The passage of three laws that sought to govern agriculture and agriculture marketing in India by the Narendra Modi government in its last edition, the long agitation farmers organised against them and the final withdrawal of the laws by the government bowing to the protests mark a milestone in the republic’s democratic tradition. The BJP unilaterally introduced the laws but had to backtrack on them as the farmers feared they would make them captive to the market monopolies and refused to budge, despite the offer of talks. It is memory which the BJP would never want to rekindle.
It is in this background that one watches the events unfolding in the BJP where party MP Kangana Ranaut has been expatiating on the so-called advantages of the three farm laws. That those laws would fit snugly into the development path of the country, and also ensure that farmers are on it, is her refrain. She believes that the laws would ultimately benefit the agricultural sector, a point that even the interlocutors of the government, including Rajnath Singh, had failed to explain to agitating farmers.
Facing back-to-back elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the BJP immediately jumped to deny the party’s association with its MP’s statement but not before the Congress and the Opposition had got a chance to sniff a conspiracy. Ms Ranaut was forced to withdraw her remarks and apologise for making them. The party not only said that she was not authorised to speak on the topic, but also that whatever she spoke was not the party’s official position. On her part, Ms Ranaut admitted that it was her personal opinion and did not represent the BJP’s views.
Last month, too, Ms Ranaut triggered another controversy linking the farmers’ agitation with violence and rape. The MP had no statistics to back her claim and had to backtrack after the party pulled her up for those statements.
The Opposition has alleged that Ms Ranaut has flown a kite for the party and the government to test which way the wind is blowing and that the government really wants to bring the laws back. And since the BJP and the right wing political platforms are experts in presenting the people with a myriad of choices through the fringe groups associated with them and sell whichever is the hot favourite of their customers, this allegation of the Opposition will have some traction among the farmers. With Haryana elections two weeks away, the Opposition will use it to the hilt to unseat the BJP government which is facing anti-incumbency. Smelling a rat, the BJP unit in the state has clarified that the party has no plans to reintroduce the laws.
Realpolitik apart, the government of the day must have a policy on important matters and legislation must be brought in only after taking stakeholders into confidence. Rulers acting on a whim forcing victims to react are not the way democracy functions. People like Ms Ranaut with no idea of policy or governance serve only to widen the trust deficit between the people and the government and should, therefore, be muzzled.
