Mukul Khattar, 37, runs an education start-up in Kanpur. In this interview he explains why he switched from Narendra Modi to NOTA this election.
In early 2014, my brother did a long road trip from Aurangabad in Maharashtra to home in Kanpur. Of all the states he passed by, he said Gujarat looked the most developed. There was something about Narendra Modi’s Gujarat model, we were convinced.
I knew the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Hindutva ideology and wasn’t a fan of it. I knew of Gujarat 2002 and the BJP’s use of polarisation but I bought into Modi’s ‘Vikas’ or development pitch. That’s how I voted for the BJP for the first time in 2014.
I believe you should give people second chances. People evolve, people change, they commit their mistakes and learn from them. We had tried everybody. We gave the Congress so many chances but United Progressive Alliance-II was a huge let down. We have only two real national parties. Disenchanted with the Congress, I said let’s give BJP a chance.
I had hoped Modi as prime minister would create a new nation that would leave behind the divides of caste and religion. If people don’t unite there can be no development.
By now I feel I made a mistake in 2014.
Trust deficit
The point at which I began losing trust in Modi was demonetisation. Not that it affected me personally: I didn’t have any black money and was already using cards and online payments. But I think about my house-help, how she has to queue up for three days to exchange the notes she has saved for her daughter’s marriage. I think about how anxious she was and wonder what demonetisation achieved in return. What was even the purpose of it, I don’t know, since almost all the cash returned. It hurt the economy to boot.
It was with the failure of demonetisation that I realised Modi is unpredictable. He can do anything at will, no warning, no preparation. If people have reposed faith in you, the leader needs to keep the people in the loop. Doing whatever you like is what dictators do.
If Modi had created jobs for everyone, people would perhaps have been too busy in their work to vote for him. I feel people are being kept unemployed so they could become gau rakshaks and Hindutva propagandists.
Chief minister of cows
Soon after demonetisation I saw another big instance of Modi imposing his ideas on people without warning.
The BJP campaign in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 did not project Yogi Adityanath as a chief ministerial face. He was suddenly foisted on us after the BJP won. Had Yogi been the declared CM face, the BJP would have got a lot less votes.
This is why I can’t trust Modi anymore. He’ll randomly demonetise currency, suddenly impose GST (goods and services tax), and make an in incompetent person the chief minister of 20 crore people just because he’s a religious hardliner.
Here’s an example of Yogi Adityanath’s governance. Last Janmashtami, my family decided to go to the ISKCON temple. Google Maps showed a red spot just before the temple but we drove despite the fear of a traffic jam. When we reached the red spot we found it wasn’t traffic but a flock of cows blocking the road.
The cows’ horns had been covered with reflective paint so that traffic doesn’t run them over. The road did not have any lights. It was pitch dark. Our roads and dividers don’t have reflective lighting but cows do! It’s okay for Yogi Adityanath if I die in a traffic accident but not cows. If only Yogi could put street lights everywhere it would save the lives of cows and humans alike.
Yogi is the chief minister of cows. He makes us miss Akhilesh Yadav who actually cared for the development of the state.
Also read: Is it right to shame NOTA voters and those who won’t vote?
Language of hate
Just look at the kind of people they are promoting, like Yogi Adityanath and Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. Hindutva is not how Modi won me over in 2014.
People like these will spoil the fabric of our society. Land owned by Dalits has been grabbed to make gau shalas. I have never seen my Muslim friends feel scared. I know why they feel scared when I see (Hindu) family friends tell me we must vote for Modi because he has ‘shown Muslims their place’. I had never seen these acquaintances speak such language. It’s a gift of the Modi era to turn sane people hate Muslims.
This language of hate is not acceptable to me. I wish Modi actually meant his ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’. A nation can’t progress unless it takes everyone together.
Why has the rise of Modi polarised us so much that people have lost friends over politics? A real leader should unite and not divide people.
Why are so many people afraid to say anything against the government these days? Such intolerance of dissent is incompatible with democracy.
Why Rahul is not the alternative
I gave Modi a chance, but I gave Congress many chances. I voted for the Congress every time before 2014.
Today the Congress under Rahul Gandhi doesn’t inspire hope and trust in me either. The Congress is not well run and well managed. Their leaders don’t come across as strong. They need an overhaul.
Maybe I’m a victim of propaganda, I’m not sure. After all, the media has only one point of view and it’s pro-Modi. That is sad because a society needs different points of view to make the right choice. Modi’s propaganda overdose makes me think Modi has something to hide. Perhaps the growth story he is talking about isn’t actually true.
Both mainstream and social media give me a negative impression of Rahul Gandhi. There’s nothing good I ever hear about Rahul, if I hear anything at all.
But the Congress’ inability to counter this propaganda is itself proof that they are not capable of strong leadership. I don’t see the passion, that fighting spirit. If Rahul Gandhi can’t fight for himself how will he fight for the nation?
None Of The Above
Between BJP, Congress and Third Front, there is no option. You’re going to die in all the options. You can only choose how you’d like to die.
Such is my loss of trust in Modi that I don’t believe if the Balakot strikes killed any terrorists. I’m willing to believe it if I see the proof — I don’t trust Modi blindly. It’s all about trust.
The Congress does not look like it can run the country. The Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party ‘gathbandhan’ is not going to form government at the Centre. An unstable ‘Third Front’ government doesn’t excite me either.
For these reasons I made the effort of going to the polling booth and voting NOTA. My NOTA vote, I hope, sends a message to all parties that we need new people in politics. The NOTA vote is a vote for change.
Also read: BJP & RSS spooked as more voters pick NOTA
Democracy is about choosing the best option. I am not a fan of this cow worship agenda either. However, Yogi has done a lot of work too. His administration has been one of action. I have seen the road being built to Gangotri with my own eyes, a four lane highway. The North East has suddenly got connectivity. Number of airports have increased.In a democracy we vote for the better option, not wait for perfection to come. If you think you are perfect, why don’t you stand for election? One cannot fault the dedication of the man to the nation. He works with good intentions, everyone makes mistakes. Perfection, my dear sir, does not exist. Democracy is about choosing the BETTER option, not the perfect option.
Dont you think NOTA is a cowards way out. And how is it going to give us new leaders? Please explain
Congratulations you are now a classic Modi hater.
I supported and opted for NOTA because, frankly, I’d prefer uncertainty in minds of political parties / leaders. This is possible when NOTA votes are more than winning margins. I also hope, there cast and religious calculations should go for toss and then I trust they will focus on just development politics.
At the least, they will stop taking law abiding, tax paying middle class for granted.