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Analysis | Share This Page | ||||||||||||
Now to Build Opposition! |
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by Dr. Rajinder Puri |
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The massive BJP poll victory should ensure a stable and strong central government. That is to be greatly welcomed. The Congress appears incapable of revival in its present form. There is therefore no effective opposition in the country. That is to be deplored. This is not because Mr. Modi’s government needs to be criticized. It may perform wonderfully well. But there is scope for constructive criticism which in effect helps the government to fine tune and improves its policies. Indeed Prime Minister Mr. Modi has indicated that he welcomes criticism and suggestions. That is what makes democracy the best system. Today such an opposition does not exist. It needs to be created. How might that be done?
The first requirement for a genuine opposition to emerge would be to create an ideological and policy agenda that presents an alternative view to the existing ruling party. None will deny that Mr. Modi represents a strong central authority which the public was yearning for after ten years of a wishy-washy leadership. That makes good a discrepancy in India’s federal democracy that was never recognized. States invoked federalism only to demand more rights for themselves. They never appreciated that for genuine federalism it is equally necessary for the central government to have a clearly demarcated sphere of jurisdiction to allow it unfettered governance. That is why Indian democracy has failed to deliver effective governance. It is worth noting that in India the term federal is used only in the context of decentralizing power. But in America the same term is used only in the context of centralized power.
The natural ideological polarization in Indian politics is not between the Left and the Right as understood in the West, related to the degree of state intervention in the economy. It is between centralization and decentralization of power to be exercised between the centripetal and centrifugal forces. Egalitarian reform will not come from focusing only on the economy as the West has come to accept after the advent of Karl Marx. The real key to egalitarian reform lies as much if not more with democracy. And it is federalism that ensures that self-rule and democracy allow equal participation to all citizens. The formulation of an alternative agenda therefore to confront Mr. Modi’s government with healthy opposition should offer little problem. What remains is the task of building a political organizational structure that can represent the whole nation. |
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19-May-2014 | |||||||||||||
More by : Dr. Rajinder Puri | |||||||||||||
Views: 1004 Comments: 4 | |||||||||||||
Comments on this Article
bala 05/25/2014 23:49 PM
Dinesh Kumar Bohre 05/21/2014 08:43 AM
Jeti 05/21/2014 02:08 AM
pranlal sheth 05/20/2014 05:12 AM |
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