The rise of the Modi government in 2014 led to a regime change in India as it was not just one party winning the election and another losing it. It was a paradigm shift in the ideological framework of Indian politics. For the first time, the ‘left eco-system’ in India was left with no parents, they had no state sponsorship or patronage, nor did they have any power broker left who would help them in gaining different kinds of favors from the establishment. It would be wrong to believe that the left ecosystem wasn’t the de facto ecosystem of Lutyens Delhi only because the left had not been in power for a very long time. Actually the Congress and left had enjoyed a very harmonious and quid pro quo type relationship between them. It was a mutually beneficial alliance under which the Congress patronized the left in all the state institutions be it cultural, social, or academic while the left ensured that the legitimacy of the Congress party, despite its numerous crimes and corruptions, go unchallenged and always remain “acceptable”. Students were brainwashed to believe that everything good in India was because of the Congress and the first family of the Congress and that BJP/RSS were the villains of the Indian story! When Modi won in 2014, fortunately, it made sure that Institutions that had always been raised up in the Congress ideology now shun this propaganda and get back to the nationalist ideology.

Because of this abrupt change, the left started to create ruckus on the University campuses. The Institutions like Parliament and Supreme Court were attempted to be used against the Modi government. However, after they failed to obtain perfect results from it, what they started to do was to manipulate the people on the ground by organizing fake protests. The left ecosystem thrives on the fears of the ordinary people and what they do is to create a mountain out of mole and then project it as if it is the doomsday.

What we are witnessing on the borders of Delhi is nothing but a concerted effort by the left ecosystem as well as the opposition parties to delegitimize the Modi government which has recently brought three revolutionary laws in the Parliament that will change the face of Indian agriculture and bring prosperity and development to the farming community of India. The changes that these laws will bring in the lives of ordinary farmers of India will have a long-term effect as they would now have more opportunities to sell their produce, go for contract farming, which would be extremely beneficial for them and would also create an environment where no middle man would be able to exploit them. The middleman-opposition party nexus is afraid that such laws would put them out of business as they would now not be able to use the farmers for their personal gains, nor be able to obtain their cuts from the hard-earned money of the farmers. Therefore, in the name of “protest by the farmers”, they are trying to take Delhi hostage. One remembers very well what happened last year when the Modi government brought citizenship amendment laws. Despite repeated assurance by the Government of India, including Prime Minister Modi himself, the left tried to create such an environment as if the entire country is against these laws and that these laws would throw Muslims out of the country and render them without any citizenship. The left tried to turn the Shaheen Bagh into a place of ‘so-called resistance’. However this was not a place of resistance, but a place of sedition, a place of anti-Hindu bigotry where provocative and seditious slogans were raised. And now they are again trying to create such a ruckus. However, the people of India know their designs very well and therefore despite more than 50% of the population practicing farming in direct or indirect form, only a minuscule minority of so-called farmers are protesting, and just like Shaheen Bagh, here too some provocative and seditious slogans are being raised like “Khalistan Zindabad.”

In a democracy, there is always scope for deliberation, debates, and discussions but there are proper channels and methods for it. Taking the city hostage and that too the National Capital, reflects poorly of the intentions as well as the mechanism used by the protesters. Let us not forget that in a parliamentary democracy, Parliament is the highest law-making body that reflects the sentiment of the nation. It signifies the idea and essence of India and therefore when the Parliament has already passed these laws and the majority of the farmers are in support of it, organizing a protest and choking the hearts of Delhi doesn’t look like a real protest. What it looks like is an attempt by the opposition parties to keep their cadre base intact as they have lost all support of the people as well as their own cadre. The innocent farmers are being misled by them. The Modi government which is a firm believer in constitutional democracy and rule of law has invited the protesters to have a discussion with the government to find the middle ground. But any negotiation is successful only when both the parties agree to lower down the rhetoric and have some kind of compromise. But what is happening here is that the government is ready for a compromise but the protestors want 3 laws to be abandoned in toto which is not only impossible but is also against the spirit of parliamentary democracy where Parliament is the supreme law-making body and any bill which is duly passed in the Parliament becomes law after getting assent from the President of India. It would be beneficial for everyone including the protestors that they realize that they are being used as a tool by the opposition parties. The protesters as well as the government need to adopt a flexible attitude so that a long solution can be brought about. Therefore it is high time that the farmer and the government and all the stakeholders find a solution setting aside any ego or agenda and adopt a flexible approach.