Agitation against CAA a blatant exploitation of political opportunism: Swaminathan Gurumurthy
Chairman of the Delhi based public policy think tank, Vivekanand International Foundation, Swaminathan Gurumurthy has called the nationwide agitation against the newly amended citizenship law as 'blatant exploitation of opportunism in Indian politics.' He also warned that if not stopped, these disturbances have the potential to destroy the country.
"Opportunism in politics I can understand from the point of power is important, but the most pertinent from the point of power, and currently disgusting form of opportunism in (Indian) politics is in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)", Gurumurthy said.
Participating in an event on 'Opportunism in Indian Politics', Gurumurthy claimed that Indian politics has been in a constant state of flux since 1989 because of its diversity and increasingly growing regional character.
“The quality of politics in India has become highly opportunistic, devoid of ideologies and focused on the promotion of narrow interests and identities. Regional parties have emerged as kingmakers in the process of facilitating government formation both at the Centre and in states. This has had an inevitable impact on the quality of governance", Gurumurthy added.
Speaking of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the political analyst said that the law needs to be understood in an objective and unbiased manner.
“In simple terms, the Citizenship Amendment Act says that from the three countries with which we (India) have had a historical problem, the minorities from those countries will be given citizenship. This is not the stand of this (Modi-led) government. This was the stand of Mahatma Gandhi in 1947 July 7," he added.
Gandhi even said that “all Hindus and Sikhs who are persecuted there (in Pakistan) are free to come to India and we will take care of them”.
“This is precisely what the CAA says and these are the very people opposing it today. Is there greater opportunism than this? And this opportunism is not for power, it is for disturbing India. If it is not stopped, it can destroy India. You cannot allow the majority community people from Pakistan or Bangladesh into India unless you want to destroy India", Gurumurthy said.
“The problem is with the national parties (read Congress and the BJP). How many regional parties are supporting it, very few. Like those who have stakes like Bengal. We must understand that regional parties are not necessarily the disturbing factor; a greater disturbing factor can be the national parties themselves", he added.
Ever since the government passed the new law in both the houses, widespread protests have been witnessed in the country. From the heart of the national capital to faraway lands of the Northeast, youth of the country has come out on the streets to strongly oppose the new law. In states like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi there have been incidents of violence and the police have taken action. These actions have also been under the microscope with several social activists questioning the police action.
