PARIKRAMA
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2014
- Messages
- 4,871
- Reaction score
- 185
- Country
- Location
Opposition's misplaced political outrage
Posted on: 12:54 PM IST Dec 04, 2015 IST
The intolerance debate is important, something that deserves serious discussion in Parliament. Crimes against intellectuals and minorities are condemnable, and no matter the where or how of the crime, it was essential Parliament convene to deliberate over the issue. However, after hearing Left leader Mohammed Salim and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s statements, the Opposition seems to have trivialized the entire debate, uninterested in the specifics of the cases which sparked the entire controversy.
From the very beginning of his tirade, Mohammed Salim accused the Centre of unleashing violent fringe groups across the nation, even hitting out at Home Minister Rajnath Singh for allegedly referring to Prime Minister Modi’s rise to power as a Hindu ruler’s ascent. After Rajnath Singh challenged Salim’s accusation in the House, the Outlook Group had to print an apology, as Salim referred to an article falsely attributing the statement made by the late VHP leader Ashok Singhal to the Home Minister.
Rahul Gandhi took the debate to another level. He accused the BJP for the Dadri murder saying the victim was killed because he was a Muslim, even hitting out at the Centre for allegedly slapping sedition charges against dissenters. Rahul Gandhi’s rant was like a train going off the rails, where he even accused the BJP for the murders of academics Dabholkar and Kalburgi, forgetting that they were all killed under the jurisdiction of Congress governments. It was puzzling to see how confidently and incorrectly Rahul Gandhi blamed the BJP for multiple crimes across the nation.
Rajnath Singh gave a point-by-point reply to Rahul Gandhi in Parliament, highlighting how the Centre sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on Dadri, which replied that there was no communal angle to the crime. He even highlighted that it was against the ethos of federalism for the Centre to interfere with the law and order machinery of state governments, stating that he was ready to sanction a CBI enquiry for any case the states approached him with.
However, the Congress leader was in no mood to hear a counter and left Parliament when the Home Minister spoke, a clear sign of his level of tolerance.
The intolerance debate championed by ‘intellectuals’ and the Opposition is centered on the 'objectionable’ statements by BJP leaders and the 'silence' of Prime Minister Modi. However, the debate has completely ignored the execution of justice. No questions have been raised against the Samajwadi and Congress governments in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka on the progress of the investigation into the Dadri and Kalburgi murders. Why aren’t these governments fast tracking the investigation, focusing on convicting the culprits? They are the parties highlighting their outrage in Parliament, yet the progress of the investigation has been completely lethargic, reducing 'Dadri' and 'Kalburgi' to mere punchlines in the discussion and campaign against the NDA government.
How isn’t the progress of these cases the central part of the intolerance debate? Is the aim of the narrative to target the BJP and PM Modi or win the fight against communalism?
The intolerance debate has also failed to explore the complex factors behind communal violence, something that requires a serious look at law and order in the states. We cannot remain naïve, and must understand that speeches or statements can never solely spark communal violence. Objectionable statements by BJP leaders are condemnable, but mere words cannot be attributed to cases of violence against intellectuals and minorities or ever be a threat to the secular fabric of India. Like other governments in the past, the NDA has deplored such statements and even advised leaders to be cautious. In the case of General VK Singh’s 'dog' remark in the wake of the killing of Dalit children in Haryana, a simple question - Did General VK Singh call Dalits 'dogs'? Does anyone really believe that a former leader of one of the most secular institutions in the nation – the Indian Army, think that Dalits are dogs? I highly doubt that, yet recognize that the statement was a poor choice of words. General VK Singh never actually compared Dalits to dogs, yet the outrage is nothing more that an attack against PM Modi instead of a reflection of General VK Singh’s actual beliefs.
Meanwhile, the Opposition's outrage is so flimsy, they cannot even bring themselves to file cases against these leaders for 'hate speech'. They fear the embarrassment of the courts disagreeing with their point of view.
A similar argument was floated by the Opposition during the ‘church attacks’ where the Centre was blamed for emboldening right wing groups. All incidents were investigated and found to be cases of vandalism and petty crimes, yet the argument has persisted. It is clear the narrative is not based on facts, but part of a politically charged campaign against the Centre and PM Modi aimed at sowing doubt and fear to discredit his rule.
In the book Contemporary Political Philosophy, political scientists Robert Goodin and Philip Pettit argue the case that it is convenient for political groups to simplify the cause of social evils for short-term political gain.
