Hate Campaign

India is an elected autocracy. Election comes, Election goes. But nothing changes for the better. For the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ‘hate speech’ is a standard norm in every election, not excluding even bypolls. This is a time-tested ploy for BJP to divert public attention from real issues and polarise the society on communal lines. The Opposition too indulges in similar unethical manoeuvring to influence voters. And Election Commission is a mute spectator. It is a paper organisation now and it does hardly apply its authority to stop malicious and slanderous statements though it can do it by implementing Clause (1) of Model Code of Conduct (MCC). In truth Modi’s BJP government has virtually destroyed all independent and semi-independent institutions to mock at what they call the biggest constitutional democracy of the world. In all 173 campaign speeches by Modi after the election code of conduct [for the last parliamentary poll] took effect on March 16, he blatantly made false claims while demonising Muslims and other minority communities. The code forbids appealing to “communal feelings for securing votes”. But this Election Commission under the Modi dispensation is a lame duck. In at least 110 speeches Modi made Islamophobic remarks apparently intended to undermine the political opposition, which he said only promoted Muslim rights, and to foster fear among the majority Hindu community through biased information and fake news dished out by the pro-Modi media. His propaganda sometimes sounded ludicrous as he would discover ‘Muslim League’s ideology in disguise’ in Congress Party’s manifesto. They also published animated videos vilifying Muslims and spreading disinformation during the campaign. On April 30, the BJP’s official account on Instagram posted a video that reportedly received 1.6 million views before it was taken down. And it matters in vote market.

Modi repeatedly described Muslims as “infiltrators” and claimed Muslims had “more children” than other communities, raising the spectre that Hindus—about 80 percent of the population—will become a minority in their own land, not in the distant future.
In a speech on May 14 in Kodarma, Jharkhand, Modi said that “idols of our gods are being destroyed” and that “these infiltrators [Muslims] have threatened the security of our sisters and daughters”. Modi apart several other BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and former minister for information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, made speeches pitting Hindus against Muslims, fuelling hatred and insecurity among the Hindus. In the just concluded Assembly polls in Jharkhand last month Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Hemant Soren-led government of shielding infiltrators and depriving tribals and backward classes of their rights. The infiltrators are allegedly coming from Bangladesh, only to ‘take away local jobs and lands and marrying tribal girls.’ As per their allegation, besides Bangladeshis, Rohingya  refugees too are said to be settling in West Bengal and Jharkhand with the tacit approval of opposition.

In a May 17 speech in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, Modi made false claims that political opposition would harm the newly opened Ram Temple, controversially built atop a razed historical mosque at Ayodhya. Then on May 7, in a speech in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, Modi falsely said that the opposition Congress Party “intends to give priority to Muslims even in sports”.

However, the Election Commission failed to take adequate action on time to respond to these violations. After too much criticism, both here and abroad as Human Rights Watch has formally lodged a petition to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights alleging Election Commission of India’s inaction in addressing code violations, the Commission finally wrote to BJP president J P Nadda and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge seeking their comments on complaints of violation of model code of conduct by star campaigners of the two parties during the campaigning for the recently held Assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra and by-elections in other states. But it is too late to talk sense!

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 23, Dec 1 - 7, 2024