RIGHT REBUFF
   Date :04-Jul-2019

 
PRIME Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has done well to issue a warning loud and clear to his partymen against any misconduct in public. This warning will serve as a right rebuff to some elements in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that may have a tendency to over-assert themselves in public and indulge in some or the other misconduct. Against the background of gross misbehaviour by the legislator-son of senior party leader Mr. Kailash Vijayvargiya, this stern warning from the Prime Minister has a special importance. When the party has returned to power with such a decisive and authentic mandate, it is the primary responsibility of every member of the party at every possible level to ensure that his or her conduct is ideal and in tune with the principle of inclusiveness.
 
Good behaviour by people in power or in public affairs is actually an imperative. For, the common people watch their actions with a critical and keen eye and do not miss a single misdemeanour. Eventually, each misconduct goes a long distance in maligning the image of not just the person involved but also of the party. At this stage when the people look to the BJP as an ideal party, any misconduct by members of the party at any level is an anathema.
 
Whether the members are elected representatives or part of the party organisation or its cadres, the expectation of proper conduct is the same at all levels. There is a historical background to this issue. In the past seventy-plus years, the people who enjoyed unfettered power for decades tended to take people’s support for granted, and indulged in behaviours that were hardly amiable. So brazen did some people in the ruling class become that the common people started hating not just the individuals but also their party in general. One of the reasons of the fall of the Congress from popular grace was certain brazenness with which the members of the party behaved with the common people in the street. Having noted this unholy trend, Mr. Narendra Modi seems to have made a resolve to ensure that every member of the BJP conducts himself or herself with an utmost sense of responsibility and respect towards his or her line of duty and the people in general.
 
 
The Prime Minister’s stern warning has to be viewed from this angle. It was unfortunate that a paradoxical trend of democratic oligarchy had been prevailing in India for long decades. The people in power -- led by any political party -- had tended to grow increasingly arrogant and ignorant of people’s actual needs. They demonstrated a clear tendency to be careless about the people’s needs and did not mind slighting the people who went to them with simple requests. There have been good people in power as well and conducted themselves with a sense of restraint and responsibility.
 
Their overall approach brought good name to politics. Yet, there were people who lost their sense of balance and presented to the commoners a model that nobody welcomed, thanks to the brazenness that became an attribute of unfettered political power. This abuse of power had been on the Prime Minister’s mind for a long time, as could be seen and sensed from his public statements over time about how the people in power should behave. Right at the opening moments of the second term, Mr. Modi showed his assertiveness sending out a message that he would tolerate no nonsense. In the light of this development, we hope that this message will get across to the members of all political parties and organisations engaged in public affairs. If that really happens, a lot of good can emerge from the political class by way of a culture of politeness and patience in public affairs and issues. This is of utmost importance because democracy is a system of the people, by the people, and for the people. We hope, the political class keeps this in mind all the time.