Is India Facing the Risk of a Civil Unrest?
Opposition parties are totally helpless, as their protests are not able to save the people of India from Modi’s excesses. India today is virtually standing on the brink of a civil unrest.
By Rakesh Raman
While more than 100 people have died during the past 50 days because of the currency crisis in India, unemployment is increasing at alarming rates, and government has failed on all fronts, India is facing a threat of imminent civil unrest.
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, said recently that our young workforce will be an asset if they have jobs. But, if the country is unable to provide jobs, there will be unrest, and frustration, Mukherjee warned.
Opposition parties have been protesting in a democratic way to question the wrong and anti-people decisions of the government, but opposition leaders are being targeted by the Indian regime in order to suppress their dissenting voices.
For example, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee said Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre was resorting to “politics of vendetta,” but asserted that Trinamool Congress could not be stopped in this manner.
She was referring to the CBI’s (Central Bureau of Investigation) summons issued to two TMC members of parliament. It is largely believed in India that CBI works under the direct control of the government, although it is supposed to be an independent organization.
Earlier, Mamata Banerjee had stated in Delhi on Tuesday that the country was witnessing a “super emergency” under Modi’s rule without its formal declaration.
[ Do Indians Really Support Modi’s Demonetization Move? ]
All sections of the society are being frightened by “Gabbar is coming, Gabbar is coming,” she compared Modi with Gabbar Singh, which was the name of a cruel villain in a popular Bollywood movie, Sholay.
Mamata Banerjee added that the country could not be run through such threats. She had also accused the Prime Minister of taking away the people’s rights while referring to Modi’s demonetization scheme.
[ Modi to Indians: Hey, Now Your Money Is My Money ]
In order to dethrone Modi, she has announced a state-wide campaign Modi Hatao Desh Bachao. The eight-day campaign will begin from January 1, coinciding with the foundation day of the Trinamool Congress, and will continue for over a week.
The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi had demonetized currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 on November 8, saying that the step has been taken to check corruption and stop the flow of black money.
Common people and opposition parties in India are up in arms against the government because the decision to stop the circulation of currency is causing severe hardships to commoners.
This war-like situation is causing deaths of innocent people who keep standing in queues even in harsh weather with the hope to get their old currency exchanged from banks.
While Modi is making false claims about the success of demonetization scheme in terms of checking corruption, etc., he himself is now facing serious corruption charges. A top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Modi of corruption when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.
[ Narendra Modi Corruption Case: What Is the Truth? ]
Instead of responding to the specific corruption charges, Modi is making misleading statements about his demonetization scheme and accusing opposition parties that are questioning his cruel, authoritarian decisions.
But opposition parties are totally helpless, as their protests are not able to save the people of India from Modi’s excesses. India today is virtually standing on the brink of a civil unrest.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a government award-winning journalist and social scientist. You also can visit the REAL VOTER – Politics in India Information Center that he manages.
