REACHING OUT
   Date :19-Jun-2019

 
THE assurance in Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s words is satisfying that the Government values every word of the Opposition, no matter its numbers in the Parliament. On the second consecutive day, the Prime Minister reached out to the Opposition parties urging them to take the fullest possible part in the parliamentary process and voice their genuine concerns freely so as to further the cause of the people. The importance of this approach cannot be missed. Obviously, this seems to be a theme of the second tenure of Mr. Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
 
Even as he addressed the first meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s parliamentary group after election, he reached out to the Opposition and other groups in a similar manner, appealing them to join the collective process of democracy, to be active participants in national discourse. That was when he added two more words to his Government’s slogan that now reads Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas (Everybody’s cooperation, Everybody’s Development, Everybody’s Trust). In that speech, Mr. Modi reached out to the minorities and urged them to understand the metaphor of nation building. Those who had no political agenda could sense the transparent honesty in Mr. Modi’s words. But even as Mr. Modi touched upon these fundamental principles of democracy in which everybody’s word has its own value, he actually pushed the discourse into a rather difficult zone.
 
 
For, it is not so easily possible for political Opposition to participate in the national discourse in an unreseerved manner and contribute to collective good, particularly after a very cantankerous election. In fact, the election had caused much hurt to him personally as well when a major Opposition party called him a thief repeatedly and senselessly. Yet, Mr. Modi has sought to reach out wishing every segment of political or social opinion to consider itself as an integral part of one national voice. By doing so, the Prime Minister has demonstrated immense spiritual strength to rise above the mundane and seek the sublime. There is no doubt that a lot of social and political churning took place on account of the Lok Sabha election, throwing up in the process a lot of scum that muddled everybody’s mind no end. But that churning also threw up much cream of good thought and good collective decision by the voters.
 
The world saw the spectacle of a great election process involving such mind-boggling numbers of people as managers and voters across a span of six weeks. The Prime Minister has said, in effect, that it was only natural that some scum, too, could get thrown up with the cream, and that the task of the nation is to pick up the cream and throw away the scum. This is, in nutshell, the meaning of the Prime Minister’s appeal. His effort is obvious -- to offer a voice even to the people whose numbers are very low in the Lok Sabha. The Opposition can still pursue its political agenda, but can also participate in the bipartisan dialogue to produce more cream over time. Some may describe the Prime Minister’s effort as a political drama.
 
To such biased minds, no one can say or do anything. But the majority of common people realise the spiritual strength in the Prime Minister’s reaching out. They realise that he is trying to achieve something beyond the ordinary. The ball now is in the Opposition’s court -- to take the opportunity or to reject it out of political spite. Every Prime Minister has made similar appeals, but the intensity of Mr. Modi’s attempt to reach out is different. The common people realise it. If the Opposition, too, does, it would raise the quality of national discourse to a new height, which India, as a nation, deserves fully. At this stage, India looks forward to a collectivism beyond political barriers so that growth becomes a national buzz word.