Opinion

On the Brink – Has Narendra Modi-led BJP gone the Congress way?

PM Narendra Modi’s second term is a saga of lost opportunities.

In a recent development, BJP MP Varun Gandhi and his mother Maneka Gandhi has been dropped from the 80 member BJP council. It is something that was not expected from a supposedly disciplined party. But it seems that the malaise has affected the BJP party also.

A central leadership that cannot bear any dissent will soon be surrounded by a group of sycophants. Narendra Modi, a leader who had his fingers on the pulse of the nation is in a state of disconnect. The second term of Narendra Modi would have established him as a leader who can excel in face of adversity. However, what has happened is just the opposite. The nation had to pay a very big price for the mishandling of the corona second wave.

Hasty Farm Laws and Lakhimpur Kheri aftermath

The farm laws have been hastily launched without proper debate. There are bound to be apprehensions that must have been removed if there was a free and frank discussion incorporating the confidence of the opposition. PM Narendra Modi wasted that opportunity and the nation and common man is paying the price. With each passing day, the Farmers are digging in further and are not in a mood of budging an inch other than the repeal of the farm laws.

The happenings in Lakhimpur Kheri are unfortunate with all the political parties trying to make political hay while the sun is shining. A minister’s son runs over a group of people and ample evidence is available. However, the central leadership of the BJP still wants to give a benefit of the doubt to the prodigal son.  If Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan can be sent to judicial custody for possessing coke, why not the minister’s son?

Losing Leverage In South-Asia

There is a saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. One by one, all dissenting voices have been uprooted. Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, and now Varun Gandhi and Subramanium Swamy. When Jawahar Lal Nehru was elected by a big majority in the first elections after independence, he lamented the fact that there is no credible opposition who will evaluate his work. Such was the standard of politics and today we see a leader who not only closes his ears to criticism but also punishes any detractors.

Even the foreign policy of Narendra Modi is proving to be his undoing. QUAD is in disarray with the formation of AUKUS. China is opening new fronts in Utranchal and Arunachal Pradesh. A resurgent Pakistan emboldened by the rise of the Taliban is becoming more belligerent. We have even lost the leverage we had in Nepal and Bangladesh.  

Adversity often brings out the best in a leader. If Narendra Modi is a true leader, he must engage the opposition and listen to his detractors. The people of the country are very intelligent and have brought the egos of big leaders crashing down in the past, Indira Gandhi, Jayalalitha, Karunanidhi, Chandra Babu Naidu, the list is long. It is time Modi sees the writing on the wall and mends his ways.

Show More

Manoj Nair

Manoj is a passionate writer who loves writing on a variety of subjects including trivia, retro movies, unique and unkno More »
Advertisment
Back to top button