During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tour of the Nordic countries, a multitude of BJP opponents, both within the country and abroad, launched a campaign on social media against the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The desperate efforts of these individuals, who face repeated electoral defeats, proved to be utterly pathetic. Prior to the commencement of this campaign, figures like Arvind Kejriwal had issued openly provocative appeals, urging the nation’s youth to take to the streets, much like their counterparts in Bangladesh and Nepal.

The anti-national objective behind Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal was to incite massive violence and foment political instability in India, mirroring the situations in Nepal and Bangladesh. Having lost the capability to confront the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi head-on in the electoral arena and secure victory, leaders like Kejriwal are now attempting to instigate violence within the country.

The youth uprisings in Nepal and Bangladesh, however, were driven by entirely different sets of causes. The opposition possesses the constitutional right to stage protests against the government.

However, the opposition parties ought to ask themselves this question: have they, at any point over the last 12 years, organized a nationwide protest against the Modi government at the Centre on even a single issue? Staging such a protest requires both moral authority and numerical strength within the organization. Yet, not a single opposition party, including the Congress retains such moral authority today.

Over the past 12 years, none of these leaders be it Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, or Akhilesh Yadav has demonstrated the courage to take to the streets, relying solely on the strength of their limited number of party workers.

To mobilize a protest, the head of the organization must instill a conviction in the minds of their workers that the specific issues upon which they are challenging the government are indeed valid and just. Not a single opposition leader has succeeded in instilling such conviction in the minds of their workers.

Leaders and workers need to convince ordinary people that their issues against the government are genuine. Historically, the Jana Sangh and subsequently the Bharatiya Janata Party consistently organized nationwide agitations addressing a multitude of issues faced by the common people. During their time in the opposition, while agitating against the Congress government, the Jana Sangh and the BJP often lacked a massive cadre of party workers.

Furthermore, the number of legislative and parliamentary representatives belonging to the Jana Sangh and the BJP remained limited during their tenure as opposition parties.

Leveraging that limited strength, the leadership of the Jana Sangh and the BJP made sincere efforts to resolve the issues faced by the common people by organizing various protests and movements.

It was through such agitations that the credibility of the Jana Sangh and BJP leadership grew. Stemming from this very credibility, the electorate granted the Bharatiya Janata Party a majority at the Centre. Furthermore, the voters also gave the Bharatiya Janata Party the opportunity to govern in several states.

The Bharatiya Janata Party did not rise to power either in the various states or at the national level overnight; years of arduous labor lie behind this success. Not a single opposition leader possesses the willingness to undertake such strenuous efforts. Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership emerged from the anti-corruption movement that took place in Delhi during 2011–2012.

Kejriwal himself, however, seems to have forgotten this fact. It was the credible persona of Anna Hazare that served as the driving force behind the anti-corruption agitation that took root in Delhi. Later, Kejriwal forgot Anna Hazare, but that is a separate matter.

The very issue of corruption against which he rallied public sentiment to become the Chief Minister of Delhi ultimately led to the erosion of his public image. The ‘Sheesh Mahal’ that Kejriwal had built for himself while serving as Chief Minister came to symbolize the dashed hopes of the common people of Delhi.

Kejriwal, who rose to power on the strength of pledges such as not utilizing government bungalows or vehicles, and refraining from squandering public funds, was found residing in a ‘Sheesh Mahal’ built at state expense, a residence more befitting a king or a maharaja. It was at that very moment that Kejriwal and his party lost their standing in the eyes of the common man. Now, this very same Kejriwal is attempting to incite the younger generation through social media.

Following the unprecedented success achieved in West Bengal, the frustration and resentment among the opposition parties have intensified even further.

Over the past decade in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party has staged numerous protests against the Trinamool Congress government, mobilizing support around various issues. Unable to tolerate this opposition, the ruling regime has been responsible for the killing of more than 300 Bharatiya Janata Party workers.

The Trinamool Congress attempted to stifle the voices of Bharatiya Janata Party workers through various means. Despite the killings of so many of their cadres, BJP workers did not flinch from taking to the streets to protest against the Trinamool. They steadfastly continued their opposition.

The voters acknowledged this persistent resistance against the Trinamool by granting the BJP a massive majority. The Communist parties, which had enjoyed power in Bengal for many years, met their demise because they failed to put up a fight against Mamata.

After spending many years in the opposition and waging struggles over public issues, the people have come to regard the Bharatiya Janata Party as a credible force. Such credibility can be earned through hard work and principled politics.

Yet, not a single anti-BJP party, including the Congress, possesses the discipline to undertake such hard work or engage in value-based politics.

Plagued by the failures encountered in electoral politics, Rahul Gandhi and the leaders of his ‘INDIA’ alliance partners are currently engaged in a desperate, last-ditch struggle to ensure their very survival. Even while fully aware that this futile struggle is destined to fail, the opposition continues to play the exact same old moves.

END OF ARTICLE