Chandigarh, 16 April, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)
After coming to power in 2014, the BJP kicked up aggressive Hindutva to polarize the society on communal lines, centralized further the powers at the Center and dismantled/undermining the institutions’ known pillars of democracy thereby paving a way for transforming the ruling system to fit into a fascist ideology of the RSS.
These observations were made at a recent meeting of Punjabi thinkers called by Kendri Singh Sabha to discuss the existing political situation and to forge a future position in the wake of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting resolved to support the INDIA Alliance, save the Indian Constitution, save democracy, and checkmate the emerging Hindutva dictatorship.
Reviewing the past ten-year BJP rule the meeting observed that its rule turned out to be an authoritarian Modi regime to be characterized as a ‘Majoritarian Rule’ which bared its fangs in clamping demonetization without any required consultation.
It declared a “black-out” during the COVID-19 epidemic without forewarning and arbitrarily applied GST among other bigger decisions. The GST usurped the financial powers of the provinces rendering them pauperized. Such dictatorial steps not only weakened the administrative institutions but undermined the democratic setup of the country.
As if such haughty steps were not enough, the Modi government declared it would make India “Congress-free” (Congress-mukt Bharat), thereby meaning–rendering the BJP rule free of any ‘Opposition” or securing unbridled powers for the Modi regime.
As a follow-up to this declaration, the Modi government openly abused ED, CBI, NIA, and other central agencies to Opposition leaders and forced a majority of them to submit themselves to the BJP dispensation.
Such centralized acts snuffed away the rule of law, weakened the Indian Constitution, and saw reaching to peak unemployment, corruption, and administrative autocracy along with deprivation of civil and human rights. In addition to that, the Modi regime privatized seaports, airports, mining, and other vital infrastructure of the country to favor a few corporate houses that rose to the status of the richest person in the world.
The PM himself led the installation of idols at the Ram Temple at Ajodhya in the run-up to the 18th Lok Sabha elections. Notifying the Citizens Amendment Act 2019 just ahead of the Parliamentary polls was too aimed at catering to the Hindutva ideology and its style of creating a “BJP vote bank”.
And enacting legislation recently to assume executive powers to appoint the Election Commissioners clearly shows the intention of the Modi regime to win the elections a third time by hook and crook.
Displaying no fair dealing, the Election Commission (EC) has been unresponsive to the Opposition complaints and public outcry against the authenticity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). This has led to a visible scar that there is the least possibility of a free and fair election in the country.
Besides. some BJP leaders have not minced words in seeking a thumping majority in elections to be able to change the constitution, obviously to implement Hindutva’s core ideology.
Referring to Punjab, the meeting thought that the province had already suffered as a consequence of the Hindutva aggression and imposition of ultra-nationalist and centralized policies by the earlier Central governments just after the Independence.
Now the new political formation– INDIA Alliance, a combine of 27 regional parties- has come up representing by its very nature the country’s federal polity, anti-Hindutva, and secular and democratic sentiments of the countrymen.
This is what Punjab, particularly Sikhs have been aspiring for and fighting for since 1947. So Punjabis/ Sikhs should support the INDIA Alliance which, unlike the BJP had already made a commitment to legalize the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of crops and waiving of farmer loans. Throughout the world, minorities always seek a democratic ruling that only assures equal rights.
Signatories to the appeal are: Ex-Judge Ranjit Singh, Prof Sham Singh (President, Kendri Sri Guru Singh Sabha), Dr, Pyara Lal Garg, Jaspal Singh Sidhu, Rajwinder Singh Rahi, Malwinder Singh Mali, Surrinder Singh Kishanpura, Gurpreet Singh and Prof Manjit Singh.
