While Modi government is on a spree of amendments, it is quite hard to foretell its effects on the country in the long run. Be it on the economic or social front, the BJP government have been introducing new laws, scrapping or updating the old ones.
Significantly, imposing laws unacceptable to the mass for a ‘greater cause’ is subjecting the government to criticism. Be it the reckless pelting in Kashmir or severe under-employment, Aadhaar leaks or anti-Romeo squads—the lawmakers have often been nit-picked for acting outside the law.
In spite of the increasing criticism Modi-led government invites upon itself, interestingly, its popularity seems to be on the rise in the states in a balancing act. From gau-rakshaks to mandatory Aadhaar to scrapping notes overnight, the government seems to be revamping laws with a flick of a finger.
In an exclusive interview by Swati Chaturvedi carried by The Wire, former BJP leaderArun Shourie slams Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this context.
“It’s a decentralised emergency”, he said admitting the aggressive approach of central people who have been rationalising violence as an instrument of domination.
Shourie said, “What we are going towards is a pyramidal decentralised mafia state, where local goons will belabour anyone whom they think is doing something wrong. The central people will look the other way. The central people will provide a rationale for the goondas at the local level. Like “gau rakshaks’’, like “love jihad” – this becomes the rationale for me to beat up anybody. It’s not love for the cow but just an instrument for domination.”
Pointing out the differences between the previous government and the current government, he said, “The one big difference is at that time Mrs [Indira] Gandhi still used the law. Now it is not the law. These people are acting outside the law. This is true fascism because you say what is the law? I am the law.”
Talking about law amendments he added, “All this action is being done outside the government, worse, things are being done inside the government to choke the existing laws – for instance the Right to Information (RTI) is being choked, the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is being denigrated unless it’s in your favour. The judiciary is being denigrated, therefore you keep the vacancies going the same way, probably about a hundred vacancies. The judiciary keeps saying, and these people keep denying on one ground or another. And, to hell with the people who suffer because of want of courts.”