On communal violence, they say that - "No one can say, not simply because prediction is next to impossible, but because we have no firm understanding of the process by which demonstration disintegrates into riot, and in particular of the part played by inflammatory speech, as distinct from poverty, police brutality and all the rest of political and economic failure. Any attempt to locate and remove a cause of riot must be an exercise in speculation, trial and error.”
The NDA government aims to pass key legislation to reform the economy, and even the Prime Minister has struck a conciliatory note in Parliament seeking Opposition support. But stalling the passage of legislation over such an ambiguous if not factually flawed argument reeks of political opportunism and public disregard. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said there will be 'bloodshed' if anyone tried to amend the Constitution. Clearly, the Opposition has adopted a language of brinkmanship.
The Opposition must realize that it cannot scare the public against the BJP. There is no custodian of secularism in the political class and neither is there an all out communal war across the nation. The secular ethos of India is tougher than what the Opposition or any ‘intellectual’ believes. There will always be a no holds barred fight in the political arena, but it cannot be at the cost of economic progress especially when the pursuit of justice is deliberately being sidelined by fear mongering. The Opposition should not replace a serious debate on law and order with an incoherent, superficial and paranoid rant. The citizens will not buy it, and the Opposition will gain nothing for being alarmist and uncooperative, sacrificing the long term interests of the nation for an increasingly irrational campaign against Prime Minister Modi.
Ayushman Jamwal's Blog : Opposition's misplaced political outrage
A very well written blog.. I stand by this author completely. This whole protests and parliament stalling is making sure that i dont vote opposition parties like Congress back to power ever in my life. Whatever they have done in the past for the country (good and bad both) all are now slowly washed away by their new new acts of stupidities. The country needs to move forward and here our leaders in parliament are showing us the best reasons of why India cannot become a developed country with such negative attitude and stalling of key initiatives and reforms for the country's economic growth. The opposition did not even allow a discussion and update on Tamilnadu floods. Dont know what is parliament for if we dont discuss issues of national importance but rather just vendetta based politics. Its a lesson for NDA too. When they were in opposition many times they were unrelenting too. All sides needs to understand what their actions are gonna cost our country. Seems Parliament itself is most intolerant...
@Aminroop @Abingdonboy @ranjeet @SarthakGanguly @nair @Nair saab @LaBong @kurup @magudi @Star Wars @zebra7 @Ind4Ever @MilSpec @others
Posted on: 12:54 PM IST Dec 04, 2015 IST
The intolerance debate is important, something that deserves serious discussion in Parliament. Crimes against intellectuals and minorities are condemnable, and no matter the where or how of the crime, it was essential Parliament convene to deliberate over the issue. However, after hearing Left leader Mohammed Salim and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s statements, the Opposition seems to have trivialized the entire debate, uninterested in the specifics of the cases which sparked the entire controversy.
From the very beginning of his tirade, Mohammed Salim accused the Centre of unleashing violent fringe groups across the nation, even hitting out at Home Minister Rajnath Singh for allegedly referring to Prime Minister Modi’s rise to power as a Hindu ruler’s ascent. After Rajnath Singh challenged Salim’s accusation in the House, the Outlook Group had to print an apology, as Salim referred to an article falsely attributing the statement made by the late VHP leader Ashok Singhal to the Home Minister.
Rahul Gandhi took the debate to another level. He accused the BJP for the Dadri murder saying the victim was killed because he was a Muslim, even hitting out at the Centre for allegedly slapping sedition charges against dissenters. Rahul Gandhi’s rant was like a train going off the rails, where he even accused the BJP for the murders of academics Dabholkar and Kalburgi, forgetting that they were all killed under the jurisdiction of Congress governments. It was puzzling to see how confidently and incorrectly Rahul Gandhi blamed the BJP for multiple crimes across the nation.
Rajnath Singh gave a point-by-point reply to Rahul Gandhi in Parliament, highlighting how the Centre sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on Dadri, which replied that there was no communal angle to the crime. He even highlighted that it was against the ethos of federalism for the Centre to interfere with the law and order machinery of state governments, stating that he was ready to sanction a CBI enquiry for any case the states approached him with.
However, the Congress leader was in no mood to hear a counter and left Parliament when the Home Minister spoke, a clear sign of his level of tolerance.
