Pratap Bhanu Mehta - In the moment of his political triumph, Modi has chosen to defeat India

By Dilip -
The elevation of Yogi Adityanath as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is an odious and ominous development. It is an odious choice because the BJP has picked someone who is widely regarded as the single most divisive, abusive, polarising figure in UP politics. He is a politician who has, for most of his political career, been the mascot of militant Hindu sectarianism, reactionary ideas, routinised conflict and thuggery in political discourse, and an eco-system where the vilest legitimations of violence are not far away. It is an ominous development because it sends as clear a signal as it is possible to send at this time; the already accomplished political fact of the marginalisation of minorities in UP and elsewhere will now be translated into a programme of their cultural, social and symbolic subordination.

It signals that the BJP will now be dominated by extremes, its politics shaped largely by resentment rather than hope, collective narcissism rather than an acknowledgement of plurality, hate rather than reconciliation, and violence rather than decency. Hubris has set in. The party believes it can get away with anything. It now intends to. The election results gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi an unprecedented mandate. It is true that most of us who did not expect the mandate are hardly in a position to explain what the results represented. All we know is that for a variety of reasons, people reposed trust in Modi overwhelmingly over his rivals. He got credit for leading from the front. He has chosen to interpret his mandate in a way that licenses and empowers the worst tendencies of his party. This is now not a statement just about UP: It is a statement about the prime minister’s inclinations and judgement. In the moment of his political triumph, he has chosen to defeat India.

BJP supporters are hiding behind the façade of party democracy to legitimise this choice. Yes, the formal imprimatur of the legislative party is behind him. But given Modi’s power, this explanation is hard to digest. If Adityanath was so clearly a popular choice, what was the hesitation in declaring him the chief ministerial candidate before the elections? If it was uncertainty about his ability to win across the state, then the result does not alleviate it. So, the only conclusion is that it was a duplicity of sorts —”of sorts” because the ideological currents were apparent in the prime minister’s speeches and the BJP manifesto…read more..
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/yogic-madness-yogi-adityanath-uttar-pradesh-bjp-narendra-modi-4576588/

List of serious criminal charges against new UP CM Yogi Adityanath

see also
Julio Ribeiro - Burying Karkare: I cannot let these forces go unchallenged
Human Rights Commission indicts Chhattisgarh police for sexual violence against Adivasi women
Republic of Unfreedom // Chhattisgarh top cop threatens HT journalist over Bastar reporting
Terrifying implications of the SC's Staines Judgement
The emperor's masks: 'apolitical' RSS calls the shots in Modi sarkar
Julio Ribeiro - Burying Karkare: I cannot let these forces go unchallenged
Indian judiciary has weakened the voice of inclusive, integrationist Kashmiri Muslim
This is How a Naxalite Dies // Jharkhand: Maoists’ kin, victims of violence meet, share their stories
In Bastar, Impunity for Rapists in Uniform, Non-Bailable Warrants for Adivasi Survivors 
Report of Fact Finding Team of Editors Guild of India on attacks on media in Bastar (Chhattisgarh)
BHARAT BHUSHAN - Narendra Modi's Republic of fear ...
Mohan Guruswamy - Adivasis: India’s original inhabitants have suffered the most at its hands
Chitrangada Choudhury - 50 days after security forces charged with gangrape...
CHITRANGADA CHOUDHURY - Arrested tortured, jailed in south Bastar...
Neelabh Mishra - Modi Sarkar, beware of tampering with the Constitution / Soli Sorabjee: What we need to guard / Arun Shourie calls campaigning for Modi one of the "biggest mistakes" of his life: "What we are going towards is a pyramidal decentralised mafia state"
Terrifying implications of the SC's Staines Judgement
The Supreme Court, Gandhi and the RSS
The BJP and Justice, Chapter 2
BHARAT BHUSHAN - Narendra Modi's Republic of Fear
Malegaon case diluted; Sadhvi Pragya discharged
अपूर्वानंद - भागवत और वंजारा साथ-साथ: हम कौन थे, क्या हो गए हैं और क्या होंगे अभी?

Very short list of examples of rule of law in India
The Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi
Delhi carnage 1984
Babri Masjid 1990-2
Gujarat carnage 2002
Taslima Nasrin
Ulema now demand expulsion of Taslima Nasrin
Terrifying implications of the Staines judgement
Murder of TP Chandrasekharan 2012
Shiv Sena - attack on hospital 2001
Sambhaji Brigade vandalised the Bhandarkar Institute in Pune in 2004
Salwa Judum - supported by BJP & Congress
Kandhamal
Widows of Kandhamal
VHP disrupts film festival
VHP starts temple in middle of highway
Sanjay Tickoo's Open Letter to Omar Abdullah - Police Officers facilitating the sale of Temples & Asthapans
Ishrat Jahan link (that never was): Untold story of a J-K encounter
Sajjan Kumar's trial for murder in the 1984 riots to continue
IB’s campaign to vilify Ishrat Jahan
Ex-DGP writes to Pranab Mukherjee over 'IB men's intervention' in Ishrat case
Ishrat Jahan case: IB can seek immunity if they want, says CBI
Ishrat Jehan's mother appeals for justice // CBI Probe Nails IB Officer’s Role // Important interview with Shamima Kauser's lawyer Vrinda Grover
Public Appeal by R.B. SREEKUMAR, FORMER DGP, GUJARAT
Did Modi, Amit Shah know of the Ishrat Jahan encounter in advance?
Police records show Gujarat riots weren’t a sudden backlash
Mohan Guruswamy - Who lit the Godhra fire? (July 2002)
Sadiq Jamal Case: CBI Files Affidavit, Says Probe In Progress
Gujarat Police killed Sadiq Jamal despite Intelligence Bureau's clean chit
How Varun Gandhi silenced the system - Tehelka expose
1984 carnage - 5 convicted, main accused Sajjan Kumar acquitted
Probe larger conspiracy says Zakia Jafri's counsel, reminds SIT of SC order on 2002 riots
Poornima Joshi: Sangh Singh Song
Garga Chatterjee: A dangerous connivance
State protected hooliganism in Ramjas College
A letter to Jaitley: Why do students get jailed but RSS leaders who issue vile threats walk freely?


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