Politics in the country going through a bad phase

Politically the country is passing through a peculiar phase. The situation at the national level as well as in some States including the Telugu speaking ones is no different. 'My party my policies, my word and my ego' is the central theme of all leaders. This certainly is not a healthy trend and is not good for democracy. The leaders who are supposed to take forward the country and States and work out strategies to beat the slowdown of economy are focussing their energies and talent to run down their opponents and are indulging in political vendetta. The developments that are taking place across the country show that the moves of political parties are neither uniting the people nor the political parties. While the ruling parties feel that what they say is ultimate word, the Opposition continues to be fragmented. Both are meandering in their political march and the common man who is caught in the crossfire continues to suffer. Take for example the Citizenship Act, 2019. Ever since it was passed by Parliament in December, many parts of the country have been rocked with agitations and it has virtually pushed out all other news. Every day, media vie with each other on showing visuals of police crackdown on protestors and another dangerous trend that is being witnessed is some people coming to dharna sites and opening fire at the protestors.

Those who are opposing CAA believe that the NDA government is out to strip Muslims and other minorities of their nationality using CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and destroy the secular fabric. On the other hand, the government claims that no Indian citizen will be deprived of their constitutional right to citizenship. Whatever the arguments be, one significant factor that needs to be observed here is that no issue has succeeded in uniting the Opposition. The Opposition parties need to take the blame. The Congress party which is the main Opposition and still has the capacity to bounce back as a force to be reckoned with has been sulking and is suffering from lack of a strong leadership which can adopt clear stand and fight issues on streets rather on social media like twitter. While the young brigade in the party has gone missing, the old horses are sulking. The Congress even failed to ensure that all parties attend the meeting convened by them on CAA.

Mayawati has declined the request. West Bengal's Trinamol Congress and Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party also refused to attend the meeting. The three parties which refused to attend the meeting called by the Congress are also opposing the CAA and NRC but then, what matters for them most is narrow minded politics and not the interest of the country. The scenario in two Telugu States is no different. In Telangana, the Congress suffers from lack of effective leadership and infighting. There is lack of trust among the leaders. In the last six years, the Congress could not create any impact either on the people or the government. In Andhra Pradesh, the issue of splitting the capital into three has pushed the people in the State into a confusion. It has adversely affected revenue generation. Here too the TDP, the BJP, the Congress and the Left are opposing the move to shift the capital. But they have not shown any initiative to put up united fight as was seen during the peak movement of separate Telangana agitation when all parties buried their differences, ideology and kept aside party flags and fought unitedly. That spirit is missing in the so-called fight for retaining Amaravati as seed capital. On the other hand, the ruling party legislators, instead of convincing the people on the advantages of three capitals, are bringing caste and regional elements into it and are stooping to the lowest levels and are using cuss words to attack their opponents. This certainly is not a good sign. But then as it is said, darkness has to make way for sunlight, let's hope that good phase for the country will emerge soon.