India’s opposition parties unite to take on Modi govt
NEW DELHI: It was described as the largest gathering of opposition parties in India for over three years. Ever since Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014 the opposition has been in disarray and floundering from one crisis to another. But on Thursday in the heart of New Delhi, not very far from Parliament, the opposition alliance presented a huge show of strength and unity.
The presence of disparate groups — farmers, traders, students and minorities — illustrate that it was not only a gathering of leaders, but also the common people, seeking to vent their anger against the government.
Concerned over growing violence against the Muslim minority, the systematic undermining of the secular spirit of the Constitution by Modi’s ruling Hindu government, the opposition came together under the agenda “To Save the Composite Culture of India.”
Organized by Sharad Yadav, a leader of the breakaway faction of Janata Dal (JD-U), the meeting is significant because it was attended by the Congress Party, India’s main opposition party, as well as regional parties.
The day-long convention comes a month after the opposition received a big jolt when a popular leader from Bihar, Nitish Kumar, decided to align his faction of the JD (U) with the ruling BJP. Kumar had formed a grand opposition alliance in 2015 against the rightwing BJP in Bihar which prevented the growth of Modi’s party in eastern India.
Kumar was supposed to be the most credible and popular opposition leader to take on Modi in 2019’s general election. But his sudden decision to change side came as a setback to opposition parties and it was widely assumed that in the absence of a united opposition the prime minister would have a smooth ride in the 2009 election.
But the presence of top leaders of the different parties at Thursday’s protest came as a reassuring sign for many who want to see a strong alternative to Modi.
Rahul Gandhi, the vice president of the Congress Party, attacked the government for failing to hold even a single promise made in the 2014 election. He also accused Modi for allowing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organization of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to entrench itself in the government institutions, thus subverting the secular character of the Constitution, Gandhi said.
He said that if the opposition “fight together these people (the ruling party) will be seen nowhere.”
Farooq Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and the leader of the National Conference, said India faces danger from within not from outside.
“China and Pakistan cannot harm us, it is the enemy sitting inside the country, it is the forces that are dividing the nation, that are harming us more,” the Kashmiri leader told his fellow protesters.
That view was echoed by Sitaram Yechury, the Communist Party’s general secretary.
“The question right now is not about the elections, it is about saving the character of the country. It is about saving the country from becoming Hindu Pakistan,” the Marxist leader said.
Political experts saw the opposition’s move to take on the government as a bold one.
“The way the situation in the country is being created, the way the ruling party‘s policies are spreading religious intolerance and creating bad blood among the communities, it is imperative for the opposition parties to come together. Today’s meeting was a significant political move,” Om Thanvi, a New Delhi based political analyst, said.
In a conversation with Arab News he added: “Modi is creating an atmosphere where people are gradually losing trust in the government. His move to demonetize bank notes created lots of disenchantment among people, his policies toward farmers and businessmen are widely being resented. The opposition needs to tap it.”
“Agriculture sector, traders and manufacturers and the young educated people seeking jobs — all these sectors who voted for Modi in 2014 are unhappy,” the Mumbaibased editor of Marathi daily said.
Dainik Divya Marathi’s chief editor, Kumar Ketkar, said the opposition needs to tap into the growing resentment against Modi and his government. Ketkar said the middle class media was not highlighting the discontentment among people and the opposition unity was not a gathering of leaders, but a collective voice against the wrongdoings of the government.
“This discontentment is not seen because the prime minister still enjoys the popularity among the middle class,” Ketkar told Arab News.
“Whether the opposition is capable or not is not dependent on whether the opposition leaders are capable or not, whether Rahul Gandhi is capable or not. The question is whether the discontentment is growing or not?
“And when the discontentment is growing people will express themselves any way if there is a platform,” Ketkar added.
Meanwhile, the BJP strongly reacted to the opposition gathering. In a special press conference the party leader, Ravi Shankar Prasad termed the opposition unity as an alliance of scared people, “who are scared of Modi.”