Is a federal front possible?

When former Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that the party would not allow the BJP to return to power in 2019, she hinted at joint action on the part of the Opposition. On its own, the Congress cannot pose any threat to the Narendra Modi-led BJP.

In all probability, as things stand today, Modi looks good enough to return to power. The three reverses in recent by-elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies notwithstanding, the BJP is capturing power in state after state and spreading its tentacles.

Yet, the 2019 general elections are some way to go and the impending state election in Karnataka and the subsequent ones in other states later this year would be the real test to assess Modi's strengths and weaknesses.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken the initiative to get the non-BJP parties together for a federal front to contest unitedly against the BJP in 2019.

To underline the Congress cooperation, Mamata has said that she is daily in touch with Sonia Gandhi. In fact, the leaders from other non-BJP ruled states are constantly in touch with each other to work out a federal front.

If you recall, the Janata Party was a federal structure. It did not last its course and fell because the then leaders, particularly the top ones like Morarji Desai and Charan Singh, quarrelled in public all the time, much to the exasperation of the people.

The federal structure that would come up, courtesy the top leaders like Sonia Gandhi or, for that matter, Mamata Banerjee, has to learn the lessons of the Janata Party and learn to work together.

The moot question is, who among these leaders has enough support to be the prime minister. Once this question is settled, things will fall into place and the federal structure could survive.  

The question the country faces today is that if pluralism, the nation's ethos, is defeated, which forces would come to power. The BJP is determined to divide the people. They have been trying for a pro-Hindu government in some shape or the other. The RSS, which is the mentor of the BJP, is playing its role to perfection to help realise the dreams of Modi.

This is where the new federal combination has to be careful. It is better they come up with a Minimum Common Programme with all parties endorsing the views and aspirations of all leaders. This is just one important issue which the top leaders of non-BJP parties have to address as the people's interests should be above everything else.

For the idea of India, which is founded on secularism and democracy, the parties based on religion or castes should have no place in the federal structure. The danger is that the various elements would try to pull in different directions to corner power. Even individual leaders should keep the country's unity ahead of personal or their party interests.  

If they learn to work together, the warning about their disarray would be repulsed. Secularism would have gone through the fire to prove its intrinsic strength. With coalition politics inevitable in India, the best possible way to defeat the idea of BJP or, for that matter, Modi and his cohorts, is to stay together and learn, in the process, to rule together.

The BJP cannot defeat the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, unity in diversity. In fact, what it has done is to prove Gandhi right. Unity of India could face the danger of separatism. Pakistan is the fallout of the mistrust in the Hindu majority. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who was for long for Hindu-Muslim unity, said that he could not trust the majority, the Hindus.

This mistrust is the reason why people left their homes after Partition. One million were killed on both sides and Hindus and Muslims were torn further apart.

The RSS looks like it is copying the idea of division. Its philosophy is nothing but making a mockery of Gandhi's preaching. The RSS elements did not succeed as the communal forces could not silence Gandhi.

They had to ultimately kill him to silence the voice that people heard and respected. I had seen the letter which Nathuram Godse wrote in defence of what he did. He avowed respect to Gandhiji but argued that the country would suffer if the Mahatma had lived
longer.

I recall one incident from Gandhi's prayer meetings. I was present when, before the Mahatma started his meeting, one person from Punjab got up and said that he would not listen to the Quran. At the meeting, all the three scriptures - the Gita, Quran and the Bible - were read. Gandhi said that there would be no meeting until the objector withdrew his dissent. For days, there was no prayer congregation. It was resumed only after the person finally withdrew his objection.

Today, when the fanatic RSS guides the government in appointments of teachers, librarians and heads of academic institutions, there is little hope for merit to take over.

Under the circumstances, how can a federal party fight against such elements? The danger to the nation is from those who think that since the country has 80% Hindu population, they have the right to rule.

Leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel saw to it that there would be no Hindutva. They converted the then assembly into a constituent assembly to write a Constitution. India is ruled today not by the 80% but by the Constitution, which assures one vote to one individual.

Even when the Hindus are in a majority, they cannot subvert the idea of India because the Constitution is supreme.