2014 was a year of change. A change that India was long awaiting to see. A Hindu nationalist leader rebranded himself as the ‘Man of Development’ and become the Prime Minister of India with promises to create millions of new jobs and revamp the Indian infrastructure.
What happened to all those revolutionary ideas and the promise of making India Great Again – the Vishwa Guru? Was it similar to the Trump’s promise of making America great again? According to a report published in The Hindu, unemployment was at a five-year high during 2015-16.
With more than 220 million of the population, Uttar Pradesh is the national political bellwether. But, unfortunately, development is not seen as an agenda during the election campaign. In one of the India’s most keenly watched elections, what Prime Minister said at Fatehpur Rally and later, what Akhilesh Yadav said can’t be the vision of development.
Addressing a crowd in Fatehpur, Prime Minister said: “If a village has a graveyard, it should also have a cremation ground; if there is electricity during Ramadan, then, it must be available during Diwali. There shouldn’t be any discrimination based on religion.”
Prime Minister’s allegation has not been substantiated as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav insisted that he is ready to swear on the Ganga that there has been no discrimination.
The BJP acolytes suggest that this was the Prime Minister’s reply to the minority appeasement practised by the UP government, an argument that has always been used to polarise the people since the freedom movement.
The attempt of brazen polarisation is not new for the BJP. Despite, the Prime Minister’s promise of development, BJP is always busy trying to polarise votes. In October 2015, the global rating agency, Moody’s, had to warn the BJP government to rein in its members to avoid the risk of losing global credibility.
In the Bihar legislative election, Amit Shah had infamously suggested that if they did not come to power in the state, crackers would be burst in Pakistan.
This is the first election for the Modi government after the widely broadcasted surgical strike on corruption. If the Mr Prime Minister is indeed concerned about the people of Uttar Pradesh or wanted to showcase the achievements of his two and a half years old government, why is he not talking about demonetization? And, what happened to the recovery of black money? What happened to the promise of job creation?
We all know that Modi is a great orator and this skill helped him to win 2014 elections, but we must keep the rhetoric aside. Uttar Pradesh is one of the most backward states in India and the world.
What an ordinary man in UP needs are necessities i.e. education, electricity, and a job to run the family but unfortunately, all these issues are not being focussed on in the Uttar Pradesh election. Cremation grounds and donkeys are not what the people of Uttar Pradesh looking for. The Prime Minister and the Chief Minister must take a note of it.