GUWAHATI, March 18 - Eminent historian and Ashoka University Chancellor Professor Rudrangshu Mukherjee today said Narendra Modi has utterly failed to be the Prime Minister of all the people of India and is rather acting as the Prime Minister of a section of people.
�Despite being the Prime Minister of the country, so far, Modi did not utter a single word to condemn the acts of violence perpetrated by the supporters of Hindutva. His aims and aspirations are fundamentally at odds with the pluralist spirit of many civilizations that have made India,� Professor Mukherjee said while addressing a discourse on the �Challenges to rule of law and constitutional democracy in India�, organised by the Asom Nagarik Samaj here today.
�The violent suppression of dissent and the imposition of the Hindutva ideology are essential parts of Modi�s core ideology. These are beliefs that he has imbibed while getting trained as loyal RSS cadre. Putting the veneer of development by him on his ideology does not mean that he has abandoned his core beliefs. He believes in making India a Hindu Rashtra and in making sections of the Indian population into second class citizens,� Professor Mukherjee asserted, also criticising the Prime Minister for supporting a personalised form of governance abandoning all forms of collective decision making.
He further added that even though the PM is not directing any violence himself, his supporters are carrying out actions that they know will win his approval.
�The growing irrationality in the intellectual space, the diminishing dissent of all forms and the creeping erosion of democratic and civil society institutions are not only a threat to the democracy but to all forms of civilization,� concluded Dr Mukherjee.
Sharing the dais with him, senior advocate Nilayananda Dutta, another distinguished guest on the occasion, however, said the rule of law never existed in the country in its entirety and that the parliamentary form of government has failed in India.
To say that the condition has worsened now, one has to agree on the fact that the condition was much better earlier, which, according to Dutta, is not the case.
�Despite following different ideologies, political leaders share a mutual understanding, depending on their interests. Moreover, while condemning one side, we cannot be selective in our protest,� he said, while bringing in the instances of selective outrage by media in targeting one side and completely ignoring the other.
�Further, the selective outrage by the intelligentsia also points out towards some possible hidden agenda of a section of people, who do not have a balance of opinions,� he further added.
The session was followed by an intense interactive session between the speakers and the audience.
