Decoding BJP’s tactics to tame people. From Sonam Wangchuk to Hardik Patel
In January 2020, Sonam Wangchuk publicly expressed gratitude to PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their attention to Ladakh’s concerns, and a Union Minister acknowledged his fight for Scheduled Area status. Sonam Wangchuk and PM Modi were mutual admirers too.
When Ladakh was given five new districts, Wangchuk publicly thanked Modi and Amit Shah, calling it the fulfilment of an old demand. When he requested that Leh Airport should align with Ladakh’s goal of becoming carbon neutral, he was thrilled when the PMO responded within days. He tweeted his gratitude and said he “could not imagine a more responsive government.” Even in recent years, he admired Modi’s Mission LiFE campaign on the environment and urged him to lead from the front to protect Himalayan glaciers. This suited the BJP regime and PM Modi’s nature well.
However, as soon as Wangchuk raised his voice for Ladakhis, asking why the promises of statehood and Sixth Schedule protections were still unfulfilled, like hundreds others; he became a State enemy. An anti-national working “for vested interests and accumulating foreign funds”.
Whenever anyone questions the Modi led government on its policies, in Wangchuk’s case, the government’s ecological safeguards, he became a foe. Just because Wangchuk questioned the government on ecological safeguards, warning that Ladakh’s fragile mountains were being handed over to unchecked industrial and mining interests, he became a traitor. And arrested.
PM Modi’s playbook remains the same. Stay in line, don’t ask questions, remain a puppet and you will not be harassed. Otherwise, be ready not just for onslaught of agencies but criminal action leading to arrests and of course, don’t look forward to being released on bail.
This is the tragedy of today’s India. Loyalty to power means nothing once you begin to challenge it. A man who once praised Modi to the skies is now behind bars simply for demanding that promises be honoured. If even Sonam Wangchuk can be criminalised for speaking up, what chance does the common citizen have?
This is not democracy. This is punishment for dissent.
Allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime protects its friends and targets rivals through politically motivated investigations have been a recurring feature of India’s political discourse. The BJP and its supporters vehemently deny these accusations, stating that investigative agencies are acting impartially.
It is all about the right political connections that lead to lucrative contracts, harassment of your competitors, advantageous loans – and vast wealth.
Contradict action taken against Sonam Wangchuk with that of Hardik Patel in Gujarat. Enemy number one not long ago, now Hardik has reduced himself to being a BJP puppet. Few hours ago, he found himself not being named in a summary, closure report filed in the infamous Patidar agitation case. Hardik Patel, the Patidar youth icon who was known as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chief tormentor in 2015, turned into an obedient slave about three years ago. He went from being booked under sedition and spending nine months in jail to becoming the legislator of the same party that he protested against. If Sonam has been rewarded with an arrest, Hardik has been rewarded with an acquittal.
Hardik has led a movement that claimed 14 young Patel lives, who sacrificed themselves for a cause that he espoused. The irony cannot be missed.Once an idealistic, justice-demanding youngster who publicly swore that if he ever even looked at Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, it would mean he was not his mother’s son, he has now not only turned Right but also become a silent non squeaky puppet of the ruling party. Back then, he publicly denounced India’s PM and the Home Minister with strong, provocative language.
Ten years ago, Hardik Patel had motivated and led Gujarat’s first-ever public movement (after the Navnirman Andolan), ensuring that the BJP Chief Minister at the time, Anandiben Patel, was removed. It was a significant feat.
A senior Patidar leader who had earlier patronised Hardik Patel says that he has been a disappointment for the Patidar community: “Hardik Patel stoked Patidar emotions and gained political advantage during the 2015 Patidar reservation agitation by exploiting a sense of economic and political marginalisation within our influential community,”
Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda told Vibes of India that more than Hardik Patel, the issue is a commentary on BJP’s double standards. That Hardik Patel does not even have his name on a complaint speaks of the BJP’s hypocrisy and double standards. He is a classic example of BJP’s washing machine. All the stains have disappeared now that he is with the BJP. According to Chavda, this is a tactic by the BJP to create fear among protesters and to pressure them.
