Former Union Minister and eminent lawyer Kapil Sibal has said, “India as a nation is a coalition and only coalitions can deliver balanced growth.” Sibal was speaking during the launch of his book ‘Shades of Truth — A Journey Derailed’ in Teen Murti Bhawan in the national Capital on Friday. The book is a major political non-fiction offering in 2018.
“Narrative is being painted that coalition Governments are bad for the country but in fact the ‘dream budget’ was under a coalition Government”, Sibal said. “Since 2014, nature of polity has transformed. First time since Independence, the distinction between party and Government has vanished. It is a party that is running the Government and has infiltrated into Governmental processes,” he further said.
‘Shades of Truth’ talks about many actions of the Narendra Modi Government since it came to power in 2014. It delved in detail about the Modi Government revels in the past without seeking to tackle the problems of the present” and the challenges ahead. Sibal is unsparing in his examination of much trumpeted “Acche Din” as promised by Modi during his 2014 poll campaign. Sibal writes how Indian National Congress, “steered India through its Green Revolution, Industrial Revolution, and IT Revolution, and leadership that helped India rise as an economic superpower in the new world order.”
Political leaders spoke about the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government, its mistakes and what will happen in 2019, the mother of all elections. Sharad Yadav, who had served as a Minister in the then NDA Government headed by Atal BIhari Vajpayee, said, “This Government (NDA) will not come to power in 2019. The launch event was attended by former Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, fomer Rajya Sabha member and Editor-in-Chief of The Pioneer Dr Chandan Mitra, senior Congress leaders, including former Union Ministers P Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid and others.
Targeting the incumbent Central regime under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sibal said the every institution in the country has been occupied by the people of the BJP.
“Since 2014 for the first time in the history of this country the distinction between the party and the Government has vanished. Every institution have been filled with the people of the party . The party has infiltrated into the Government,” said Sibal. Indicating that the Government after 2019 elections would be a coalition Government, Sibal said, “India as a nation is a coalition. It is coalition through compromises that can take this country forward.”
Manmohan Singh lambasted the current Government and praised Sibal for “giving comprehensive analysis of function of the Modi Government” in last 4 years. He said the Modi Government has failed on every count and has literally failed on its election promises. He raked up the issue of “agrarian crises”, “unemployment” among youths, issue of bringing back “black money” victimisation of “women, dalit and minorities” and “curbing of academic freedom” in institutions.
Dr Mitra, who recently joined TMC, said in 2019 polls even if the Congress backs the alliance of other regional parties in forming the Government their leader would come from the regional party and not the Congress. “There are atleast 4-5 such leaders who are from regional parties. Even if the Congress backs the alliance , the leader has to be from the regional party because they are established and have credibility in their territorial domain,” said Dr Mitra.
He said the Congress has flirted with “Hinduism” up to some degree but this stand of Congress party is because it has to take a balance position as nothing on extreme work in this country. Analysing the cause of Congress defeat almost every leader attributed it to the failure of Congress to manage the social media while the BJP was more effective in spreading canards.
