View: PM Modi's 2019 campaign is bereft of his doctrine of "inclusiveness"

Sabka saath, sabka vikas (Togetherness of all, development for all) has been Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s avowed doctrine ever since he assumed office in May 2014.
The slogan has been used to negate accusations that he does not follow inclusive policies and that BJP discriminates against religious minorities. The phrase is positioned as a compassionate form of BJP’s confrontational slogan: Development for all, but appeasement of none. While using the ‘sabka’ tagline, BJP accuses its opponents of ‘appeasing’ Muslims.This wrongly depicts Muslims as a favoured community.

New Deposits in Vote Bank
The party’s relentless campaign against ‘vote bank’ politics has created BJP’s electoral reservoir. Initially, the smart coinage was appreciated globally: John Kerry, former US Secretary of State, who visited India in July 2014 after the BJP assumed office, termed the slogan a “great vision… a concept, a vision that we want to support”.

Paradoxically, in January 2015, his boss President Barack Obama during his visit to India, obliquely referred to those missing from Modi’s list of ‘sabka’, or ‘everyone’. In a candid observation, uncharacteristic of visiting dignitaries, he said “no society was immune from the darkest impulses of men” and that India “will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith”.

Modi’s commitment to pursue inclusive policies and create a non-discriminatory India was blunted by his insistence to brand efforts to address Muslims as appeasement. He refused to accept that certain issues were specific to Muslims, or other religious minorities.

To back the assertion of the government not being biased, it has been argued that religious identities have not come in the way of offering benefits to the poor under the Ujjwala scheme or in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Yet, after five years of running many egalitarian schemes principled on Sabka saath, sabka vikas, Modi is perhaps not close to being Sabka Neta (everyone’s leader). Campaign 2019 has been a story of missed opportunities for Modi, who is perceived by some as a leader for some sections only.

Throughout the campaign, Modi raised the fervour of his core constituency. He has been critical of those (read: Opposition) questioning government action after the Pulwama-Balakot, saying that they are ‘soft’ on Pakistan-sponsored terror.

When Rahul Gandhi contested from a second — & ‘safer’ — seat, Modi not just mocked him for devising a Plan B, but also denounced Gandhi for choosing a seat where Hindus were in a minority.

Modi ignored the fact that nearly 50 Lok Sabha constituencies where Muslim voters account for more than 30% of the total electorate is also India. And, if he is truly the leader of all Indians, he must reach out to these constituencies.

On the day Gandhi filed his nomination papers in Wayanad, Muslim League supporters turned out in large numbers, prompting BJP leaders to ask if this was Pakistan. The inability to distinguish between the League and the Pakistani flag shows a prejudice towards anything to do with Muslims.

Raising the Bar
If Modi wishes to truly be every Indian’s leader, he must address different communities as dissimilar groups and not as part of a monolith. For Sabka Vikas to be genuine, there must be a recognition of distinctiveness, and only then can India move towards an equality-based citizenship. Development cannot be just material, but should address issues of dignity and security too.

In 2012, while talking to this writer on Gujarat’s intercommunity equations, Modi accepted that “if one of your hands is perfect and the other is weak (durbal), you cannot be considered healthy”. But he did not offer any prescription to uplift the weaker sections. “There can be no discrimination. But there is no advantage in appeasement because the nation gets damaged.”

As PM, Modi referred to Muslims only once. In September 2016, addressing a party conclave in Kozhikode, he referred to Deendayal Upadhyaya’s saying that no ang, or part of society, is untouchable.

Thereafter, he quoted the ideologue, “Do not reward or appease (puraskrit) them, do not shun or dispel (tiraskrit) them, but refine or purify (parishkar) them. Don’t treat them like vote banks or hate objects but like your own.”

Modi is yet to become Sabka Neta as he does not acknowledge the sense of alienation perceived among minorities, possibly due to an inherently deep-rooted prejudice. This has been accentuated in the recent decades by those who feed on his politics.