( इस चुनाव में ऐसा माहौल बनाया जा रहा है कि , पिछले ६५ सालों में देश में कुछ हुआ ही नहीं है और देश एक गर्त में पड़ा हुआ है। सम्भवामि युगे युगे की तर्ज़ पर एक अवतार की आवश्यकता भी महसूस की जा रही है। अवतार हाज़िर भी है। जनता और ईश्वर ही बता पायेगा कि देश का अगला प्रधान मंत्री कौन बनेगा। अब अधिक दिन शेष नहीं हैं। इम्तेहान जल्दी ही होने वाले हैं। मुख्य दौड़ में नरेंद्र मोदी आगे हैं और प्रयास भी कर रहे हैं। अगर फेसबुक जैसी सोशल साइट्स देखी जाय तो लगेगा कि मोदी को सिर्फ शपथ ग्रहण ही करना है।
लेकिन चाय के प्रेमी इस नेता की चाय और चुस्की के बीच अभी बहुत पेंच है।
जैसे जैसे राजनीतिक माहौल गरमाएगा, चुनाव नज़दीक आयेगा, आरोप प्रत्यारोप लगाए ही जायेंगे। लोकतंत्र की यह अनिवार्य परम्परा है। मैं आप से एक लेख शेयर कर रहा यह लेख, सेड्रिक प्रकाश, जो अहमदाबाद स्थित प्रशांत नामक एक मानवाधिकार संगठन से जुड़े हैं ने लिखा है। मोदी की सभी रैलियों में, गुजरात के विकास, गोधरा बाद 2002 के साम्प्रदायिक दंगों में अदालत द्वारा दी गयी कथित क्लीन चिट , अल्पसंख्यकों का अब मोदी से कोई नहीं गिला है, मोदी भ्रष्ट नहीं हैं, आदि आदि विन्दु अक्सर उठाये जाते रहे हैं और आगे भी उठाये जाते रहेंगे, विरोधी और अन्य लोग इन दावों की पड़ताल भी करते हैं। यह लेख उन्ही दावों की एक पड़ताल है। प्रकाश की पड़ताल कितनी सच है इस पर भी आलोचना आमंत्रित है।
जनता के सामने सारी बातें राखी जानी चाहिए। अक्सर आरोप और बचाव के बीच सत्य कहीं गड्ड मदद हो जाता है। कृपया यह लेख पधेन। )
लेकिन चाय के प्रेमी इस नेता की चाय और चुस्की के बीच अभी बहुत पेंच है।
जैसे जैसे राजनीतिक माहौल गरमाएगा, चुनाव नज़दीक आयेगा, आरोप प्रत्यारोप लगाए ही जायेंगे। लोकतंत्र की यह अनिवार्य परम्परा है। मैं आप से एक लेख शेयर कर रहा यह लेख, सेड्रिक प्रकाश, जो अहमदाबाद स्थित प्रशांत नामक एक मानवाधिकार संगठन से जुड़े हैं ने लिखा है। मोदी की सभी रैलियों में, गुजरात के विकास, गोधरा बाद 2002 के साम्प्रदायिक दंगों में अदालत द्वारा दी गयी कथित क्लीन चिट , अल्पसंख्यकों का अब मोदी से कोई नहीं गिला है, मोदी भ्रष्ट नहीं हैं, आदि आदि विन्दु अक्सर उठाये जाते रहे हैं और आगे भी उठाये जाते रहेंगे, विरोधी और अन्य लोग इन दावों की पड़ताल भी करते हैं। यह लेख उन्ही दावों की एक पड़ताल है। प्रकाश की पड़ताल कितनी सच है इस पर भी आलोचना आमंत्रित है।
जनता के सामने सारी बातें राखी जानी चाहिए। अक्सर आरोप और बचाव के बीच सत्य कहीं गड्ड मदद हो जाता है। कृपया यह लेख पधेन। )
As
a Christian and particularly a Jesuit priest, I take stands and believe that
while being open to dialogue and reason, one has to be unequivocal about what
one stands for. So, I take a stand against politicians or political
parties that are sectarian, corrupt, casteist and above all those who indulge
in the criminalization of society.
I
do not espouse any political party. All have their own drawbacks. A reality
check would show that each one has failed the people of India in some way or
another, especially the poor and the marginalized, either because of their
particular ideology or because they have catered to a particular class or
caste.
All
this brings to mind the powerful words of Pope Francis in his Apostolic
Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) in which he condemns
“the economy of exclusion and inequality” and “a financial system which rules rather than serves”.
We
have to accept that genuine fears and anxieties exist about Narendra Modi, the
pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate and
three-time chief minister of Gujarat becoming prime minister, after the general
election due in May. However let me clarify some matters about Modi and his
rule in Gujarat.
Myth 1: Modi is a
development man..
This
cannot be further from the truth. Gujarat has always been a developed state
from the time it was carved out of Bombay state in 1960. Economic indicators
clearly show that Gujarat under Modi has been ‘worse off’ than under previous
governments (even the BJP one before him). The fact is that foreign direct
investment in Gujarat has taken a severe beating in the last few years and even
local investment is far below what is being flaunted. Regarding social
indicators, Gujarat fares poorly.
A
UNICEF report published in 2013 says social development in the state has not
kept pace with economic development; almost every second child in Gujarat under
five years old is undernourished, while three quarters are anemic.
Myth 2: The Gujarat carnage is a thing of the past and Modi has
been given a “clean chit”
Many
believe the courts exonerated Modi of involvement in the Gujarat anti-Muslim
riots in 2002. The hard facts are, however, very different. First of all, no
court has given Modi a clean chit. True, there is a Special Investigation
Team (SIT) report that says there is not enough evidence against Modi.
But this has been challenged, with the petitioner Zakhia Jafri being given
leave by Ahmadabad magistrates to question the merits of the SIT report
in a higher court. Raju Ramchandran, appointed by the Supreme Court as amicus curiae for many of the Gujarat riot cases, asserts that there is
enough evidence to prosecute Modi on several counts with regard to the violence
in 2002, in which more than 1,000 people died.
Modi
has neither shown any remorse nor taken responsibility for the killing of innocent
people under his watch. The least a chief minister could have been expected to
do was to enforce law and order and protect the life and property of every
citizen in his state. That he ignored this responsibility, there is no doubt
among many. That he has denigrated minorities has been documented by the print
and the electronic media.
Myth 3: Modi has “made
up” with the minorities
There
are some claiming to be representatives of minority Christian and Muslim
communities who sing Modi’s praises. A careful analysis indicates these people
have vested interests, especially in business, and are not really interested in
their community or what is happening to minorities in the country. In 2003
Modi introduced an anti-conversion law and established rules to govern the
implementation of this law in 2008.
It
is perhaps one of the most draconian laws in the history of democratic India.
It forbids a citizen from converting to another faith unless she/he has
permission from civil authorities. Even now, police and intelligence officers
constantly visit Christian institutions and Christians in general, making all
kinds of inquiries and demanding to check baptism registers and other records.
Myth 4: Modi is not
corrupt
In
May 2012, anti-corruption campaigners Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal visited
Gujarat. They came away declaring it the most corrupt state in the country. Why
they have not continued to highlight corruption in Gujarat is anyone’s
guess. Several years ago, the Tata Motor Company was allowed to establish
a plant to build the “world's cheapest car” in Gujarat with surprising ease,
flouting every rule in the book and even the state's industrial policy. It is
alleged that the Adani Company controls the price of compressed natural gas,
amassing huge profits. In addition, the role of the Ambanis in mega projects in
Gujarat is being questioned. The way environmental laws are flouted and the
terrible ecological degradation that is taking place all over the state, all
point to the fact that corruption is alive and kicking in Gujarat.
Another
indicator is the way land has been handed to big corporations, displacing
thousands of small farmers across the state. There have been huge protest
rallies, but they were not covered by a media, which by and large seems to have
been muzzled in Gujarat.
These
four myths provide an insight into the grim reality in Gujarat under the
leadership of Modi. No one really knows if he will become prime minister.
But India deserves better leaders. Indian politics revolves around regional
parties. As of now, the BJP has practically no allies from several states. Most
regional parties are obviously waiting to see which party will emerge as the
single largest party in the 2014 elections.
Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is the director of PRASHANT, the
Ahmedabad-based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace.
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