The playing field for 2024 is level. Opposition should trust the voters

Voters who know what they want

After 75 years of independence, we must be proud of the evolution of Indian democracy. The people of India know who they are and are confident of defeating any political party or leader, however popular, both at the Centre and states, in case of non-performance, lack of accountability, and corruption. The Indian electorate has changed the narrative of anti-incumbency. If a party or a leader performs, they repose their trust in them and give a fresh mandate. Similarly, they penalise non-performance.

Such voter behaviour has made Indian democracy more stable. Another important factor is the welcome realisation by the people as to who is fit to govern the country and who can be trusted to run a particular state. The real problem is the refusal of Opposition parties, particularly Congress, to come to terms with the fact that voters do not consider them fit to govern India. The people of India trust the leadership and governance record of Modi. They contrast it with the policy paralysis, corruption and the lack of effective action against terrorism of the previous government. They have seen how a powerful, honest, and performance-oriented leader like Modi can change India’s image in virtually every field. Pro-poor governance, remarkable delivery of welfare schemes and sound economic development have made India the world’s fifth-largest economy, on its way to becoming the third-biggest. Security has been strengthened and the country gives a befitting reply to border incursions and terrorism. India is no longer seen as a soft state.

A proud, confident nation

The people of India have also seen how PM Modi has upheld the country’s civilisational and spiritual values by not resorting to negative vote-bank politics. Despite being invited, Opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav chose not to attend the pran pratishta of Lord Ram at Ayodhya. This speaks of the vice-like grip of appeasement politics on them. The parties these leaders represent opposed the triple talaq legislation which was designed to free Muslim women.

We are proud of Indian democracy as well as the judiciary, which has upheld the fundamental rights and civil liberties of Indians. It has set aside several laws and decisions and delivered historic verdicts, including on the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute. It validated the abrogation of Article 370 and recently granted bail to an Aam Aadmi Party leader. But Rahul Gandhi has criticised the judiciary for its Rafale judgment. When contempt proceedings were initiated, he had to apologise. The Election Commission has done a remarkable job of holding free and fair elections in a huge country with 97-crore voters and nearly 10 lakh polling booths.

Credible, strong institutions

Hailing from Bihar, I remember the painful days when ballot paper snatching, booth capturing and violence — even murder — were not uncommon during elections. The EC has taken several courageous steps to ensure a level playing field during elections. EVMs have bolstered the sanctity of the voting process. Several Supreme Court and high court verdicts have upheld the validity of EVMs. When the Opposition loses, they find issues with EVMs and call for the reintroduction of ballot paper. But when they win, they have no problems with EVMs. This is absurd. We need to remember that the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre was elected through EVM, as was Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal. Akhilesh Yadav became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh through EVMs and the CPM too has won elections in Kerala through EVMs. Recently, Congress came to power in Karnataka and Himachal through EVMs. The Modi-led BJP has similarly been winning national and several elections.

The Opposition’s ludicrous argument on EVMs is also of a piece with its attitude towards the judiciary — courts giving bail are a sign of a level playing field but when bail is denied, the judiciary is criticised as compromised. This is also a sign of desperation. Let us not forget that Congress imposed the Emergency, jailing leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and several others.

PM Modi too fought the Emergency as part of an exemplary underground movement in which he disguised himself as a Sikh. Many eminent editors were arrested and Supreme Court judges were superseded — this included Justice H R Khanna who upheld fundamental rights during the Emergency. I salute Ramnath Goenkaji of The Indian Express for fighting the Emergency. We also need to recall that a section of the Left marched side by side with Congress during those days. Several state governments were dismissed and President’s rule was imposed because in many cases, the Congress-ruled Centre developed a dislike for a particular chief minister. Congress’s sins in compromising democracy and democratic institutions are numerous.

Let us trust the people of India who will again give a fitting reply to those who blame institutions and a lack of level-playing field for their losses. Such noises have largely been made by dynastic parties, whose leaders have been exposed for corruption and, in many cases, convicted.

The writer is Lok Sabha MP from Patna Sahib, Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court and a former Union minister