Bofors to Adani — How India’s democratic DNA has changed

The other day I was participating in a television debate where it was asked: ‘Can Opposition turn Adani issue into Bofors?’. Most of the panellist replied in the negative.

During the debate it was argued that the Opposition had neither the acumen nor the stature to connect with the imagination of the people. It was noted that in the 1980s India had tall political leaders who were also rooted to ground realities; they knew how to weave a narrative, and how to put the government on the defensive. Today, it was observed, there is a serious disconnect between Opposition leaders and the masses.

The Bofors Enigma

For the millennials, the zoomers, etc., Bofors might appear as an enigma; one which had the power to displace the most powerful leader in India’s electoral history. In the general elections held in 1984, after his mother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated, Rajiv Gandhi won more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha. No Prime Minister before that or since then has won such a mandate.

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However, in just five years’ time, Rajiv Gandhi was humbled by losing power; the damage was so great that since then the Congress has not crossed the halfway mark in the lower house of Parliament.

Today, the Congress is facing an existential crisis, and its critics have little hope that it can bounce back soon. Since the Congress is the biggest party in Opposition, it faces the harshest of the criticism for the ineffectiveness of the Opposition to pin down the Narendra Modi-led Union government.

An Opportunity

The Adani-Hindenburg issue is an opportunity the Opposition has been searching for a long time to put this government on the backfoot — provided it moves in unison and connects with the people. The controversy has shaken the confidence of the Modi government. It has the potential to shake the faith of the rising middle-class in the ‘Modi phenomenon’, and it can weaken the power of identity politics weaved around Hindutva by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). That said, one is not sure if this will be Modi’s Achille’s heel. Political commentators blame the Congress for the lack of talent to chain the Modi government, and bind the fragmented Opposition together. The reality, however, is darker.

Democracy Has Changed

Today, the basic nature of Indian democracy has changed; its DNA has been replaced by different sets of chromosomes. Democracy has been reduced to holding elections at regular intervals, while other instruments of democracy have either been subordinated to the might of the Union government or have surrendered their right to play a decisive role to keep democracy vibrant and lively.

It was easy for the Opposition to pin down the Rajiv Gandhi government because democracy was more respected then than today, and every branch of the Opposition could work to its potential. Democracy was not mortgaged to the investigative agencies, a fear psychosis was not the order of the day, democratic institutions were free to question the most powerful executive in the country, journalists and the media had greater freedom to do their job without fear, and the moral fibre of society was not weakened to the likings of the ruling establishment.

Opposition — A Living Organism

The Opposition is not just a few political parties opposing the government, but it is a political space where every instrument of the Constitution, which has been ordained to question and disagree with the government, behaves like a living organism, not rendered as a dead letter of a written document. A vibrant media, independent judiciary, proactive legislature, autonomous institutions (CAG, CBI, police, ED, Income Tax), universities, colleges, civil society, cinema, theatre, art and culture, NGOs, and even the office of the President and members of the ruling party together form the Opposition. When they move together and discharge their duty without favour or fear, only then the executive can be held accountable.

Though it was a Swedish radio that broke the Bofors story, it was Indian newspapers that dug up the dirt that stuck on Rajiv Gandhi and embarrassed the ruling Congress. Today there is an intriguing silence with no investigation on the Adani-Hindenburg story; instead many in media organisations are rubbishing the Opposition’s charges against the Prime Minister and defending the government. Then, the CAG report on Bofors added fuel to Opposition’s fire; today, where is the CAG! Central agencies have committed themselves to the government.

Similarly, statements made by ministers about the collegium raise fears about the fate of judicial independence in India. We must not forget that back in the day it was the Allahabad High Court which declared the Prime Minister’s election invalid — this reflected the power of India’s institutions and its democracy. In today’s India, an election commissioner who disagrees with the majority decision of the commission to give a clean chit to the Prime Minister for speeches he made, is put under pressure when shortly after the dissent his relatives are raided. This commissioner finally leaves the election commission for another assignment.

Today, individual BJP leaders might be unhappy but to think that they can revolt against Modi and plan to unseat him is a figment of a very fertile imagination. The BJP as an institution is subservient to the Prime Minister, with no voice of dissent or disagreement.

To fight a powerful government, the Opposition needs institutional armours and shields; it also requires support from other instruments of democracy. While these instruments were active and aggressive during Rajiv Gandhi’s time, they are not anymore. We should criticise the Opposition, but we should not miss the bigger picture. Bofors became huge because institutions were fearless and asked the relevant questions. Bofors held the Prime Minister accountable to the people because democracy was at work. It is to be understood that to make democracy work is not the responsibility of only a few political parties, but the entire ‘Opposition space’ must dance to the tune of democracy.

(Ashutosh is Editor, Satyhindi, and author of Hindu Rashtra)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.