Comic Govt Comic Courts

Proactive is not a word that BJP leaders are very aware of. PM Narendra Modi gave a speech to farmers at Bhopal through VC for an event. Although the event was in Bhopal the speech was meant for farmers across India but specifically for the agitators and fakesters occupying Delhi borders. This speech that comprehensively narrated the features of the 3 farm Bills and options and freedom available to farmers should have been made in June or July. But it’s being made now when the party and the GOI is in a firefighting mode. ModiSarkar has been on the defensive and firefighting mode right from 2014 starting with the FAKE “Christians under attack” scam. Any noise from Muslims, Christians, Sikhs (minorities) really frightens Modi. And thus, the unwillingness to enforce the law at Shaheen Bagh or at the latest ruckus at Delhi borders by Sikh farmers.

Talent is not promoted in India. Be it science, math or judiciary or agitations. There is a lack of innovation even in agitations. The last innovative agitation I read about was the “Chipko movement” over tree-felling in the Himalayan region. The latest fashion of “occupy” has nothing original about it. It has been copied from the “Occupy Wall Street” show in the US and adapted to Shaheen Bagh and the current Sikh agitation. The main difference is that the Sikh-farmer agitation is a small minority and the Shaheen Bagh one was by a fake minority while the Wall Street one was supposed to represent the 99% “silent majority”. It is hard to imagine what the GOI and these agitators would face if the 99% of silent majority did turn up on the streets. In all of this, PM Modi has not altered his tactics in dealing with the rioters and agitators. UP CM Yogi Adityanath has surpassed expectations in this.

In his fear or incompetence, Modi avoids talking to the media through general pressers even during a crisis. All his communications are a one-way traffic with no one asking any questions. The foolish argument that media is anti-Modi so there is no sense in talking to them does not hold. The failure of Modi is his unwillingness to “confront” adversaries as a govt and as a party Head. Had it been an individual social worker then nobody would care whether Modi deals with the Press or not. The govt sorely misses Arun Jaitley’s “Durbari skills” in blunting the media offensive against the govt during crises. In absence of this, the courts start ruling the country. And in the latest episode, the Supreme Court has been so bizarre in its statements that I have called it the “Govt of Bobde”.

In the Shaheen episode, some petitioners went to the SC seeking removal of the blockade by the agitators. That such a petition has to be filed in the court itself is a matter of shame for the ModiSarkar. And when the petition is filed, the SC too follows its moth-eaten procedure of sending notices to the Centre, Delhi govt and every Tomlina, Dickni and Harini to file their replies. It doesn’t matter if the issue is too serious and warrants immediate attention. Instead, the SC plays matchmaker arranging love-marriages by sending “Interloscooters” to dance with the agitators. Nothing can be more comic. The interloscooters were two depreciated lawyers of the SC. As fate would have it. None of it mattered and the Corona threat put an end to “Occupy Shaheen” and the SC’s intervention worthless. Long after the Shaheen Baghsterds divorced the roads after the Lockdown in March, the SC grandly ruled such marriages are illegal in October 2020:

“Demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone” says the SC in the above ruling. The “Occupy Wall Street” also did not indulge in blockades. They occupied a public-private park and in two months (by November 2011) the police forcibly evicted them. This is a common-sense fact and doesn’t need a court to say it. It is a natural principle that you cannot obstruct others in your quest to protest something. Even in the Ram Mandir case, when it reached the final stages of hearing and the court should have hastened the proceedings, the SC decided they will appoint a “mediation team”. People don’t question the judges and courts out of respect but, surely, this level of stupidity by the highest court certainly deserves mocking. The mediation team achieved nothing but delayed the process by another 8 months or so.

Now that the Sikh-farmers have occupied certain border parts of Delhi, some people have petitioned the court again for a ruling because the cowardly GOI is a wuss and will not act. Once again, the SC came up with the bizarre proposal of setting up a “Committee” to resolve the crisis. This Committee would be made up of eight groups of farmers and representatives of GOI. And if you think that is not silly enough, the SC went one step further and asked if the govt could withhold the new farm laws so that the agitation can be withdrawn:

Firstly, the SC shouldn’t be ruling on this silly petition at all. All it should have said is that their ruling on Shaheen Bagh blockade applies to this agitation too and the govt must relocate the agitators to designated places. That is That. It is not the job of SC to find a solution to these issues, it is the job of govts. This is as bad as a mother still breast-feeding her high-school kid. To top this, there is a judge in the SC who claims the Indian courts or SC hear more cases in a day than the US SC hears in a whole year. Naturally, the ever-interfering SC in India admits all kinds of silly petitions from Dahi Handi to reiterating MK Gandhi is “Father of nation” so rejected a PIL seeking Bharat Ratna for him. Many of the cases should be directed to lower courts which are being frequently superseded by petitioners or directed to the govt concerned or simply dismissed as nonsense and the petitioner penalised. 

In February 2020, Judge Chandrachud grandly claimed “Calling dissenters anti-national an attack on Constitutional values”. I have to say it is not justice that is blind, but judges that are not only blind but also deaf. How can slogans like "Desh jala denge... Hinduon se azaadi... Assam kaat denge" be dissent? How can they be slogans in any protest? I think the courts are unable to see the comedy they are creating by unwanted sermons. The SC is unable or unwilling to see that these Sikh-farmers are not protesting some mere farm laws. The deceptive agenda comes from across the world with slogans on Khalistan and as usual, our comic govt wakes up too late on the enemies of India fueling these bogus agitations, riots and stalling of Indian economy. Amit Shah has been on more trips to Bengal as an electioneer than being concerned with the crisis in Delhi:

While frequently shouting that India should be “Aatmanirbhar”, should be “Vishwa Guru” and the world is a “Vasudiyo Kutumbiyo” crap – Modi means none of these in seriousness in his actions. The comedy of the court is preceded by that of the govt. The Sikh agitators are in Delhi while Modi tries to pacify them at a meeting in Kutch on Dec.15. And then he addresses farmers in Bhopal with the intention of addressing the agitating Sikhs. In another comic nonsense, the ModiSarkar sent Guru Nanak booklets to Sikhs in Punjab to show Modi’s love for Sikhs because of the ongoing agitation. I am very clear – this is not a farmer agitation; this is a Sikh agitation and ModiSarkar too approaches it as such with inaction because they are a “minority”:

At a time of Covid pandemic, which is already a crisis, such worthless agitations cause India a loss of at least 10000 crores everyday due to blockades. A few thousand Sikhs agitating do not represent 15 crore farmers in India but, as always, the minority makes the loudest noise. In France, President Macron has found new vigour to CONFRONT Islamic terror and is reading the riot act to Mullahs and mosques. Leaders are expected to CONFRONT serious problems and not behave like comic relief. Whether it is Bengal, Kerala or frequent riots and agitations, ModiSarkar has used them as “electoral flesh” to use in election campaigns and play victim. Justice or concern for law-abiding citizens has not been on their agenda.

Someone rightly quipped that the Congress is permanently in “ruling party mode” even after it is reduced to rubble and the BJP is permanently in “Opposition mode” despite a clear majority in two straight elections. When the govt abdicates its role in enforcing law and order, criminals and anti-nationals feel emboldened. I stated in my previous post that India is facing serious problems – economic and social. Some are now calling it a “Banana Republic” because of failure of govt to enforce the law and for the Courts to enforce justice. Both, the govt and the courts have become comic actors in a series of never-ending crises.

Follow the blog on Twitter.

Subscribe To EducatingForward / Buy The EF Handbook

Donate in INR / Donate in US$