Pandemic & Political Opportunism

Pandemic & Political Opportunism

Introduction

Covid 19 has become a dominant contemporary media run & sponsored subject discussed for 24x7 in the drawing-room as well as street & has affected the collective psyche of the nation, as never before. The virus has shaken the world to the hilt; exposed & dissected the abysmal medical infrastructure in most of the developed & developing countries with no tilt or bias. With its uncontrolled & unpredictable spread, it has endangered health, strained medical services & providers, challenged the social & economic matrix of countries & more so shattered the trust & confidence of average living beings. Devouts who claimed for most of the time, their umbilical cord connectivity with Almighty jumbled & muddled & realized invisibility with the inability & inactivity of All-Powerful, a mindboggling threat. The Virus has left the world exposed to vulnerabilities & threats of struggling health management system & not so articulately designed socio-psychological frame of mind for the people. While this strain of coronavirus is novel, its impact both within and across countries is shaped by familiar social and political institutions, public policies, inequalities, and government actions (and inaction) accordingly. COVID-19 is a medical disease whose containment hinges on rapid advances in biomedical research, the emergence of efficacious clinical treatments, the development and distribution of a vaccine, and the application of public health measures. Indian medical infrastructure & health management system had never been a subject to boast about. The general government hospitals for the public have remained abysmally low statured & devastatingly disorganized to the extent that even the financially marginalized had not exhibited any inclination to visit them instead favored the option of managing loans to secure treatment in private hospitals. The growth curve of health management infrastructure has remained more or less flattened due to neglect of accumulated years. The Indian health care system apart from data reports at the national level was & is a complete fiction & elusive to the core from the inception stage itself after independence. The fiction was put to smithereens & exposed to last offcuts under the unprecedented & unannounced thwacked by Virus. 

Political Development

Between 2010 to 2014, this country submerged under the weight of mega corruption scandals, designed & conceptualized by a select few tricky opportunistic coalition affiliates. At the helm of affairs was an erstwhile Bureaucrat whose cabinet-approved ordnance was torn off by a family dynast before full public glare in a country that boasted to be the largest democracy in principle & adherence. In 2014, Narender Modi emerged as the center of hope for a vast population particularly after his marathon run for three terms in Gujrat & much against a flaccid & indecisive leadership of a silent erstwhile Sikh bureaucrat termed as Accidental Prime Minister appropriately, by his own press secretary. Modi started navigating the ship of the state in choppy & muddy water & started converting a morbid state of policy paralysis & unending hiatus to the unfolding of decisive moments with volcanic capacity with his dexterous & deft handling of affairs. In no time, the charismatic man instilled confidence in the heart & mind of swathes of the population in the country due to his remarkable decisiveness & dexterity in all-encompassing fields which are deemed index of progress & forward moments. With his single hand resoluteness, one could sense profound change & liberating moments affecting the length & breadth of the country, in terms of speed & style, be it any field, in the most extraordinary manner. Indians witnessed a government without scandals, consisting of erudite & experts, heralded by a strong leader who had no hesitation in learning & experimenting but had no qualms in timely retaliation & recrimination when it came to protecting national interests. Citizens witnessed volcanic resoluteness in a man representing the nation to the extent that arch-enemies were forced to mend their static military thesis & blueprints in the context of India & found themselves asphyxiated & paralyzed in a state of inertia.

Came 2019, Nation resoundingly reverberated its approbation for Narender Damodar Modi & made it a watershed moment for the country. Narender Modi was the one who ushered in a new record of the advent of non-congress government successively for the second term with an enhanced margin of seats. This time he was a leader not only by votes but by voice. Nation fulfilled its coveted role & responsibility to bring most deserving one at the coveted seat taking into account of his stupendous deeds of last 5 years relentlessly chaining & crumbling myopic & singly family oriented schemes, breaking politico business combinations, striking at organized official corruption, closing shoppe of NGOs, fake companies, challenging terrorists with no mercy with aspirations touching new horizons. He fulfilled three ever standing socio-political issues before the nation & front line ideology of the political Party he anchored upon; Ram Janm Bhumi resolution through the Apex court by most dexterous & in-depth ire controvertible evidence presented by revered & legendry K Parasaran ji, Abolition of Triple Talaq despite vehement opposition by pseudo extremists group within community claiming themselves more Muslims than others & discard of Art 370 ensuring J& K fully integrated & cemented with Indian republic. The decisiveness & forthright intention was at the forefront rattling the pulse of opportunist opposition & pulsating nerves of extreme wings in every corner of the Indian republic.

