Bangladesh springs up in discussions amid polls in India

Bangladesh is suddenly cropping up in talks across India amid the ongoing Lok Sabha polls for two different reasons. Such widespread coverage of Bangladesh in almost all Indian news media for such a long period of time is probably unprecedented.

The killing of ruling Awami League lawmaker Anwarul Azim in Kolkata got massive coverage in the news media across all states over the last few days.

While the police and intelligence of the two countries are busy unravelling the mystery behind the killing, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal brought up Bangladesh in his political debate. He openly admitted that if Narendra Modi comes to power for the third consecutive term, then the Indian democracy will be like that of Bangladesh.

Elections on some seven constituencies in Delhi is being held today, Saturday in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal has been spending days and nights in election campaigns since being released on bail following a Supreme Court order.  Stressing on the importance of voting, he is warning everyone that if BJP comes to power at the centre this time too, if Modi becomes the prime minister again, then it will be the end of democracy in India. He referred to Bangladesh to explain the possible consequence of the ruling party forming the government again.

He is not bringing up the example of Bangladesh only in rallies or road shows. He brought up Bangladesh even during an interview with an India newspaper, The Indian Express on Friday. There, too, he put the democracy of the neighbouring ally on the same seat as Russia and Pakistan.

Arvind Kejriwal was asked about the possible aftermath, if Modi becomes the prime minister for the third time.

In response he said, “They (BJP) will amend the constitution and the country will move towards dictatorship. Either there will be no elections, or the elections will be like those in Russia, where Vladimir Putin has either put the entire opposition in jail or has got them killed. Elections were held only after that and he bagged 87 per cent votes. In Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina put everyone (opposition activists) in jail and won by a landslide margin.”

He further said in Pakistan, the ruling party jailed Imran Khan, took away his party and symbol and eventually came out victorious in the election. India too would have the same consequences with these sorts of elections becoming common. The opposition would be in jail and they will keep getting the votes.

This is the first time any top political leader or a chief minister of India opens up about the ‘democracy’ in Russia and Bangladesh in such a way. The Indian foreign ministry didn’t issue any statement regarding this either.

The Delhi chief minister also depicted an outlook of that future in India. He said, “This time, they (BJP government) put me in prison, imprisoned Manish Sisodia and five top leaders of our party. They are going to freeze our (bank) accounts, which they already did with the Congress. Hemant Soren was jailed, they split NCP into two, took away their symbol.”

It was the same with the Shiv Sena. Several ministers in the Trinamool government have been jailed, same with ministers in the Stalin government. The fight they are into is beyond anyone's imagination, Kejriwal said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) embarked upon a vigorous movement demanding the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal following his arrest on the allegation of money laundering in an excise (liquor) case. However, he didn’t abdicate. Rather he repeatedly vowed to hold his post.

Kejriwal explained his stand in the interview saying people accuse him of clinging on to his chair.  But, in reality, he had left his job to work in Delhi’s slums, which extended for 10 years. He resigned within 49 days of taking oath as the chief minister.

“I did it for my principles. However, I am not resigning this time, because it is part of my struggle,” he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader continued, “They (the BJP) understand they cannot defeat Kejriwal in Delhi – we got 67 seats on one occasion, 62 seats on another – so they frame Kejriwal in a false case. So that Kejriwal resigns and his government can be toppled. This is dangerous for democracy. If I resign today, they will topple Mamata Banerjee’s, Pinarayi Vijayan’s governments tomorrow.”

He warned that there would be a risk of the CM getting arrested and the incumbent government being overthrown if the BJP loses anywhere.

“If they put democracy in jail, then we will have to continue democracy from jail. We will fight this tooth and nail.”

Addressing another question, the chief minister of Delhi said only the prime minister (Narendra Modi) knows how long he will have to serve in prison after he returns to jail on 2 June in compliance with the court order. “Only PM Modi can answer how long he wants me in jail.”

Speaking regarding the poll results, Kejriwal said there are three major factors which might lead the BJP to a drastic fall. First, the crisis centring the unemployment situation and the ever soaring inflation has become a big issue. People are struggling to bear the additional expenses, the youths have no job. The prime minister nevertheless remains silent in this regard. So the people have no hope, he added.

“Second, the BJP is not contesting as part of a team this time. Nadda sahab (BJP president JP Nadda) said that we (the BJP) don’t need the RSS. This means that the RSS is not working for the BJP this time.”

At the same time, the internal rift (within the BJP) for succession has intensified. The way they cornered senior leaders like Vasundhara Raje, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh to make way for Amit Shah has enraged everyone. Now, they want to get away with Uttar Pradesh CMYogi Adityanath too. He is also furious over this, Kejriwal said.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader referred to autocracy as the third factor. He said, “I was quite astonished to see the idea of ‘tanashahi’ (dictatorship) ingrained among common people having heard the word from so many people in so many places.”

“Because of these three factors, I feel BJP is going to get less than 220 seats and the INDIA bloc could get nearly 300,” Arvind Kejriwal said.

*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu