Demonisation demon

Demonisation demon

Insecure, averse to criticism, suspicious of other’s motives, BJP and Congress must do better.

It would seem appeals for bipartisanship are risky in today’s polarised political environment, going by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s latest run-in with the party’s Kerala unit. Tharoor’s view that opposition must praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he does the right thing has irked senior Congress leaders in Kerala with the state PCC demanding an explanation. Tharoor was only echoing colleague Jairam Ramesh’s advice to his party to not demonise Modi all the time. Jairam had said that Modi’s governance was not a “completely negative story” and that schemes like Ujwala resonated with women.

In other words, Jairam was telling Congress that its attempts to polarise the electorate against Modi even turned off the fence sitters. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, an erstwhile Modi baiter, has found merit in bipartisanship and lauding Modi. This applies to BJP too, now in its second term in office. The country’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru was a man of many parts, an institution builder, and nurturer of democracy even though his economic, strategic and social visions left a lot to be desired. But in BJP’s narrative he is cast solely in the villain’s mould. Constantly blaming 50 years of Congress rule for the country’s ills will yield diminishing returns for BJP which is now into its second term.

Moreover, the now hazy memory that UPA-1 was better in terms of growth will be recalled by more people if the current economic slide is not arrested. The distrust that has characterised politics has spilled into the economic arena too, with actions that resemble “tax terrorism” causing unease among investors. The insularity and insecurity that discourages bipartisanship and demonises opposing voices are bad both for democracy and sound policy. Gagging Tharoor, blaming Nehru, all are symptoms of the deep anti-intellectualism that has gripped our politics.