Advent of Virus

As Virus started infiltrating India in 2020 completely afresh without any trace or background, the world at large too started falling prey to vexatious virus & its clumsy ways. Be it China- supposedly a country of origin, the US, the UK, the European Union, Russia, Brazil, Italy, Africa, Latin America, all suffered equally or worst measured, the devilish blitz by the Virus. The most affluent, GDP rich & technologically & medically proven acclaimed countries witnessed bodies accumulated in a common vehicle & consigned to common burial, the system having collapsed & fearsome with & awful sight of last rites if happened to few lucky. India resorted to ‘Thali & Tali’ at the stance of the PM who locked down the nation & demonstrated elder man’s role of taking unpleasant decisions for the welfare of the Nation as one integrated. ‘Thali & Tali’ was the first expression & proof of remarkable chemistry between the PM & the populace. With the least loss of lives, internally the PM chartered a course of communication with all CMs virtually & remained seen rocking in charge of national affairs & evolved strategy for vaccination when not even remote information is available about Genom. The PM addressed the nation & shared the minimum necessary & kept all problems related to socio-economic inequities, Quasi federalism & unaccounted role of many state governments, unequal access to health insurance & an alarmist opposition who ridiculed the PM’s slogan of ‘self-dependence, to himself.

The country managed to steer itself under astute leadership with a minimum rate of deaths & maximum rate of recovery in the first wave of the virus. Under the leadership of Modi, while the Opposition remained active on a castigation spree for whatever Modi did, the world got stunned when the nation announced the discovery of the vaccine & its program of vaccination from Jan 22 2021commenced amidst sharp criticism & ridicule of Opposition. Akhilesh dared to name Vaccine as ‘BJP vaccine’ & refused to get it injected however when the process commenced, he was amongst the early first, to get it administered. Opposition clamored first to get rights to direct purchase but when center approved states to purchase vaccine through global tender, they cried foul for being left at mercy of sharks in the global field.

Uncouth Behaviour of People

As the second wave erupted length & breadth of India, truly speaking neither the people nor the Government expected the intensity & reach of the wave. The second wave of virus proved to be much deadlier, terminal & untreatable. People of the nation broke loose of all Virus Appropriate Cautions & embraced the same old shabby & sleazy practices. People organized marriages, participated in congregations, moved in the crowd & attended religious gatherings & participated in festivals. The word vaccine instilled confidence in masses however ‘Ek Anar Sau Bimar, truly characterized in India. India the successful country in dealing with the virus suddenly slipped in ranking & became the second most suffered nation in terms of per day detection, unavailability of oxygen & bed & with that all hell broke loose.

Modi a Phenomena

Modi altered the landscape of national realities where the communal riots stopped happening & if happened, the rioters were dealt with promptly with drastic & surgical action. The first time, the citizens realized that they belonged to a powerful country that did not buzz to China & its uncouth ways & kept Pak in its slot ensuring her guns remained out of job at LOC during the pandemic period. Modi brought India to the center stage of World politics & an important player in geo-political & geostrategic affairs. Modi made it possible to bring home all necessary war machines by paying through financial instruments despite pandemic hit GDP & having received a limping financial capacity in legacy.

Modi a Whipping Boy

The world realized Nov 2020 onwards, Virus going back to its origin leaving humanity to survive & prosper as ever. So did India & so did Modi. Between Jan – Apr 2021, Modi the person made of bones & flesh like any human being got affected by the success rate of the vaccine & believed the signals emanating from ground zero that the Virus was itself on the last breadth. The US President a day before announced that after a month there shall be no requirement of covering mouth by face mask. Modi despite working for 18 hours, remained more human & optimistic & got involved in other national activities. That is the time the affectation & complacency at the level of Modi was read, advertised, circulated by a select band of left-leaned writers. Modi was not alone; no one including voicing Opposition, medical fraternity & experts including scientists realized Virus having mutated in the deadly form in this form.

