Campaign hits a new low

 

The election season brings out the worst instincts of political parties nurtured on exclusivist ideology. The higher the political stakes, the murkier the campaign gets. The standard of discourse in the ongoing election campaign has hit a new low with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making highly objectionable remarks against the Muslim community while addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara. He warned that the Congress could distribute the nation’s wealth among “infiltrators and “those who have more children”, a reference to Muslims. Campaign rhetoric cannot get any worse than this; blatantly defamatory, false and dangerously divisive. Bracketing the Muslim minority with “ghuspaithiye (infiltrators)” and using stereotypical descriptions like “jinke zyada bachche hain (those who have more children) is quite unbecoming of a leader holding the highest elected position in a democratic and secular country. This is simply not done, Mr Prime Minister. Positioning an entire community as villains is the lowest form of vote-garnering tactic. Modi’s speech does grave disservice to his high office. Obviously, he was countering former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks in 2006 on the minorities, having the “first claim on public resources”. No doubt, Singh’s prescription was highly controversial and should not form the basis for any public policy because the nation’s resources belong to all sections of the people equally, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. By raking up an old observation of the former Prime Minister and giving it a mischievous twist, Modi has taken the campaign rhetoric to a new low, using the appeasement tool that he so often accuses the Congress of.

Expectedly, the opposition parties and civil society organisations have approached the Election Commission to take action against the Prime Minister for the malicious speech. The poll panel must demonstrate its neutrality and fairness by initiating appropriate responses. Unfortunately, the politics of identity — based on caste, religion, language and regions — has been an inseparable reality in Indian electioneering. Personal attacks and name-calling have become the new normal, relegating pressing public issues to the background. Modi’s remarks goes against his own oft-repeated claim of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” to make everyone a stakeholder in democracy. A day after his Banswara speech triggered a political furore, he changed tack while addressing a rally in Aligarh where he sought to reach out to Muslim community, particularly the Pasmanda Muslims, and boasted about his government’s interventions on triple talaq and the Haj quota. Instead of raking up divisive issues, Modi would be well advised to highlight his government’s initiatives, particularly the welfare schemes that are caste and community neutral. From free rations to Ayushman Bharat, from Ujjwala to PM-Kisan, the benefits touch all, including the Muslim minority substantially, given the socio-economic indicators of the community. But, by painting an entire community as an adversary, the Prime Minister has only emboldened the rabid Hindutva narrative.