Why Modi 3.0 Tone of ‘Sarv Mat’ is a Mere Mask

While in 2014 and 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) got a clear majority on its own in the Lok Sabha to form the government at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, in 2024, it won 240 seats, 34 short of majority mark of 272 out of a total of 543 seats. 

But, the NDA with 292 seats, enabled Modi, as its chosen leader, to take oath as Prime Minister for a third term with critical support from16 MPs of Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and 12 from Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) or JD-U. Modi, who trumpeted his first two terms as ‘Modi Sarkar’ and flaunted ‘Modi's Guarantee’ while campaigning during the recently concluded elections, is now ostensibly sounding conciliatory, and has been only flagging NDA government, ‘Sarv Mat’ (consensus) and ‘Sarv Dharma Sambhav’ (coexistence of all faiths) for running the affairs of the country.

Modi's Conciliatory Tone is Deceptive

Modi’s conciliatory tone is deceptive because he is well aware that he is dependent on TDP and JD-U for forming the government. Hence, his ‘Sarv Mat’ and ‘Sarv Dharma Sambhav’, is born more out of expediency than conviction. It is well documented that in his election, Modi had spread venom against Muslims (he called them infiltrators) of our country and tried to stoke religious passions for winning elections. So, his waxing eloquent about Sarv Dharma Sambhav indicates that to remain in power, pelf and position, he is capable of adopting any strategy.

Recall that a few days before the election results were declared, Modi had said that the Congress party would reduce the majority followers of Hindu faith in the country to minority status, alleging that its policies favoured Muslims. How can such a person be trusted for suddenly talking about “coexistence of all faiths and equal respect” for them?

Modi’s failure to win a majority for his party in the Lok Sabha, therefore, seems only a barricade on the road that he has already taken to ruthlessly push BJP’s majoritarian agenda in complete disregard of the Constitution, which his own party leaders, said would be altered if the Modi government is ushered in for a third term by winning 400 plus seats.

Modi Negated Sarva Dharma Sambhav

Sarv Dharma Sambhav was part of Mahatma Gandhi's 11 vows -- (1) Satya-Truth, (2) Ahimsa-Non-violence, (3) Brahmacharya-Celibacy, (4) Asteya-Non-stealing, (5) Aparigraha -Non-possession, (6) Sharira-Shrama - Physical Labour or Bread Labour,(7) Asvada-Control of Palate, (8) Abhaya-Fearlessness, (9) Sarva-Dharma-Sambhav- Equal Respect for all Religions, (10) Swadeshi-Duty Towards Neighbour and Economic Self-reliance and (11) Asprishyatanivarana - Removal of Untouchability). Based on those vows, he gave a moral purpose and dimension to the freedom struggle.

Tragically, Modi was a RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) Pracharak (propagandist,) and when he occupied the office of the Prime Minister for two terms, he hardly mentioned Sarva-Dharma-Sambhav. As Chief Minister of Gujarat, he made statements against Muslims and when the then Chief Election Commissioner James Michael Lyngdoh postponed elections to the Assembly, he made offensive comments against him by flagging his Christian identity.

It is well documented that when countrywide protests took place against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019 and a large number of Muslims participated in it, Modi made a dog whistle remark against them by saying that the protesters could be “identified by their clothes”. He also used the shamshaan (cremation ground) and qabristan (burial ground) binaries to suggest that the then Akhilesh Yadav regime in Uttar Pradesh favoured Muslims so that they could have facilities for creating burial grounds and hardly did anything for Hindus to extend provisions for cremation. Was that in tune with the ideals of Sarva Dharma Sambhav?

Consensus Neutralised

Several measures that Modi took during his two terms as Prime Minister went against the ideals of consensus that he is now talking about. The imposition of demonetisation without consulting anybody caused havoc to our economy. The framing of farm legislations without following the deliberative process of law-making brought farmers to the streets, leading to a year-long agitation. The decision, by dispensing with consultative process, to lock down the whole country suddenly to prevent COVID spread was unilateral. Coercive methods and stringent laws were aimed at targeting only Opposition parties by deploying the Enforcement Directorate and other Central agencies. These are only some examples of the subversion of Sarv Mat (consensus), which Modi is now articulating because BJP failed to win a majority.

Hence, the barricade that the people have erected in Modi’s way to halt his muscular and majoritarian approach serves as a reminder that the electorate is watching his actions and pronouncements, as he begins his third term.  

The writer served as Officer on Special Duty to President of India K R Narayanan. The views are personal