THE tone of deep concern in the statement of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi can be understood easily, thanks to some of the recent political developments in the country. One part of the concern refers to the resolution passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly a couple of days ago deciding not to implement the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act -- CAA --, while the other stems from the refusal of a few States to implement the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana (PMKSY). As he disbursed a massive cumulative sum of Rs. 12,000/- crore to 6 crore farmers, Mr. Modi lamented that many States had not implemented the useful scheme and urged them to do so in New Year. In other words, the Prime Minister lamented that the Opposition parties were interested in forming a joint front against Parliament, and were silent on the dirty machinations by Pakistan. This is the core of the concern of Mr. Modi and the Government.

 

The approach of the Opposition is obviously unacceptable and undesirable to the larger mass of the people of India. By forming a front against the CAA and also the PMKSY, the Opposition is actually damning and damaging the unitary spirit of Indian federalism and is trying to create sort of civil-war-like condition in the country. By no standard can such an approach do any good to the national interest in the short or long runs.

 

The world knows by now that the Government has tried its best to communicate to the people the actual meaning and import of all of its measures so far with a great degree of success. However, the Opposition has now positioned itself against the CAA and also PMKSY purely for political grounds, which has now become a major point of concern not just for the Government and the Prime Minister but also for the whole nation.

 

There are reasons to believe that the Prime Minister and his colleagues in the Government and the ruling combine of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will rally back successfully to defeat the Opposition plans to disturb the fine unitary spirit of federalism that has often marked the success of Indian democracy. There are reasons to believe that in the ensuing days, the nation will see a massive churning on this issue which would culminate into popular rejection of Opposition politics. To that extent, the current condition may be considered as a time pregnant with possibilities of political tumult.

 

Yet, wisdom does not support any such possibilities that may tug at the very fabric of the larger Indian society for no actual reasons. For, the kind of falsehood that the Opposition has tried to weave around the CAA and other central legislations or efforts will always threaten the sense of unity of the larger Indian society. And that appears to be the real concern Mr. Modi feels.

 

Every Indian would agree with him on this count. That is the reason why the politically-driven agitation against the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) is now beginning to show signs of fading, thanks to the successful counter-campaign the Government and the ruling NDA launched to make people understand the reality. In fact, the Opposition must understand the signals correctly and withdraw the senseless agitation aimed mainly at driving a wedge through the Indian society.

 

The Prime Minister’s concern stems from the awareness that the Opposition does not seem to be in a mood to relent. Politically, this is more likely to favour the Government and the ruling combine in the long run. But Mr. Modi is rightly concerned about the ill-effect the Opposition machinations might leave on the social fabric. Thankfully, the people understand this and have begun expressing solidarity with Mr. Narendra Modi.