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Before 2014, the BJP asked Hindus to unite and said that people of the faith should come together to build the nation that they wanted. Hindus then made the BJP win an absolute majority. But has a new India been built and raised? Or at least has the BJP given us hope that they can give us a good administration? The reality is that they have not aligned themselves with the flow of the socio-economic life of the common people. The BJP’s programmes and functioning has only made the rich richer and the poor poorer.
People are losing confidence in the BJP’s national leadership. The reason is that instead of working to solve the socio-economic problems of the bottom rungs of society, they have only made the problems worse and stoked fears in them. NEET is an example. NEET destroys the dreams of those left behind socially and economically to become doctors. The affected are Hindu girls and boys belonging to the backward classes and scheduled castes and tribes. Those who raise slogans for Hindu unity do not speak for these Hindus.
In all matters, it is the BJP folk who inject talk about the nation and patriotism. They claim that whatever they do accords to a national need. But a majority of the people suffer because of the actions of the BJP people in government.
NEET destroys the dreams of those left behind socially and economically to become doctors. The affected are Hindu girls and boys belonging to the backward classes and scheduled castes and tribes. Those who raise slogans for Hindu unity do not speak for these Hindus.
A question arises here. What do BJP people mean when they talk about the nation? Are they referring to the soil and stones that are in this geographical region called India or is it India’s people?
The BJP is full of contradictions. They do not walk the talk. They make plans involving one hundred lakh crore rupees but sell off public sector units for Rs 6 lakh crore, with no mind for the huge shortfall. They increase taxes on essential commodities multi-fold, but at the same they give tax concessions for lakhs of crores of rupees to big companies.
The government has its hands on everything including the Reserve Bank of India’s savings fund. Often, the BJP folk blame previous governments. But those against whom the BJP has made allegations have created public assets for the nation. The BJP is now selling those off.
The BJP claimed that nobody died of oxygen deficiency during the second wave. So how did the deaths happen then? Whatever was the reason, people died in large numbers at the time. The government had failed in its responsibility to save the people.
The story is very different but equally bad when it comes to the Tamil Nadu BJP. Though they have not ever been in power, the BJP fully used state power after Jayalalithaa’s death. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the state leadership of the BJP was more powerful than the AIADMK men in the government.
The false propaganda that the BJP unleashed against Periyar in the public domain only irritated the people. The fake news on social media about Periyar and the irresponsible talk by BJP leaders only served to increase interest in Periyar among the younger generation. The irony is that the Dravida Kazhagam would have to thank the BJP for the revival of interest in Periyar.
The anger towards the BJP generated was directed at the AIADMK. To make the lotus blossom in four seats, the two leaves got burned out completely. Later, when the regime changed from an AIADMK-led government to a DMK-led one, the leadership changed in BJP too. While many expected senior leaders like Nainar Nagendran or Vanathi Srinivasan to take over, the national leadership appointed K Annamalai.
Inside the BJP, there were murmurs about Annamalai because he had lost the election from Aravakurichi and yet had been made state president. More than what Annamalai was going to do, what dominated the talk was what he had done before.
Fake news on social media about Periyar and the irresponsible talk by BJP leaders only served to increase interest in Periyar among the younger generation. The irony is that the Dravida Kazhagam would have to thank the BJP for the revival of interest in Periyar.
A quick research on his past shows brings up inconsistences in Annamalai’s story. He said he was a self-reliant farmer but jumped into politics before elections. But then he alluded to quitting his job because he was upset that a woman was facing sexual harassment. It does not inspire confidence Iin him. Then he said he was bringing together likeminded people through We The Leaders Foundation and was working for the nation. A web search reveals that the foundation was not in Karur but was in Karnataka. Why should a foundation that seeks to organize likeminded people in Tamil Nadu be located in Karnataka?
Annamalai’s words have become a source of much mirth after his tall claim that the BJP would win 150 seats in the 2026 elections in Tamil Nadu. Annamalai should educate himself on the history of Tamil Nadu. A hundred years ago, the Justice Party had embarked on the path of social justice in education, jobs and economy. It had advocated empowerment by giving a stake in government for backward sections of society 100 years ago.
The PEW Research Center says that as per the 2011 Census, Tamil Nadu has 88% Hindus – eight percentage points higher than in Uttar Pradesh. Yet, the BJP’s Hindutva has not worked in Tamil Nadu. This should have been an eye-opener.
( Yuvaraj works in tech support in Karur and Kodaikanal, and also runs a small business of his own.)
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