A BJP MLA, who did not want to be named as he is awaiting a ministerial berth in the upcoming cabinet expansion in Gujarat, says it is sad to see the ruling party entertain characters like Hardik Patel. “I hope he is not made a minister because he does not engage in any positive politics. He is good at blackmail.”
Former Gujarat Congress president Bharat Solanki, under whose leadership the Congress achieved a good Assembly victory in 2017, recalls how Hardik Patel was head over heels for the Congress soon after the Patidar agitation. “We are glad that such a person is no longer with the Congress. He is perfect for the BJP.”
Hardik was imprisoned for leading the Patidar agitation and inciting violence that led to the deaths of over a dozen and a half Patel youth in Gujarat. The movement catapulted him onto the national stage. He was banned from entering Gujarat. He was ostracised and alienated, but after turning Right and joining the BJP, he was given a ticket. Today, Hardik Patel is an MLA, and all the humiliation and barbs he received from the BJP seem bearable. That’s because in the summary filed by the Gujarat police, he stands acquitted of all the allegations levelled against him.
He used protest and confrontation to gain attention: Key moments, such as a massive rally in Ahmedabad in August 2015 and his subsequent arrest, triggered widespread violence across the state, resulting in curfews and internet shutdowns. This aggressive posturing raised the movement’s national profile and cemented his image as a firebrand leader willing to confront the state.
He blazed a trail through rallies demanding quotas for Patidars. The BJP, led by Anandiben, also a Patel had fumbled and faltered. Choosing a heavy-handed approach to end the unrest driven by his movement, the state government kept filing criminal cases against him, including three cases of sedition.
In October 2015, he was eventually arrested on a sedition charge after issuing a statement urging a Patidar community man planning to commit suicide to allegedly kill cops instead.
He returned to the political battleground after nine months in jail, as the High Court granted him bail. However, the court had barred him from returning to Gujarat for six months. He shifted base to Udaipur in Rajasthan, calling his stay a political exile.
However, this did not last long. From idealism to individualism, he took a complete U-turn. Today, Hardik Patel epitomises the typical Indian politician, opportunistic, self-serving, and a “setting expert.”
On that August 2015 evening, he presided over a mammoth meeting where he demanded reservations for his community. Over three lakh people gathered in his support.
Following fiery speeches, the crowd went berserk, damaging police vehicles and injuring police personnel. Hardik Patel, who just three years ago was the most wanted person and a “criminal” in this case, now stands vindicated. Forget any allegations, his name is missing from the report, according to Gujarat Samachar.
Interestingly, this is not the first case in which charges against the accused will likely be dropped, as the police have filed a summary report. The police have categorically mentioned that they have not been able to find the accused and that there is no evidence. After Hardik joined BJP, several charges against him stand dropped raising speculation that this is the reason why Hardik chose to join the BJP. He bartered his ideology and activism to stay away from prison and government agency harassment.
Gopi Maniar, founder of independent news platform Nirbhay News also believes that this is precisely the reason Hardik joined the BJP. So that he is acquitted in all cases filed against him. Otherwise Hardik would be facing decades of his life dealing with 90 odd cases filed by the BJP against him. “Hardik consciously chose to get into the BJP’s washing machine to come out clean”, Gopi says. Hardik is smart but BJP is smarter. They still have kept some cases dangling over his head so that they could be developed in case Hardik’s conscience is reborn and he deters from the dotted line.
So the lesson is clear for all. Attempt to raise your voice and you become the enemy of the State. Choose to surrender your ideology and activism and the State will reduce you to a quiet puppet but let you survive.
https://www.vibesofindia.com/mahatma-gandhis-autobiography-marks-100-years-south-india-leads-in-readership/Also Read: Mahatma Gandhi’s Autobiography Marks 100 Years, South India Leads in Readership
