Five reasons why you should and you shouldn’t vote for Modi Sarkar

 India is going for 18th Loksabha elections from 19th April 2024. There is confidence among the ruling Modi government that it will win and claim power at the centre for third term. But the ultimate power lies in the hands of the common man. Beauty of democracy lies in the importance it accords on the intellect of every common man. Hence Abraham Lincoln once said-“The Ballot is stronger than the Bullet”. 

This article will list out 5 reasons why you should vote for Mr Modi/BJP and why you shouldn’t. 

5 reasons you should Vote for Modi Sarkar:

1. External security and foreign relations: Fist things first. We are living in a world at the brink of third world war due to geopolitical tensions on the backdrop of Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Palestine conflict. We need a government,which can protect national interests by carefully steering the foreign policy balancing conflicting interests. Modi government has definitely done well under the ministership of S.Jaishankar. Hostile neighbours like China and Pakistan,pose a threat,if there is a soft state at the centre. Modi government has taken bold stance to counter the policy of Pakistan to use terrorism as state policy. The surgical strikes,diplomatic isolation,abolition of Article 370 and cross border covert operations have given severe blow to Pakistan. Present government is instrumental in actively engaging with Quad(US,Japan,Australia,India)to counter China. There is definite push in harnessing the power of NRIs in strengthening foreign relations.
2. Law and order and Internal security: Under the BJP rule,there is definite emphasis on maintaining law and order and rule of law. Democracy becomes meaningless if non-state actors like criminals, organised crime groups and drug cartels mushroom and harass people,as was prevalent in some of the BIMARU states. The BJP government in UP is the best example. There are reports of aggressive covert operations by our military and intelligence organisations targeting terrorists and Khalistani extremists,who pose threat to internal security of India. There are no major terror attacks outside of J&K and naxal areas in last 10 years. Benefits of law and order are enjoyed enjoyed by every citizen irrespective of the community they belong.
3. Cultural revivalism: The idea of secularism was grossly misused to keep Hindus away from celebrating their traditions and mythologies. Instead of celebrating and incorporating all religious teachings in our schools,the emphasis was on teaching European literature,which has little meaning in Indian context. Bringing sense of pride in being Hindu and peacefully and lawfully reclaiming and restoring Hindu place of worship like Ram mandir is one of the important achievements of this government. Mr Modi has taken care to promote soft Hindutva,while ensuring to keep Hindu extremist elements away from the government.Contrary to popular belief,he has done more than previous government in pushing for development of minority Muslim community.
4. Less government,more governance: There is definite push in bringing digitisation of all government activities. From era of policy paralysis under UPA regime, we have moved to government that does not shy away from making bold decisions(GST,Privatisation of Air India,woman reservation,abolition of Art 370 etc). There is push for bureaucratic accountability and discipline with measures to reduce arbitrariness and corruption in decision making. This government has shown clear strength in speedy implementation of social  programmes like PM Ujjwala(LPG),PM KISAN,Swacch Bharat abhiyan,Make in India,Skill India etc. Efficient handling of COVID pandemic for the scale of Indian population is no small achievement. 
5. Empowerment approach,rather than Entitlement approach: Contrary to approach of Congess/UPA,which focused on giving freebies,approach of Modi government is on Empowerment. They are driven by the Idea of ‘Give a man a fish,you feed him for a day,teach a man to fish,you feed him for lifetime’. There is focus on financial inclusion (JanDhan Yojana,DBT-JAM,Mudra yojana etc)and ease of doing business. India has significantly jumped up the ladder in Ease of doing business rankings by World Bank.There is accelerated push for infrastructure development(roads, ports, railways and airports).The budget is focused on longterm goals,rather than short term programs indented for electoral appeasement.These are creating conducive environment for development of  industry and entrepreneurship. India currently has highest GDP growth rate of 6.5%,surpassing China.

5 Reasons you shouldn’t:

1. One man show: Dr BR Ambedkar has once said- “ Bhakti in religion may be road to salvation of the Soul. But in politics,Bhakti or hero worship is sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship”.There is too much centralised governance with PM driving everything. Team driven approach is always better than a person driven decisions. The failure of demonetisation is best example. Staying in power for long time has risk of bringing autocracy,undermining democracy p.
2. Legalised corruption and crony capitalism: There are allegations of disproportionate favours being granted to selected business players based on their affiliations. This runs against the spirit of free markets.The electoral bond scheme is considered my many as legalised corruption and biggest scam of this government.
3. Threat to constitutional values:Mr Modi has stated that his third term will be a term of big and bold decisions(so called Bade faisale). This vague statement has different meaning for different sections. It should not mean changing the basic structure of constitution,which has stood the test of time.
4. Majoritarianism and Extremist hindutva elements: There is definite fear of extremist Hindu elements disturbing the communal harmony of India. So far so good,Modi government has always stood officially clear from associating with those elements. But with increasing mandate,there is always risk of these elements coming to mainstream. The disturbing ethnic clashes in Manipur should no longer be tolerated. 
5. Freedom of press and institutions: Freedom of press and  institutions like judiciary,EC and investigative agencies(CBI,ED) are cornerstones of a functioning democracy. They are said to be undermined under the present government.

Take these with a pinch of salt of my own bias.Think for yourself about these and make your decision. When you press that button on EVM machine,you are not just voting for a candidate,but for the future of this nation. One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

To end,I would like to quote, Franklin D Roosevelt,who said-

“Democracy cannot succeed,unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy,therefore is education”.