Democracy Dies In Darkness

Most of us by now must have not noticed  how different is Narendra Modi era BJP from Atal Bihari Vajpayee era. Two instances will help us arriving at some conclusion. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the strong votary of "abide by rules (raj Dharma)  governance" and Narendra Modi himself admitted  in 2013 that  BJP icon leader preached him "Raj Dharma. And what is this Raj Dharma, attributed to Vajpayee jee and often quoted  by BJP leaders. It was in the aftermath of 2002 Gujarat riots that Prime Minister, Vajpayee advised chief minister, Narendra Modi to follow 'Raj Dharma". Even. ex' Himachal chief minister and BJP senior Shanta Kumar also advised Modi to follow "Raj Dharma" Shanta Kumar later had to pay heavy price for his comment. 

In 1982, amid hung verdict in Himachal Pradesh, BJP won 29, 5 short of clear majority and Congress 31 seats with 6 independents holding the balance of power in 68-member assembly. Shanta Kumar was then the leader of BJP legislative party and he was advised by some BJP leaders to explore the possibilities of forming the government as independent were ready to support BJP govt. Shanta Kumar consulted Vajpayee jee and latter suggested to sit in opposition as the mandate was not for forming the govt. Now imagine, what would have Vajpayee jee  dne the same thing. Advising BSY and  Karnataka BJP to sit in opposition. History has uncanny way to assert itself. BJP has landed itself in the situation, it wanted to avoid. In the process, it has lost the everything, it had scored over Congress and Janata Dal (S) in Karnataka.  

Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah don't believe in Vajpayee era "gentleman politics" and go by "tit for tat' .  Honestly,   Modi can never become Vajpayee. Both have nothing in common. Vajpayee was a poet, excellent orator and had 'across the spectrum' following.  Even Congressmen used to respect him and would attend his rallies to relish his oratory skill. He was a great visionary and  transcends  boundaries and barriers  It was this broad vision, he turned out to be  most popular foreign minister during Janata Party regime. He is still the best.    Remember the days when   P. V. Narasimha Rao was  PM and Atal Bihari Vajpayee as leader of opposition. Both had prefect chemistry and never utter disrespectful words against each-other. Even Indira Gandhi as PM respected Vajpayee jee and latter did not hesitate to call her "Durga" in 197 after India won decisive war over Pakistan and Bangladesh was liberated.   

There is an old saying that Politics is not an gentleman game but Atal Bihari Vajpayee defied this idoam. All through his political career, he remained a gentleman and never crossed the borders. All those golden days of Indian politics now appear as dream. India is passing through an critical period. All our democratic institutions are under threat. The savoirs and champions of democracy are hardly to be seen. There is darkness everywhere  and  democracy dies in darkness. 

-Chander Sharma