DICTATOR MEETS HERMIT. (upgrade)

BY K P PASWAN

At the out set of this article, it is proper to clarify that Xi jinping is the dictator of China and Hermit does not mean the dictator of North Korea,  but the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India whose very appearance gives the impression that a sage, or hermit is the political head of the biggest democracy of the world.

 Chinese dictator has just announced the end of poverty in China, which he calls as Miracle, the economic safety for the poor, however, remains, perilously thin by international standard. This is important as there is no international body to monitor the removal of poverty programmes in China.   Xi Jinping has been declared as president of China till he desires to quit which is not going to happen. Xi Jinping happens to be a politician  who  knows how to manipulate an election not based on universal franchise.

HONEST COMMUNIST. Any way president Xi jinping being an honest communist, has removed more than 170 corrupt ministers and has punished 1.35 million lower ranking Communists officials. All these removed Communists were genuinely corrupt individuals and this step bolstered his image as a genuine crusader against corruption and side-lined his potential rivals. China’s free market policies under Xi Jinping have unleashed extraordinary growth in the past decade, but the Govt has lost control over economic activities. China is less relevant to what is really going on in the economy. How China can be responsible stakeholder in the world economy, if it actually cannot follow through with its international commitments.  What is most striking is China’s inability to impose needed regulations or to predict what will happen when it does regulate.

SELECTION. The China Communist Party consists of nearly 2000 delegates and their election is not known, but the meeting of the congress is itself a little more than rubber stamp affairs. They matter for only one reason, sweeping reshuffling of leadership, that is decided in advance during secretive horse-trading  among the elite. There is an unwritten consciousness, that a general Secretary  must retire after attaining age of 68 and that General Secretary cannot hold the post for more than ten years or two terms. But Xi jinping being an expert manipulator, tamed the corrupt delegates by threatening to expose them through electronic media and international news agencies.

  Xi Jinping he is not accountable to any constitution, because the Communists have their own ways of ruling the country, without being elected by common people and Xi jinping  faces a trade-off, the more he defies the party, the longer he will retain  power, but the more personalized and therefore unstable the political system itself may become. There is widespread horse trading before the Politburo meets to glorify the achievement of China and Xi jinping an honest politician knows the  trick to neutralize the horse traders.

THE HERMIT. So what is so special between a dictator and a democratically elected political leader Narendra Modi? Both are honest, but Xi Jinping is more vocal, Every year quite a large number of money launderers in China are facing firing squad. while in India, such type of money launderers are enjoying luxurious life style, whether they are in or out of imprisonment. Money launderers in India do not  face harder punishment.

 The dictator Xi jinping flaunts his friendship with Imran Niazi, the PM of Pakistan who owes his position to a corrupt army of Pakistan. Niazi has openly called Narendra Modi, a dangerous man and Xi jinping wondered whether Narendra Modi would take offense. Xi Jinping is putting countries encircling the biggest democracy that is India into the club of countries, that reveal the US, erode democracy and use natural resources to defy economic gravity. Support for democratic institutions in China is one of the lowest in this world. A glaring example is the violent protest in Hong Kong has plunged into his most serious crisis since coming to power.

In contrast Indian PM I is a democratically elected leader. He belongs to a political party with a history of favoring rich, espousing the cause of free market and opposed to left wing politics. The ruling party in India is accused of being anti minority, but this accusation is open for debate. Hangover of partition is yet to be vaporized from the memory of the people. Political parties whether in power or in opposition are neither secular nor communal but they are opportunists, corrupt and they also believe in defection, if it serves their purpose. It is therefore surprising to see an honest politician like Narendra Modi, heading a political party not known for consistency, but there is no alternative. Several and serious charges of corruptions were spread ed to defame the PM but these charges were never proved.

 The Grand Old Party.The Congress ruled India with some notable achievements, like preparing a poor country to accept  new technology of development, and laying the foundation of modern India. The concept of non-alignment as adopted by the legendary PM Pdt Jawaharlal Nehru played an important role not only in shaping an emerging economy, but also a new political reality. Narendra Modi has inherited strong political institutions, strengthened by Pdt Nehru and late Indira Gandhi. Weaker sections especially the Dalits always remember these two dynamic leaders for giving them right to live with dignity. 

 Narendra Modi is being accused of centralizing power but there is nothing alarming. Caste and creed, play important role in the life of a politician in India. Transfer of power from Congress party to the present political party in power was smooth. In a parliamentary system of government, rigging of election is practiced on large scale and polling booths consisting Dalit voters are captured in India and is known as Booth Capturing. Rigging of election may be replaced soon by Stolen election as theorized by Donald Trump in the USA. So in next parliament election the word Rigged Election might be replaced by Stolen election. Narendra Modi is a man of words and is following the policy of Late PM Indira Gandhi ‘LESS TALK MORE WORKS’

It appears Narendra Mod like Chinese dictator is conducting a purge of his own, which intensified when various investing agencies like CBI,NIA etc conducted raids to nab the corrupt individuals enjoying the patronage of corrupt politicians in power.  Unfortunately, the PM has surrounded himself with a handful of ruthless, callous and  gluttonous cronies, who are happy, so long as they have the blessing  in looting the country.

ECONOMY.  After pandemic, economy has returned to growth, but  emergence of Omicron variant of Coronavirus is creating alarm for Indian economy. There are  few options   to bring the deficit back to a sustainable level, which means, either taxes have to be increased or a serious attempt may be made to rein in the entitlements largely mandated programmes like Aadhar based subsidiaries Ayushman, Dhanjan etc that constitute of bulk of spending. But any serious attempt to take entitlements, now looks doomed. No one dares to touch to defuse in a troubled world

FINAL WORDS. No body is immortal. No politicians can hope to remain in power till their last breath. Once out of power Xi Jinping, the president of China and Narendra Modi, the PM of India, will be remembered in different ways and for different reasons.