The Farm Deadlock Is A Result Of BJP's Chest Thumping Politics
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-12-07 10:41:04
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
It is a sign of how the BJP has burnt the bridges with opposition leaders and has not cultivated unbiased professionals and civil society leaders that despite the standoff between the Centre and the farmers entering its 10th day today, not one person has come forward to play the role of a mediator and help solve the issue. Any issue does not resolve easily when the two parties to the dispute alone engage in negotiations. It needs the informed intervention of unbiased outside experts to bring the two to a middle ground. But such is the chest-thumping brand of politics that the BJP has carried out over the last more than six years and such is the impression in the intelligentsia that the Modi-Shah line will always prevail, that no independent expert (even from the right wing) has even sounded out the government to offer his or her services as a mediator. In fact, most of them are waiting with gleeful anticipation to see Modi-Shah come down to their knees in the face of the strong movement by the farmers, while others are showing solidarity with them. This usually does not happen in a democracy. When things get tough and matters come to a head, there usually are some people who take it upon themselves to convince both sides and work for the resolution of the issue. If this is not happening now, it is only because of the kind of politics that the BJP has carried out. It has alienated a big section of such people and they will not help it now.
This does not auger well for the future of democracy in India. The government is free to enact laws as per its policy. But when it something as major and game changing as the new farms laws, the government has to carry all stakeholders along. Although it is clear that the majority of the objections to the new farm bills are coming from entrenched vested interests, there still are many genuine problems that have been pointed out by the farm unions. Although the government has said that it is willing to address all issues, such is the trust deficit that the unions will settle for nothing else than a repeal of the laws. Things have come to such a pass only because the government did not reach out to the unions before. If things were explained in details and feedback was taken to improve the laws, maybe the stir might not have intensified so much. Later too, the government made no attempts to address the concerns when it was clear that the farmers were agitated over the issue. The attempts to tarnish the movement seem to have steeled the resolve of the farmers and a resolution will need some doing. It seems that after the demise of Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, the BJP has no leader who can bring the opposition on board and such prolonged tiffs are likely to become a feature of Indian politics in the days to come.
