Declaring a 7-day national mourning for the natural death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is an insult to India and its constitutional values
Would you agree that successive governments have done little for the poor since Nehru’s time? Do you think the current Union government under PM Modi’s leadership is different from the previous Prime Ministers who ruled India?
BJP MPs, including Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, have criticized Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and the Congress in Parliament for hours. The late Manmohan Singh upheld the legacy of Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Prime Minister Modi has inherited this same legacy from Manmohan Singh.
The late Manmohan Singh was known for two reasons: his economic reforms in 1991 and the widespread corruption during UPA II.
India has been on the verge of an economic crisis in 1991. Manmohan Singh’s reforms as finance minister helped India overcome economic crisis. His policies reduced government control, liberalized the economy, and encouraged foreign investment. These changes led to sustained economic growth, reduced inflation, and improved India’s global standing.
Globalization and neoliberalization were not the brainchild of India or Manmohan Singh. They were part of the changing world order after the end of the Cold War. However, we can credit Manmohan Singh as the Indian finance minister who welcomed and implemented these policies.
The late Manmohan Singh was a lame-duck prime minister. BJP won the 2014 general election largely due to a series of scams under the late Manmohan Singh’s watch, such as Adarsh, 2G, Lavasa, Coalgate, National Herald, etc.
I am sure that people in India were not simply taken for a ride by the mainstream media, volunteers of the ‘India Against Corruption’ movement, the BJP, and its allies. Those were truly scams. Back then, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India raised concerns about many of these scams.
Scams and scandals were not new to India; they have existed since independence. Starting from the Mundhra scandal in the 1950s to Bofors in the 1980s, India has witnessed numerous scams and scandals. But it was the former Prime Minister, the late Manmohan Singh, who taught Indian politicians that they could go scot-free after looting lakhs of crores in just a span of five years. The Union government, led by PM Modi, allowed them to mock both our common sense and the law.
Indian police will beat an uneducated person black and blue for stealing just ₹1,000. A robbery case will be filed against him, and he will be sentenced to at least six months in prison. Meanwhile, educated and intelligent leaders who loot thousands of crores receive national mourning when they die a natural death at the age of 92. What equality and constitution are we talking about?
Prime Minister Modi inherited the legacy of the late Manmohan Singh and improved it—or rather, he found a workaround to legitimize the loot. Electoral bonds is an example of it. Media restrictions, the use of anti-corruption agencies like CBI and ED to exert pressure on opposition parties, and horse trading are tactics borrowed from the Congress playbook.
The Union government’s targeting of the LDF government in Kerala, the harassment of the Kerala Chief Minister’s family, and the arrest and prolonged jail term of Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi are just a few examples.
These political parties could be corrupt to some extent, but not as much as those whom PM Modi and the BJP are protecting. Therefore, the Union government has made it impossible for political parties in India to survive without being corrupt. These are tactics borrowed from the Congress playbook.
Watch the video below to see what Subramanian Swamy said about PM Modi.
As a result, the declared assets of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) jumped by 627% from ₹122.93 crore to over ₹893 crore between 2004-05 and 2015-16, according to an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms. BJP got ₹2244 crore contributions in 2023-24 alone through Electoral bonds. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s Assets Surged 30-Fold, Rising from ₹13 Lakh to ₹4 Crore in 5 Years.
The union government appears to be disconnected from the needs and concerns of ordinary citizens. They are detached from the working class, farmers, and the armed forces.
Soon after the 2024 general election results were declared, BJP ally JDU leaders raised concerns about resentment against the Agniveer scheme in several states and demanded a review. The BJP, led by PM Modi, silenced them through appeasement.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi raised this issue in Parliament after the general election, assuming it would help him divide the NDA. Rajnath Singh responded promptly, stating that several other countries are also adopting this option as it strengthens their armed forces.
What PM Modi and BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh should know is the fact that youngsters aspiring to join the armed forces is declining globally. In India, it is often poverty that drives many young people from rural areas to see a career in the armed forces. However, this choice is also driven by honour, pride, and patriotism. The Agniveer scheme has shattered the dreams of thousands of such young patriots who want to serve our country.
We see PM Modi mentioning LGBTQ while addressing the public. Perhaps he does this to convey that he shares the same values as leaders in Western countries. LGBTQ activists who would love to live under the illusion that a man can become a woman, and vice versa, are not patriots.
We do not support the harassment of LGBTQ individuals. However, creating new terms like ‘they/them’ to address people with mental health issues, where they assume a biological man can be a woman and vice versa, should not be glorified. We do not want this culture to become a trend that attracts more young people.
Martyrs from the armed forces who are killed while guarding our borders and police officers who are killed by criminals while on duty receive only State Honors. Many such martyrs, killed in terrorist attacks at the age of 28 or 30, also receive only State Honors. They sacrifice their lives to ensure that our flag is hoisted to its full height on the flagpole, symbolizing pride, sovereignty, and the nation’s unity.
Why should our flag be flown at half-mast for seven days when a former minister, notorious for corruption, dies a natural death at the age of 92?
National mourning for seven days is appropriate only when Presidents, Prime Ministers, and other leaders of high national importance die in a tragic incident, such as a terrorist attack or road accident.
