Opinion View from the left: New Year

The editorial claims it is no longer just the combination of “rabid communal polarisation joining with aggressive pursuit of neoliberal economic reforms”, but also “growing authoritarian trends like the resort to ‘ordinance raj’,” that pose a threat. “As we enter the new year, all these tendencies have intensified. The ‘ordinance raj’ of the Modi government, appears now to be here to stay,” it states. “As far as the economic situation is concerned, notwithstanding the grand promises of wellbeing and prosperity through the repetition of now-familiar slogans by PM Modi, it has worsened,” it adds. The new year, it concludes, will be “decisive in deciding whether the popular resistance and struggles against such dangers will succeed or not”.

Challenges ahead

Claiming the “right-ward shift in economy and politics is becoming evident with every passing day”, the CPI’s New Age says the NDA government has now “bared its agenda fully”. “Economically, it is bound to take any anti-people step that goes in favour of corporate houses that staked everything to bring it to power… Similarly, the RSS and its various outfits are no more behind-the-scenes players. They too are dictating terms and the Modi government is bound to oblige,” argues an editorial. “As the foreign policy of the country is always an extension of its internal, particularly the economic policies, a pro-American shift… [is] also becoming evident,” it adds.

“Economically, it is bound to take any anti-people step that goes in favour of corporate houses that staked everything to bring it to power… Similarly, the RSS and its various outfits are no more behind-the-scenes players. They too are dictating terms and the Modi government is bound to oblige,” argues an editorial. “As the foreign policy of the country is always an extension of its internal, particularly the economic policies, a pro-American shift… [is] also becoming evident,” it adds.

“Similarly, various outfits of the Sangh tribe have been let loose to spark new controversies on a daily basis… The provocative and irresponsible statements and actions of the leaders of these disruptive organisations, including a few BJP members of Parliament, are a double-edged weapon. On the one hand it hastens the process of communal polarisation, and on the other, it is used to divert people’s attention from the real socio-economic problems,” it states. “Today the challenge is to our economic sovereignty, secular polity, democratic system and the very rule of law… The six Left parties that conducted a nationwide campaign in the second week of December have to carry forward the process by further widening the scope of Left unity,” it argues.

Dubious governance

The CPI(ML)’s ML Update criticises the NDA government: “In an ominous sign for India’s democracy, the Modi government is displaying contempt for all democratic structures and bodies to ram through its pro-corporate policies and its ‘Hindu Rashtra’… the RSS and its outfits, backed by prominent MPs of the ruling BJP, are intimidating the minorities with the ‘ghar wapsi’ campaign… There is no room anymore for the illusion that Modi himself is ‘distanced’ from the communal campaigns of a ‘saffron fringe’…” It also notes that the government is “bypassing Parliament” and taking the ordinance route: “What was the urgency to pass ordinances now in these crucial sectors?

Clearly, an undeclared Emergency is in place.” It alleges that “Modi’s trademark governance model is on display in its blatant manipulation of the CBI to protect BJP president Amit Shah”.