The Congress-UPA are responsible for their debacle in LS election ( Ret.IAS)

The National Advisory Council of UPA under chairmanship of Sonia Gandhi had prepared a draft for ‘Prevention of Communal and Targetted (SC &ST) Violence Bill’. The draft was prepared by Teesta Setalvad and Harsh Mandar two fiercely secular persons besides other think tank. A year before election spreading hatred against Muslim and Christian communities was started. UPA was neck deep in corruption. It felt threatened from Hindutva forces. It had a perception that if the Bill is enacted majority of Hindus will become angry treating the proposed Act to be another example of Appeasement. I tried hard to convince 10, Janpath to do the enactment without fearing its repercussion. It would be great service to the nation even if UPA loses the election. But UPA had already taken soft Hindutava policy as the Congress used to resort to before elections in the past also. Ultimately this Bill was introduced in LS in last hour of the last day of the LS in 2014. It got natural death in one hour. My understanding is that not enacting the anti hate Bill was the greatest blunder of UPA. It was like suicide and harakiri. Had this Bill was passed by Parliament and Act made India would not have witnessed open hatred and violence against Muslim and Christian communities which is continuing since 2014 till now which will become more aggressive in years and decades to come. BJP found hatred and violence most useful for polarizing the voters and Hindu population of India. Hatred is ladder to political power. Congress behaved as a coward and lacked conviction for secularism. UPA was under attack on two counts, corruption and appeasement. They could not do any thing for charges of corruption. They chose to follow soft Hindutava instead, this boomranged on them. Had they follwed secular policy and stopped open hatred there would not have been so strong polarisation. Muslim community was and is still so scared of mob lynching and hatred that they became slaves and bonded labourers of corrupt supremos to carry their sin on their shoulders as if protection of secularism their duty only. Muslim community committed blunder by not promoting its own leadership. Now they have become irrelevant and new untouchable in electoral politics of the country. During just held LS election 2019 many candidates of Mahagathbandhan took precaution of not campaigning in Muslim areas out of fear of reaction of Hindu community. Muslim community failed in raising its relevance in politics as never before since Independence. Muslim community is totally divided on the lines of backward forward castes besides maslak and even one upmanship of the some thekedars. The short sighted vision of Congress-UPA has done great disservice to united India. It also reduced them to jokers. As you sow so you reap. (Dr. M A Ibrahimi IAS)