Citizen Mukherjee

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Citizen Mukherjee

Saturday, 25 January 2020 | Pioneer

Citizen Mukherjee

The former President renews hope for democracy by encouraging civil society protesters

Citizen Pranab Mukherjee has as usual listened to the voice of his conscience and restored faith in our democratic renewal as a nation. So on a day that India slipped 10 ranks in the 2019 Democracy Index to the 51st position, its lowest since 2006, the former President came out strongly in favour of peaceful protests across the country,  emphasising that they would keep the institution alive and well. Stressing that the present wave of civil society campaigns would deepen the nation’s democratic roots, Mukherjee took a veiled dig at the Government and said that Indian democracy had been tested time and again but had come through regardless. Coming from Mukherjee, who has been feted as a Bharat Ratna by the Modi regime and who was even invited by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to address its session, it shows his public morality would not be beholden to political trade-offs. Of course, even as President, he didn’t mince words, decrying cow vigilantism, lynchings and curbs on free speech. The significance of his nomenclature as “Citizen Mukherjee” was not lost on anyone, particularly at a time when the BJP Governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh (UP) had been facing flak for their autocratic ways in executing power. Though he did not make an all-out statement in favour of the anti-CAA protests, his comments were seen as an indirect validation of the protesters — especially the students who have borne the brunt of the establishment’s wrath — and a much-needed salve on the bruised spirit of the nation.

Meanwhile, the protests against the Act, that is largely seen as divisive, discriminatory and unconstitutional, continue unabated and have acquired a momentum of their own, forcing politicians to follow them for a change. The social spectrum widens every day. Right from Bollywood actors like Deepika Padukone and former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung to students’ organisations, lawyers, doctors, academicians, housewives, the Mayor of Maharashtra’s Malegaon Municipal Corporation, Dalits and the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, a representative cross-section has joined the cause. By lending weight to a people’s movement, Mukherjee has encouraged us into demanding answers. All things considered, these protests now show that the arrogance of the Government of the day has boomeranged on itself and powers that be don’t quite know how to handle such spontaneous combustion.

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