The intolerance debate championed by ‘intellectuals’ and the Opposition is centered on the 'objectionable’ statements by BJP leaders and the 'silence' of Prime Minister Modi. However, the debate has completely ignored the execution of justice. No questions have been raised against the Samajwadi and Congress governments in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka on the progress of the investigation into the Dadri and Kalburgi murders. Why aren’t these governments fast tracking the investigation, focusing on convicting the culprits? They are the parties highlighting their outrage in Parliament, yet the progress of the investigation has been completely lethargic, reducing 'Dadri' and 'Kalburgi' to mere punchlines in the discussion and campaign against the NDA government.
How isn’t the progress of these cases the central part of the intolerance debate? Is the aim of the narrative to target the BJP and PM Modi or win the fight against communalism?
The intolerance debate has also failed to explore the complex factors behind communal violence, something that requires a serious look at law and order in the states. We cannot remain naïve, and must understand that speeches or statements can never solely spark communal violence. Objectionable statements by BJP leaders are condemnable, but mere words cannot be attributed to cases of violence against intellectuals and minorities or ever be a threat to the secular fabric of India. Like other governments in the past, the NDA has deplored such statements and even advised leaders to be cautious. In the case of General VK Singh’s 'dog' remark in the wake of the killing of Dalit children in Haryana, a simple question - Did General VK Singh call Dalits 'dogs'? Does anyone really believe that a former leader of one of the most secular institutions in the nation – the Indian Army, think that Dalits are dogs? I highly doubt that, yet recognize that the statement was a poor choice of words. General VK Singh never actually compared Dalits to dogs, yet the outrage is nothing more that an attack against PM Modi instead of a reflection of General VK Singh’s actual beliefs.
Meanwhile, the Opposition's outrage is so flimsy, they cannot even bring themselves to file cases against these leaders for 'hate speech'. They fear the embarrassment of the courts disagreeing with their point of view.
A similar argument was floated by the Opposition during the ‘church attacks’ where the Centre was blamed for emboldening right wing groups. All incidents were investigated and found to be cases of vandalism and petty crimes, yet the argument has persisted. It is clear the narrative is not based on facts, but part of a politically charged campaign against the Centre and PM Modi aimed at sowing doubt and fear to discredit his rule.
In the book Contemporary Political Philosophy, political scientists Robert Goodin and Philip Pettit argue the case that it is convenient for political groups to simplify the cause of social evils for short-term political gain.
On communal violence, they say that - "No one can say, not simply because prediction is next to impossible, but because we have no firm understanding of the process by which demonstration disintegrates into riot, and in particular of the part played by inflammatory speech, as distinct from poverty, police brutality and all the rest of political and economic failure. Any attempt to locate and remove a cause of riot must be an exercise in speculation, trial and error.”
The NDA government aims to pass key legislation to reform the economy, and even the Prime Minister has struck a conciliatory note in Parliament seeking Opposition support. But stalling the passage of legislation over such an ambiguous if not factually flawed argument reeks of political opportunism and public disregard. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said there will be 'bloodshed' if anyone tried to amend the Constitution. Clearly, the Opposition has adopted a language of brinkmanship.
The Opposition must realize that it cannot scare the public against the BJP. There is no custodian of secularism in the political class and neither is there an all out communal war across the nation. The secular ethos of India is tougher than what the Opposition or any ‘intellectual’ believes. There will always be a no holds barred fight in the political arena, but it cannot be at the cost of economic progress especially when the pursuit of justice is deliberately being sidelined by fear mongering. The Opposition should not replace a serious debate on law and order with an incoherent, superficial and paranoid rant. The citizens will not buy it, and the Opposition will gain nothing for being alarmist and uncooperative, sacrificing the long term interests of the nation for an increasingly irrational campaign against Prime Minister Modi.
Ayushman Jamwal's Blog : Opposition's misplaced political outrage
A very well written blog.. I stand by this author completely. This whole protests and parliament stalling is making sure that i dont vote opposition parties like Congress back to power ever in my life. Whatever they have done in the past for the country (good and bad both) all are now slowly washed away by their new new acts of stupidities. The country needs to move forward and here our leaders in parliament are showing us the best reasons of why India cannot become a developed country with such negative attitude and stalling of key initiatives and reforms for the country's economic growth. The opposition did not even allow a discussion and update on Tamilnadu floods. Dont know what is parliament for if we dont discuss issues of national importance but rather just vendetta based politics. Its a lesson for NDA too. When they were in opposition many times they were unrelenting too. All sides needs to understand what their actions are gonna cost our country. Seems Parliament itself is most intolerant...
@Aminroop @Abingdonboy @ranjeet @SarthakGanguly @nair @Nair saab @LaBong @kurup @magudi @Star Wars @zebra7 @Ind4Ever @MilSpec @others
