Parliamentary elections for the 18th lok sabha will take place in a matter of months. We are going to witness a monumental historical event that will determine the fate of our country, maybe for the next three decades.

Will india remain the world's largest democracy, despite its flaws? Will we keep the democratic, secular, and progressive Constitution that our founding fathers and mothers granted us after a long and difficult struggle? Or will india become a fascist Hindutva banana republic, similar to Nazi germany and Zionist Israel? Many peace-loving indians think about this subject a lot. The world's major powers, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and much of Europe, as well as China, Russia, and others, are keeping an eye on us. They have long been doubtful that democracy would thrive in any of the former colonies of 18th-century imperialist countries.

So all of the country's secular, democratic, and progressive-minded citizens have immediate work ahead of them. That is to prevent the bharatiya janata party (BJP) and its allies from returning to power. This assignment is difficult, but not impossible. We saw that lately in Karnataka. We've seen it in tamil Nadu and kerala for a long time. The Sangh Parivar, led by the RSS, tried for decades before gaining political power through the vote in 2014. So defeating the bjp in the upcoming elections is possible.

Let us take a look at the destruction that has followed since the bjp came to power in 2014.

Fundamental harms to the country
The decade-long dominance of the BJP-led Union government has hurt india in several basic ways. It is attempting to drive india in the direction of homogeneity and sameness with the slogan of ‘One nation, one market, one language, one religion’, which goes against the plural ethos and heterogeneous reality of our country.

The BJP's Hindu nationalism recognizes only upper-caste Hindus as true citizens, whereas Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and indigenous people are seen as second-class citizens. Their nationalism is not just anti-minorities, but also against underprivileged and backward populations, sexual minorities, feminists, communists, and everyone who disagrees with their worldview.

Attacks on religious minorities
Narendra Modi rose to prominence mostly via the gujarat pogrom against Muslims in the aftermath of Godhra. His public hate speeches appealed to Hindu voters while inciting violence against Muslims. Since 2014, we've observed a surge in hate crimes targeting Muslims. Specifically, the bjp has carried out a series of repressions against Muslims, using both government agencies and non-governmental, non-party vigilante organizations.

The long list of targeted anti-Muslim actions include: deletion of Muslim names from electoral rolls, declaring Muslim concentrated constituencies as reserved constituencies (for Dalits), abolishing educational scholarships to Muslim students, banning hijab in educational institutions in karnataka thereby denying Muslim girls and women the right to education, impunity for criminal mobs involved in killing Muslims in the name of cow protection, gujarat carnage, muzaffarnagar violence, delhi violence, impunity and recognition to Hindu conspirators who bombed mosques, building ram temple today in the place where babri masjid was demolished, conspiracies to demolish mosques in Kashi and Mathura, ban on construction of new mosques, anti-conversion laws passed in several states, bulldozer crackdowns on Muslim houses, abrogation of article 370 in Jammu & kashmir, bringing in Acts like the caa and NRC that question the citizenship rights of Muslims, pushing for Uniform Civil Code, false cases in the name of ‘love jihad’, false cases under UAPA against thousands of Muslim youth who have been jailed and denied bail for several years, counter-terrorism agency NIA hunting Muslims, banning Islamic organisations such as the PFI, bjp appointed governor in tamil Nadu, RN Ravi, obstructing release of Muslim prisoners.

"How are we going to live in this country now?" is the question that Muslims are asking themselves as they react to the events with dread, incredulity, irritation, and despair. Hindu radicals openly demand for the murder of Muslims. Muslims faced ethnic cleansing and extermination under the bjp administration led by Modi and Shah.

The bjp administration in Manipur promoted sectarian warfare between the Kuki indigenous group and the Hindu majority Meiteis on religious and ethnic grounds. The murderous conflict continues unabated to this day. This is the most recent illustration of the country's fallout from the BJP's hate politics and religious prejudice.

Violation of federal rights of states
Modi took office in 2014 on the promise of 'cooperative federalism'. The RSS, which controls the bjp, rejects linguistic state arrangements. The state of kashmir - SRINAGAR/JAMMU' target='_blank' title='jammu and kashmir-Latest Updates, Photos, Videos are a click away, CLICK NOW'>jammu and kashmir was divided and turned into union territories. Similarly, the powers of delhi, a Union Territory with a legislature, were restricted. A restriction on carrying beef was imposed in Lakshadweep, a union territory without a legislature, and the feeding of meat to students was prohibited. A new amendment prohibits persons with more than two children from running for panchayat elections.

