RSS LED BY MODI IN CHARGE OF INDIA PART I: LET IT SINK IN

The worst nightmare of India’s ‘Pseudo-Secularist’ crowd came true on 16^th of May 2014. BJP under Mr Modi annihilated her political opponents, securing a simple majority on its own in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) – first time in BJP’s history.

While some of us (including myself) were sceptical of  NDA (the broader BJP led alliance) victory, most Opinion Polls and exit polls did predict NDA’s triumph but only a select few could foresee such a colossal mandate in favour of BJP alone.

And So?

Given BJP’s own simple majority in Lower house, it (under supreme command of Mr Modi) will have full control over Union Executive (Ministries) for the next 5 years. Unlike past NDA Governments, BJP (Mr Modi and RSS) does not need regional allies to stay in power and the allies themselves include no major self proclaimed ‘Secular’/ ‘Anti-Communal’ Party (TDP and Shiv Sena alone control 34 out of 54 Non-BJP NDA ally seats).

For ordinary law-making, support of only a simple majority in both houses is required. While BJP dominates the lower house, even her broader alliance of NDA does not have a simple majority in Rajya Sabha (Upper House) but can secure it by 2016 when a third of Rajya Sabha members retire. Also, for BJP there exist ways to sidestep the present the minority in RajyaSabha.

The point being- broadly speaking, BJP alone (RSS led by former SwayamSevak Mr Narendra Modi to be exact) will be in complete command of Indian Union’s 2 most powerful branches – Legislature (leaving out the tricky business of Constitutional Amendments) and the Executive for the next 5 years. We have never been here before.

   

Now what India? 

A lot will depend on Mr Modi’s Personality. For all the doom and gloom, it has to conceded that BJP (unlike Maoist revolutionaries, Bodo militant gangs and Mujahideens) is a recognised national political party that (in principle, if not always in practice) takes part peacefully in elections under the existing Constitution of India. Mr Modi has been elected to power by the World’s largest electorate through a largely free and fair elections(does not have the majority of votes but that’s how existing FPTP system operates-if unfair, unfair for everyone). Be it due to failures of Congress, Left and Regional satraps or due to of Mr Modi’s brilliant campaigning or both; he has secured the popular mandate to run Government of India. After 5 years, he will have to again win the popular mandate to secure another term, else peacefully pass over the crown to the opponents.

Having said that, A democracy based on mere majoritarianism is a Zombie Democracy. BJP’s ideological and cadre base of RSS retains her long standing commitment to the ideology of Hindu Nationalism which is at odds with Indian State’s existing Constitutional commitment Secularism and Minority Right. This is quite apart from blindingly obvious human right issues given our bloody history of Partition, Riotings and ongoing Muslim Ghettoisation in urban areas of North and West India.

So while this is not a Fascist end of India scenario (as yet), there are legitimate concerns regarding the policies that a Modi led RSS Government may pursue.  

A brief list of Cultural and other domestic policies that a BJP Government may go for, to follow in the Part II…