Not a u-turn, it is only a recognition of ground realities and public opinion: Dr Chandra

Reflecting on the prevailing national political scenario, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, individuals involved in separatism gaining constitutional powers, and the law and order situation in Kolkata in particular and West Bengal in general, Dr Jagdeesh Chandra stresses that these new challenges before the Modi-Shah team will have to be dealt swiftly. Additionally, Dr Chandra stresses that the opposition by allied parties regarding three bills was a wrong move on their part and should not have been undertaken as it was unethical. Excerpts… (Part II)

• One after the other, the Modi government has taken a U-turn in 3 cases. How do you see this development?
  Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: It is not a U-turn in the real sense of the word; rather, it is a U-turn only in public perception. In fact, it is a recognition of ground realities and respecting the public opinion and the opinion of the nation. Opinion of the people keeps on changing. The biggest thing is that a general impression has been created in the country that after getting 240 seats, the ruling party does not have a majority, so the allies are acting arbitrarily and making the government take a Uturn. But this is not so. This is not a U-turn but a rethinking. Changes were made in the land acquisition law in Narendra Modi’s first term and then it was withdrawn after proper feedback and consideration. It happened again when the three agricultural laws came and they were withdrawn. At that time the government was in full majority. So the perception that the government is not in decisive mode today or is not in dominating mode or that there is pressure on the Prime Minister is not correct. In public perception, you can call it a U-turn, whereas in reality, it is a reconsideration. In any democracy, these things are not new because the reason is that when you experiment, a reaction comes, and you feel that it is logical and the right thing is coming, then you reconsider it. So, there is no withdrawal in these three laws that you are talking about, rather you should note that all three laws will come back very soon and will come back with amendments. Amendments will be made in a few days and all three laws will be passed again.

• How did Chirag Paswan, TDP and JDU oppose these bills while being in the Union Cabinet?
  This is moral audacity, error of judgement, unethical and not morally correct because if you have to express any disagreement or oppose the government’s proposal, then the first requirement is that you come out of the Cabinet, resign and if the President accepts your resignation then you are free to say what you want to. Otherwise, there is a sense of collective responsibility and you cannot oppose the government’s decision like this because you are a party in it. If seen from another angle, it also comes in the category of indiscipline. People are watching everything and Narendra Modi is also watching everything. The day his third eye opens, he will expel all these people from the Cabinet. People are watching Narendra Modi’s mood and see how much freedom he gives to all these people and for how long. It is surely a matter of concern.

• Amit Shah has asked 10 questions related to Kashmir to Rahul Gandhi. What do you have to say about that? Will the possible alliance of Congress, NC and PDP in Kashmir not prove suicidal for Congress?
  Amit Shah’s questions are really logical. In fact, it is a brilliant political move. There is one question out of ten in which Congress and Rahul Gandhi are clean-bowled and that is, if Congress has formed an alliance with NC, then does Congress agree with the agenda of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah? Do you endorse it? As soon as they say yes, it is political death for Congress. The second question is whether Congress and Rahul accept a separate flag for Kashmir. Do they want to bring back Article 370 and 35(A)? You tell me which national party can say yes to all these things? Article 370 is now history. Recently Rahul Gandhi went to Srinagar and went somewhere to eat dosa and drink coffee. It is a good thing that he wants to mingle with the public. But someone should ask them that if Article 370 was not removed and this normal life was not there, then could he have gone around Srinagar so easily to eat ‘Dosa’ and drink coffee? Just now Dr Jitendra Singh also raised this question. My point is that if you want, you can stand with the regional parties and now Mehbooba is behind them. So this means that you can contest elections as a regional party, but you cannot fight elections as an all-India party. If you are standing with these regional parties of Kashmir on these two issues, and by extension that issue applies to the whole of India, then it is suicidal.
  So Amit Shah the mastermind has fired the arrow and has done it very decently. Amit Shah has asked in a very simple way, do you agree with this and support it? So Congress and Rahul have no answer to this. For a moment, assume that even if Congress and other parties together win the elections, then I believe that Congress will lose the whole of India. And my assessment is that there will be opposition within the Congress party on this issue and there will be no consensus on this matter. There will be contradictions within the party, that what are you doing for one or two seats or to form a small government whose future is not certain. If their government is formed there, no one can vouch for the continuity of the government and perhaps in three months Mehbooba or Abdullah will separate. If you look at Kashmir, their stand seems right to the people there. Mehbooba said that she supports whatever is the demand of the people. So there may be some groups who want something like this but the situation in the country is different. Can you oppose the removal of 370 anywhere outside Kashmir? Amit Shah’s move is a political masterstroke and Congress appears to be clean-bowled. Let’s see what comes out in the next few days. As far as the question of elections is concerned, the latest input is that 5 new districts have been announced in Ladakh. It is a welcome move if it is in the interest of the people.

• Can members of banned organisations contest elections as independents and reach the Vidhan Sabha?
  This is a matter of great concern. Three people have won the Lok Sabha elections. Some people from Punjab were talking about Khalistan, they won as independents. One from Kashmir who is in Tihar jail in Delhi won the election. The third one is from Punjab and is in very close relations with a militant and has won the election. Now, the talk is that former members of Jamaat, which is a banned organisation, will contest elections as independents and you will see that many people will win. So, a new problem has arisen before the country after 370 and Narendra Modi and Amit Shah need to do some brainstorming exercises about what to do with this backdoor entry. Even though these people are in jail, they are still alive, they will come out someday. And even if they stay in jail, the feeling of separatism, the philosophy will keep smouldering. Anyway, there are no walls to communication. You can see that people are running the government from jail. Let’s assume that the work of the government cannot stop, so they are doing the work of the government from jail. But even otherwise, the mafia operates from jail, everyone knows this. Thus, this is an extremely worrying subject in the country. I hope that the government will bring some amendment to the law in time so that people with extremist backgrounds cannot reach Parliament or Vidhan Sabha. This is in national interest and that is of paramount importance.

• Can the President’s rule be imposed in Kolkata after the rape & murder incident due to the deteriorating law and order situation there?
  Now it seems that time has passed. That time had come 4-5 days ago, when the Governor had come with proper papers etc. and had also met the President and from the indications and movements, it seemed that all preparations were done to impose the President’s rule. I have just visited Kolkata and now my assessment is that the situation there is quite normal and now it does not seem that the government will dismiss the Mamata government on this issue and take a new political risk. There is an astrologer Kumar Ganesh who had said that if Mamata’s government is dismissed, she will approach the Supreme Court, and she will win and if elections are held, then Mamata will come back to power. Well, the overall thing is that today I do not see the possibility of the President’s rule there, but then, the final decision has to be taken by the Home Ministry after looking at the entire situation.

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