In opposition-ruled states, governors have stubbornly refused to sign measures enacted by the state parliament, such as exemptions from NEET and Siddha University. The Union government is attempting to establish a parallel government in the states via the governors. The implementation of the National education Policy 2020 is an endeavor to communalize education. The GST system has stripped states of the ability to tax citizens.

Historically, tamil Nadu has not voted for the bjp, although occasionally receiving a single mp through electoral coalitions. The state has the unique distinction of having a rationalist political discourse and practice in the public arena while having a religious-spiritual populous that is generally peaceful and non-interfering in their private life. This indicates that ram Mandir, the Ghazni invasion, and Partition are not election concerns. As a result, the bjp is caught in a dilemma. As a result, bjp officials are frequently tempted to discuss the splitting or trifurcation of tamil Nadu. This does not bode well for tamil Nadu or other opposition-ruled states. The bjp administration is now attempting to repeal the Constitution entirely, including the partial parts about federalism.

The Union administration has used the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to target opposition parties in numerous states. In recent years, the ED, CBI, IT, and other departments have been used to file several cases against opposition party members, rendering these government institutions a farce. If these politicians defect to the bjp, they are given high-ranking positions, and the cases disappear suddenly. Others are imprisoned or face these charges for years. The bjp is attempting to abolish not just states, but also political parties in other states.

Corporate bias
The bjp administration is attempting to sell the country to a few corporates, including adani and Ambani. Over the previous decade, it has wiped off bad loans of Rs 16 lakh crore for large firms. The adani Group has transitioned from a coal and port monopoly to a major player in alternative energy, aviation, and infrastructure.

The Hindenburg report accused adani of stock-market fraud. However, Modi has refused to form a special panel to examine the scam. adani detractors are being ousted from Parliament. A new name, 'Modani', has been invented to depict the unholy Modi-Adani connection and is quickly gaining popularity throughout the world.

Modi's bjp administration came to office promising to abolish poverty, unemployment, corruption, and black money, but instead of addressing these issues, it is increasing them. It is difficult to disguise this reality by manipulating data. The recent CAG audit identified bribery frauds of Rs 7.5 lakh billion. This decade has been a golden period for global black money sharks, with Modi serving as their custodian.

The bjp government has excelled at creating meaningless slogans, even though the reality is quite different. 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' was one such phrase that was intended to emphasize women's safety and education. While posturing as women's guardians, the bjp administration has shown to be anti-women and is defending those who commit crimes against women. In case after case of violence against women, whether it was Asifa, Bilkis Bano, the unnao Dalit lady, or protesting women wrestlers, the bjp administration supported the criminals who committed these atrocities by awarding them with positions, standing with them for photographs, and treating them like heroes.

Another flagrant attack on constitutional rights and safeguards for impoverished and marginalized people is the rejection and/or elimination of social justice measures. At the same time, higher caste Hindus are granted benefits under the pretense of economics, most notably with the establishment of the EWS category in 2019. This measure guarantees that their philosophy of graded inequality is maintained while eliminating possibilities for equality.

Attacks on democratic institutions
The bjp has no regard for the Constitution or parliamentary democracy's institutions and is determined to render them meaningless while utilizing them to manipulate the system. Several institutions, including the courts, the election Commission, the RBI, human rights commissions, and the NITI Aayog, are being bent at will. lok sabha, Rajya Sabha, and Parliamentary Standing Committees exist solely in name. Fundamental rights protected by the Constitution are being denied. The PMO has established a situation in which it makes all decisions. The Constitution remains on paper. Overall, adani and Ambani control the country's economy, while Modi and amit shah wield political power.

All of this points to the country's impending calamity. If this administration persists, all of our high hopes for the future of our country will be dashed. As a result, the approaching parliamentary elections in 2024 will influence the trajectory and direction of India's history moving forward.

People must vote in this election, without fail. Our vote is strong enough to defeat the bjp and its allies.
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SIBY JEYYA

31/01/2024 08:54 AM