( workers, daily wage earners, those engaged in construction works, or are street vendors) to around 10 crores. After the lockdown was imposed more than 1 crore migrant labourers returned to these states. According to a rough estimate the number of workers who returned to UP was around 40 lakhs, around 30 lakhs to Bihar and 10 lakhs to MP alone. Now the Supreme Court has on Tuesday ordered to compile the total number of labourers who had returned, one can expect that these states would come out with the correct figures.

Addressing the audience he accused the Odisha government of failing to stop the migration. He may appear to be politically correct, but it is universally correct postulate that migration boosts the economy of that state. Crores of Indian have migrated to foreign countries. How Shah would describe their migration.

Nevertheless if having a BJP government is the prerequisite for growth, development and stopping migration, why then his governments in Bihar, MP and UP failed to empower the poor and uplift their condition. His words may be soothing to the ears, but they cannot exonerate him the crime of betraying the people and their trust. After the 2014 Lok Sabha election his leader Narendra Modi had promised to provide 2 crores jobs every year to the poor. Will he tell the people how manyjobs he has during these years?

How effectively Modi fought against corona is known not only to the Indians but to the entire world. In his worthy leadership the disease spread sharply pushing India to the fifth position in the globe.

In his virtual rally, his third event in the last three days, held from Delhi, he stuck to his pet subject, slamming the Mamata Banerjee government over political killing. He blasted CM Mamata Banerjee for not allowing the implementation of ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme. “Do the poor people of Bengal have no right to receive free and quality treatment?

According Shah's own admission, the "rally" was transmitted to over 70,000 booths across Bengal using as many numbers of LED screens. Astonishingly he demonstrated his extra concern for the migrant workers. He accused her for her non-performance. Shah alleged: "Mamata Banerjee is preventing the farmers of the state from receiving Rs 6,000... Give us the list on Saturday and we will disburse the amount by Monday". His anger against the Matuas was manifest in his remark; 'I Want to ask Mamata Didi, what have the Matuas Done to you?' He even raised the issue of Mamata opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. It was in this backdrop he brought the matter down to the Matua community, one of the Trinamool's largest vote-banks in state.

He made a passionate appeal to give a chance to Modi led BJP to rule Bengal for ameliorating the economic condition of the people. He tried to play with the sentiments of the workers by saying; “Mamataji, you referred to Shramik Special Trains as ‘Corona Express’. The name that you have given, ‘Corona Express’ will become an exit express for the TMC in the state”.

While this move of Shah is decried by some political forces and groups, they even charge him with resorting to cheap political stunts. They say that a time the people needed all possible help from government fight corona and survive the crisis, Shah was resorting to nasty politicking. They allege that the BJP is the first party off the blocks, giving a push to political activities with these rallies. In contrast other opposition parties have been maintaining restraint. Rahul Gandhi has been holding online conversations with experts to find a way out of the grave health crisis that has severely hit both the economy and the people.

The experts and activists also hold the view that NREGA should be broad based and Modi should constitute a think tank of independent intellectuals and academic to evolve mechanism as to how could jobs be created at the places to which the labourers belong. They say that NREGA is a shining example of a radical and rational systemic change. It is radical because it transferred power to the poorest of the poor and enabled them to escape hunger and deprivation. It is rational because it puts money directly in the hands of those who need it most.

Though Modi government has been implementing this scheme, the effort is half hearted. There is the imperative need for massive implementation. It has proved its worth in the years it has been in existence. Even Modi government that sought to denigrate it, undermine it, has come to rely on it.

As large number of oppressed workers are now deprived of employment and facing an insecure future to their native places, the Modi government instead of politicising it, should look at the crisis from the humanitarian angle.