By Bismay Ray:
Political parties irrespective of ideology exist to do welfare of the general public. But in India, these very parties have become one of the largest obstacles in the way of development. Not only do they act as a hindrance, but they also destroy the social fabric of the country for narrow electoral gains.
The purpose of writing this piece is to share my experiences.
I belong to the State of Odisha. A few days back, The Congress in the state called for a ‘bandh‘. Hundreds of youngsters on motorbikes started roaming the streets of the state capital and all the main towns, asking people to shut their shops. This was just one of the many ‘bandhs’ in India.
The sincerest of people suffer the most because they defy bandhs to go to work. It is irrational for parties to think that they can do the public any good by throwing their life out of track.
These bandhs result in massive losses for all businesses, right from MNCs to small vegetable sellers. The worst affected are the people who work hard for two square meals. ‘Bandhs’ mostly don’t have any tangible results except satisfying the ego of the leaders who think that these bands will showcase their powers.
Recently the BJP declared a ‘Tiranga Yatra‘. I was travelling from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack for some official work. As it was a Saturday, I had to reach office before noon. When I turned from the highway towards the city, I saw a lot of people waving the national flag and the BJP flag, playing patriotic songs and raising slogans for Narendra Modi and Dharmendra Pradhan (State BJP leader and Union minister). I couldn’t understand what was going on so I asked a guy who was on a motorcycle shouting slogans and blocking the road. I asked him what this was all about, and he said, “It’s the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ for the unity of the nation” I laughed at what he said and asked him if unity could be achieved by blocking the road. He retorted by asking me, why I had taken that particular route and not another the other one. I would have had to travel an extra 5 km if I had taken the other route!
What do these people want? They make hundreds of us stand under the sun, stop us from going to work and add to our problems for nothing.
What if an ambulance had to go through that road? What were they trying to do? Teach us nationalism?
With two major political parties adding to the never-ending list of problems that people in the country have, it is but interesting to think if a democratic set-up is what India needs to succeed as a nation.