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In June, we were witness to two official annual events: the first was on the imposition of internal emergency 51 years ago. The day was officially observed as Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas, or Constitution Murder Day.  The second has been the ‘celebration’ of the 12 years of Narendra Modi as prime minister.

The Emergency lasted 21 months and the newly formed Janata Party government, was able to wipe off all its vestiges as it had pledged. The perpetrators of the Emergency had apologised. On the other hand, the trail of systemic destruction left by the Modi regime is more widespread and deeper. Rather than expressing remorse, the present regime has made it clear they will further expand their area of operation with added vigour.

Look at the visible signs of the frailties in the system the duo has built.

First, the 12 years of Modi rule has destroyed the BJP’s famed cadre structure built by its original leaders like L.K. Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Murli Manohar Joshi. The present set of BJP workers, many of them with the demeanour of paid professionals, is a pale imitation of the old cadre. The original cadre had freely discussed party policies, unlike the present BJP duo.

At the party’s national executive, the role of even the old veterans today is limited to listening to Modi’s final day homilies and following the party chief’s directives on the way they must explain policies to people. The old era central election committee members had actively contributed to its decisions.

Now, their job is to endorse the programmes put forth by Amit Shah’s team of experts. Unnecessary debates within the party and government, they say, is a Congress  culture and will harm the party. The duty of the BJP worker is to obediently go on doing their assigned work without grumbling or raising questions.

Second, the ruling party’s image as a safe haven for defectors is a transient phenomenon. In political history, every rising power had enjoyed this status. Most of the syndicate leaders, even the socialists, had flocked to the Indira party after she swept the 1971 Lok Sabha polls. So long as the Modi-Shah duo manages to keep up the rising power status, the party will attract the fortune seekers.

The moment they begin to slip, things will........

© The Wire