Prejudiced role of Opposition

A flaccid issueless vanquished opposition as found a platinum opportunity in the form of virus invasion & pounced upon Modi in order to see themselves out of the political wilderness. They carefully ignored few permanent imprints pasted on the wall:

-         They forgot the Indian sky having been strengthened by induction of Tejas & Rafale & with that long-standing defense voids filled up,

-         They avoided highlighting water barricading against China  by induction of latest tech-savvy ships & submarines,

-         They did not celebrate experimentation of A/satellite capability which places India in the same slot of select 3-4 Nations,

-         They did not take note that in the worst worldwide pandemic, the Government continued distribution of free ration in villages,

-         They little realized that PM Modi had supplied vaccine to more than 75 countries & created a bonhomie with 100 s of the nation,  

-         They did not praise Modi that despite almost one year of lockdown & nose dive of GDP, the Government did not adjust/deduct salary/pension of its employees,

-         They did not acknowledge construction of expressways, rivers ways etc and above all a period in which no scam or corruption surfaced at the political level,

-         They did not once support Modi for his dynamic & aggressive approach against China with the use of SSG & created conditions against Pak to the extent that their guns remain largely without gunpowder,

-         They did not acknowledge that when the situation appeared out of control for the last 40 odd days, not one or two but a number of countries powerful & small, came forward to extend required help to India to bring it back to normalcy.

-         They refuse to realize that the massive population of India is equal to the population of 15 European countries & implementation of a lockdown/isolation or forced program is much easier in a country like China where public accountability does not exist due to the absence of Opposition & free Media.

-         They don’t realize that Indian diaspora is colossally multiple in all aspects & with democracy at times bringing in contempt & irresponsibility; it is difficult to inject the concept of ‘fall in straight line’ when ordered, for better & smoother implementation of Government Programme. There is structural unevenness in Indian society which represents uneven & uncalibrated capacity to act and react for some while opportunities abound for profiteering by others. That when the nation stood collectively for trial & tribulation of the pandemic, a sizeable number of Indian citizens cast sensitivities & sensibilities aside & involved in acts of profiteering in the context of life-saving gadgetries.

-         They are one who derided the concept of ‘Atam Nirbhar Bharat’ – self-reliant India. The intention of scoffing was further manifested when the invention of the Vaccine was looked at tinge of doubt & susceptibility.

Model Role of Opposition

The Opposition parties as institutions are expected to perform a frontal constructive role during such exceptional situations however most of the Opposition parties either remained in abeyance or seen ridiculing government efforts to overcome uncertainty & unpredictability. The virus has occupied the slot at national landscape & emerged as an alternative to Opposition. Opposition is expected to be vigilant, active, public-spirited, and courageous during such a severe livelihood crisis. Opposition is required to be an institutional watchdog as well as a credible platform with a plausible vision and capacity to offer assistance in terms of policy alternatives as well as assurances to the vulnerable sections of hapless citizenry. As a matter of fact, most of the Opposition parties had been directly & indirectly involved in the role of governance however as ensconced in the role of Opposition they have exhibited apathy, lack of preparedness, and inefficiency in dealing with the crisis. Even when the stakes went sky up, Opposition parties did not choose Political maturity, empathy and pragmatism through proactive, vigilant & credible roles.

Conclusion

Uganda President addressed his nation & exhorted as following:

- you stay at home by choice,

-Don’t insist on your freedom,

-Don’t complain of hunger,

-Don’t complain of opening business,

-Be thankful to God to see another day as living,

-God does not have time only for Uganda; it is war like situation. We could have enlisted your children for army.

When we are in war, we as citizens don’t ask but give to nation.

The political class in India needs reconfiguration & restructuring of their objectivities & existential reasons. The Political class whether in rule or in opposition emerges as voice of people & is believed to be empathetic & responsive. With Arogya Setu active, indigenous & foreign vaccination available, the vaccination programme unfolded with speed, there is no way nation can reel under pessimism because of 40 days ordeal which has happened as cascading impact of world level worst form of pandemic. Nobody justifies complacency of Government of the day an inch but we the people & other organs including the media & judiciary have to inclusively look within, before initiating unsavoury & unscathing assailment. At the time when Pandemic unleashed in most gruesome manner and the government ran from pillar to post, Opposition was expected to be dovetailed with ruling party to challenge virus & eliminate virus. Alas, there is no training of Opposition political parties. Nation suffers on account of lackadaisical Opposition.

15/05/2021                                              Lt Col Atul Tyagi

Advocate