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 The 2020–2021 farmer protests, which were sparked by the controversial farm laws that were later repealed, drew significant public attention, with criticism directed at the use of force and the management of the situation.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.
Stopped watching national news on TV because my vernacular language channels are far better and are more succinct with their headlines. Debates, even if lopsided, are still far better. But, as far as my experience goes with patients belonging to Sangh Parivar, the national TV BJP spokespersons are exact representatives of their ground workers. They are irrational, casteist, arrogant, ignorant and believe that shouting and certification of faith & patriotism is their right and can substitute rationality & evidence in convincing others.
Have virtually seceded from TV. Which is a great pity, because it is an effective medium, a good complement to print.
Haha…and what about your brazen and open bias towards the Gandhi family….? Check your recent article on the “rebirth” of Rahul baba…. please..when your biases are not even subtle and other for everyone to see, you don’t comment on how the others in the media take sides and are biased….
CONgress lackeys in the media have been given the job of peddling a certain narrative and they are trying to be loyal to a fault.