prothom hello ,
The results of five assembly elections were declared in December 2023, of which four (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana) are big states. Congress lost in three. How do you see these results ahead of the 2024 national elections?
Teesta Setalvad: We have never seen anything close to this during the BJP rule (2014-2024). Of course, we remember the Emergency (June 1975-March 1977) imposed by Indira Gandhi when fundamental rights were taken away but it was imposed for a time period and it was selfish for a particular individual. This was certainly an authoritarian decision. In comparison, the phase since 2014 – often described as the ‘undeclared emergency’ – has seen developments that are far more worrying.
First, the complete collapse of institutions (meaning constitutional buffers) is worrying. This institutional capture is also characterized by the destruction of checks and balances in parliamentary democracy. For example, the way MPs are expelled, bills passed and laws made, the way the President selectively gives assent (and rejects bills from opposition states like Tamil Nadu, Punjab), the way Rahul Gandhi and then Mahua Moitra were disqualified. Some judges (recommended by the collegium) are appointed, (then) many are not even considered and appointments are delayed even when they are deserving… Cherry picking is quite shameless.
Secondly, the intensity of sabotage is driven by an ideology. Ideology is shaping the structure of the Indian state and society. This makes it terrifying. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) says, they have been involved in Nirman of society And Nirman of the country Which is creating a theocratic, authoritarian state with a particular kind of exclusivist, supremacist society and hierarchical unjust citizenship that goes hand in hand with the transfer of public resources to private capital. So far, economic rights and far-right socio-religious political rights have been successfully combined. This is the risk.
prothom hello ,
For which Congress was definitely mainly responsible.
Teesta Setalvad: Yes, to a large extent, avenues were opened and paved to allow majoritarianism to grow and flourish, but there was still a cushion within the ideological framework of the Congress. There were also hopes for a structural welfare state. look at MNREGA [Rural Employment Guarantee Act introduced by Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2004], Right to Information Act, etc., efforts were made to distribute resources more equitably due to the presence of the Left within UPA-I and the strong involvement of forest workers and forest rights movements. However, after 2014, these voices have been severely suppressed at various levels.
On the question of elections, it is true that the opposition is scattered and ideologically weak. In this direction, the recent state elections are a setback. However, the eventual coming together of the Bharatiya Janata Party has led to the realization that the opposition needs to bring its numbers together by reaching out to various social groups, from Other Backward Classes to Dalits to smaller castes. tribals For minorities, privileged caste and liberals.