India’s current government is led by the Bharatiya Janta Party or the BJP. It is also the country’s largest national party. It was formed in 1980, though its origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was founded in 1951. The Jana Sangh was closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization that continues to play a significant role in shaping the BJP’s ideology.
The party first came to power at the center in 1996, but its government lasted only 13 days. It returned to power in 1998, forming a coalition under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. His tenure saw India conducting nuclear tests in 1998, economic reforms, and a focus on infrastructure development. However, the BJP lost power in 2004 to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The BJP made a historic comeback in 2014 by securing 282 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha, with Narendra Modi as India’s prime minister. Major policy changes include the revocation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 that criminalized triple talaq in India.
The government’s handling of several protests and crises has faced widespread scrutiny. The 2020–2021 farmer protests, which were sparked by the controversial farm laws that were later repealed, drew significant public attention, with criticism directed at the use of force and the management of the situation. Similarly, the government’s response to the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests raised concerns over its handling of dissent, particularly the use of force. The BJP’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic also attracted criticism, especially regarding the lack of transparency around the death toll, shortages of medical resources like oxygen cylinders, and inadequate preparedness during the second wave.
Additionally, the ongoing inter-tribe conflict in Manipur, which erupted in 2023, has faced criticism for the government’s perceived failure to take adequate action, with accusations of poor crisis management and insufficient intervention in addressing the escalating violence.
Prof PK Sharma, Freelance Journalist, Barnala(Punjab)
Mr.Veerappa Moily , Chairman of Parliamentary Committe on Finance should not have taken this sensitive decision of Demonetisation
so lightly and casually because this decision had far-reaching ramifications for the people of India !
More than one hundred innocent persons lost their lives, masses subjected to undue hardships, difficulties and woes for no fault of their own ! The small businessmen and professionals were rendered unemployed in various parts of the country !
PM Modi must take the blame and onus on himself for this ill-conceived,ill-planned and ill-executed decision ! The way he himself
declared this ill-fated decision on TV channels just to win applause on November 8, 2016 night, he must now muster courage too to seek forgiveness from public publically for this anti-public decision ending in futility !
During the debate on No-Confidence Motion in Lok Sabha sometime ago, the Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi must have exposed NaMo
on the Demonetisation more thread bare on the floor of the Lok Sabha ! This serious matter could have drawn the attention of the MPs of both the lower and upper houses of parliament and public when the parliament session is now in progress !
Mr. Moily as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance should not leave any stone unturned to expose the acts of omission
and commission and the entire truth must be revealed in public domain at the earliest !
Even if BJP MPs in the committee do not cooperate and try their level best to hanky panky and hush up this matter, their real character and the stark truth must be brought to the fore and light on record ! They will not be able to brush the truth under the
carpet and for how long ?
Now it is Mr.Moily’s duty and responsibility to get the needful done promptly reviving the draft report faulting NaMo
for his immature and wicked decision making the facts crystal clear to the countrymen !
Prof PK Sharma, Freelance Journalist
Pom Anm Nest,Barnala(Punjab)
Except for the RBI, which is still laboriously counting the currency notes, demonetisation is now done and over with. No point blowing into those embers. What few could have foreseen was how enduring its effects would prove to be. They are still with us. So, if the opposition has a case to present on the economy, a lot of the credit goes to this measure.