Abraham Lincoln once said that “Democracy is a
government of the people, a government by the people and a government for the
people.” One of the most essential elements of any democracy is the conduction
of free and fair elections. That is what makes for a mature democracy. India is
the largest democracy in the world with a rich heritage of culture and
diversity. And, along with all these vast differences, what binds the people
together is the election, which allows each and every person above the age of
18 to vote. Their vote decides their representative, who in turn represents the
interest of the people.
Narendra Modi, who is the Prime Minister of India,
got elected for the second time on 30th May 2019. In their 2019 manifesto,
there were several agendas that they kept forth in front of people, according
to which people votes, is what is expected from people. But it was a very well
known fact that in 2019 as well, the Modi government would win the election.
His charisma and his ability to convince people all paid off well for the
Bharatiya Janta Party. Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak, the Bharatiya
Janta Party would be celebrating the one year anniversary of their second
consecutive tenure in office.
Completing one year in office, evaluating their
performance becomes essential. One of the key aspects of Bharatiya Janta Party’s
manifesto was accomplishing ‘75 milestones for India at 75’. Their manifesto
was a comprehensive document that had all the aspects that they wished to
cover by 2024. Some of them were in the 2014 manifesto as well. But when the
2019 manifesto came about, they were extremely determined and vocal about it.
Some of those also had an aggressive take on many things. And there were
several bold reforms as well.
The top 3 promises made in the manifesto were the
focus points for the Bharatiya Janta Party this
Firstly, Abolishing Tripple Talaq, which was a step
towards justice. When the Bill regarding the abolishing of Tripple Talaq was
passed, the Bharatiya Janta Party, which has its foundation laid on Hindutva
ideology, was seen as progressive. The issue emerged after the Shah Bano case when a case was filed by Shah Bano against her husband who divorced her through
the method of Tripple Talaq. This was in limelight for quite some time and was
also an agenda in the Bharatiya Janta Party’s manifesto, which focused on
removing the Muslim women from the clutches of injustice. Due to no Muslim Code
and the existence of a Hindu code, this in a way saw a change in the cultural
practice of Islam in India.
Secondly, the abrogation of Article 370, which
changed Jammu and Kashmir’s structure and removed the special status. Jammu and
Kashmir was given the status of being a Union Territory along with Ladakh,
which too was given the status of being a Union Territory. This gave the centre the
power to undertake the administration in the region. One of the main promises
that were made in that region was to enhance the economic capacity of the
region and increase economic activities in the region. But due to protests from
the people of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, it is unfortunate that the state, now
union territories have been in lockdown since the longest of time. At the same
time, if we look at it from the point of view of security threats and
insurgencies from China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s drug menace, it gets easier
to deploy forces when the center has some amount of administrative hold over
the region. Also, the process has led towards the people believing in the Prime
Minister as he had promised to make Kashmir part of India. But everything said
than done, the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have faced a lot since
the abrogation of Article 370.
By the time people applauded Narendra Modi’s efforts
for the 2 major events, the agenda of construction of the Ram Mandir was taken
up and the judgment in favor of the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya
on the disputed land and an alternative land for the construction of the mosque
was ordered. This was seen as a landmark judgment of a long-awaited solution
over a dispute which was going on for a long period of time. No major clashes
were seen in this regard, due to the jury based judgment by the Supreme Court
of India.
Finally, along with all these major undertakings
came the most disputed issue which saw a huge clash between people. The
Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed and made into an act, and the process of
restructuring the NRC was also in the process. This was also one of the major
agendas in the Bharatiya Janta Party’s manifesto. The country saw a series of
protests and a lot of violence across cities. Several states also imposed 144
to curb the protests and violence. A lot of injustice led towards the people at
large due to the violence and protests and people also witnessed the aggressive
as well as a supportive approach of the police in several cases. India was
amidst protests when suddenly the Pandemic broke out and things had to stop.
Had the pandemic not broken out, there were chances of NRC and Uniform Civil Code would also have been initiated. But that is a utopia as of now.
On economic as well as other aspects like
infrastructure, Health, Education, Women Empowerment, etc, the performance is on
the back front. The Bharatiya Janta Party’s manifesto said that by the end of the
tenure, they wish to make India the 3rd largest economy of the
world. Job creation was a major agenda along with good health facilities and
infrastructure development. The Namami Grange project was one of the agendas
that did begin its course, with the motto to clean Ganga by 2022. On the
security front as well not much has happened though.
The Bharatiya Janta Party’s manifesto had some very
bold promises, especially on the economic front. But if things don’t work out in
the near future, then the very convenient option of blaming the Pandemic is
always available for any government. Even after the pandemic is over, for the
economy to revive, in spite of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, is a very limited
possibility.
Writer- Vijayasree
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