The year 2019 has been of Shah but he will do well to note that the nation saw a political voice emerge: Those of Indias young, who have spoken against the Governments high-handedness

As the year comes to a close, in this weeks article, lets take a look back to see how we have come by. The year 2019 marked the commencement of polling in the worlds largest democracy. The rhetoric espoused by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led to it winning the elections with a comfortable majority of its own. After the swearing-in of the Narendra Modi-led BJP Government, the nation saw the appointment of Amit Shah as the Union Home Minister. This is when things got interesting. Ever since, the year has been most obviously punctuated by events with the Home Minister at its forefront.

In the years between 2014 and 2019, Shah was primarily viewed as the orchestrator of the BJPs victories in a few States, some through strategy and others through blatant subversion of democracy. Each such victory whether through subversion or strategy was lauded by certain media organsiations. Some news anchors came up with the kind of servile praise that would make even the Korean Central News Agency look on in admiration.

After giving another five years to the Modi-led BJP Government, we saw Shah rise to a much more prominent position, in administration and in the Government. This is surely distinct from the much more clandestine and behind-the-scenes role that Home Ministers have been given while working for the party. As the BJP president, rumours and discussions were already doing the rounds about just how much power and influence Shah held even then. But now, there is hardly any debate. He is possibly the most powerful man in the Government and its agenda is being driven by the Home Minister. The change in dynamics was visible even before the new Government was sworn in, most visibly during the Press conference held by the Prime Minister. If one were to watch the briefing even now, it will be evident that the address was led by Shah. It was incredible to see a Prime Minister, the head of the Government, look at the soon-to-be Home Minister before answering questions put before him. This set the tone for 2019.

Then came one of the first significant decisions of this Government, the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories. Whatever ones views on the change in status of Kashmir may be, there can be little debate that this change in status came with little or no discussion or debate with the real stakeholders in Kashmir, namely the people of the former State. Instead, what we saw was that in the blink of an eye, a tectonic change in Indias political and Constitutional landscapes was thrust down our throats even before we were given a chance to debate the niceties. It is good governance and frankly, a basic principle of our federal democracy that the Central Government, while exercising a decision that affects each citizen of the State, takes the concerns of its people into account. However, there was no debate or discussion on Article 370 as to what could have been the best way to take such a move forward.

Instead, what we have seen and what we continue to see is an entire State still under lockdown. This is a State, where internet services have been shut down for almost half a year now and where the local leadership has been silenced through not only the internet embargo but also through house arrests. From the reports that have emerged in the international media and from what we have seen in other States, where internet services have been shut (such as Assam and Uttar Pradesh), major repercussions and reaction of the people of Kashmir to such a move can really be gauged after the internet blockade is lifted. All we can hope is that the damage and oppression caused by such a move does not result in us losing Kashmir altogether. I believe that the entire episode could have been handled by involving all stakeholders, especially the people, who are the most affected.

The same brazen approach was followed by the Government during the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, now the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). I have already written in detail about how the CAA goes against the spirit of the Constitution and the very idea of India that the framers of our Constitution and the builders of modern India had envisaged. I will not go into these details again but the person leading the CAA and the one who forced it down our collective throats was the Home Minister. The standard procedure for the passage of any Bill calls for it to be presented before the Standing Committee. However, in the case of CAA, the Government did not deem it fit to take the views of the Opposition or of the public.

The CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are two sides of the same coin. It was interesting to see the juxtaposition between the Prime Ministers understanding of the NRC and that of the Home Minister. In light of the protests against the divisive CAA, the Prime Minister spoke to the nation to presumably pacify those, who have been protesting against the Act. However, he left the citizens largely confused.

The Prime Minister said that the Government does not intend to implement a pan-India NRC. However, Shah explicitly stated on more than one occasion (including in Parliament) that the NRC will take place all across the country. So whos right? Whom do we trust? Is it the Prime Minister or the Home Minister?

Recently, the Cabinet gave a go ahead to the National Population Register (NPR). There is widespread fear that the data collected as part of the NPR will be the basis of the NRC. This squarely provides the answer. While the Home Minister and the Prime Minister may deny any link between the NRC and the NPR, they have given us little reason for their decisions. It is this trust that the Prime Minister and the Home Minister will need to earn back.

So, it appears that from the date of the infamous Press conference the only one by the Prime Minister till today, the BJP and the ruling Government are increasingly being cast in the image of the Home Minister.

A word of warning though should be in order. The year 2019 has till now been the year of Shah but he would do well to note that the end of the year has seen a political voice emerge: Those of Indias young and old Constitutionalists, who have grown tired of the oppressive, divisive and high-handed acts of the Government and have decided to voice their concern in a largely peaceful and democratic manner. The BJP would do well to note that while 2019 may have been largely about Shah, 2020 could well belong to our youth.

(The writer is a former IPS officer, a former MP and currently a member of the AAP)

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Who rules the roost? - Daily Pioneer