The multiple crises which India faces would go down in history as one of the darkest times of the country. Not only are the crises very acute, they are made worse by the incompetence of the BJP government. In some instances, the BJP is the cause of the crisis. There is nary a problem which the BJP has sincerely attempted to overcome. It either denies the existence of the problem or it projects it onto the opposition parties. When neither is possible, it distracts and digresses from the problem with headline management to cater to the middle classes.
And while it does so it constantly increases the prices of fuel and gas constantly without passing on the benefits of the low crude oil prices in the international market. It is common middle-class wisdom that when the prices of fuel increases, the input costs increase and thereby the prices of all commodities also increase. To make matters worse, a sluggish economy has resulted in stagnant salaries, discouraging spending and hence creating a cycle vicious cycle.
Having been misled by the uninformed mass media into believing that any minimum income guarantee scheme leads to ‘laziness’ in the working classes, the middle class often unwittingly becomes a hindrance to its own progress and development. It often forgets that when the masses have increased purchasing power, demand is generated and hence the economy revives. With increased economic activity come jobs and better salaries.
Sadly, many people are not able to visualize how the economy’s sustainability is dependent on it being inclusive and ensuring policies that discourage income disparities. This lack of understanding is the result of the mass media being pliant and deeply biased towards the BJP. Perhaps that explain why the biggest support for demonetization came from the middle classes who largely believed that demonetization would curb black money without having an impact on the economy, despite economists warning of the grave consequences.
As the reality of a destroyed economy dawned upon the middle classes, with the realization that the problem of black money continues unabated, they have largely become silent. Likewise, there was enthusiastic support for the BJP and Narendra Modi when they made them falsely believe that the Covid-19 pandemic can be overcome in 21 days. They clanged vessels and lit diyas in support of the government only to realize a whole quarter later that India is one of the worst affected countries, with a stagnant economy, being led by a clueless government.
They perhaps refrain from questioning the BJP government due to the cognitive bias that they are gripped by. But with every passing week pushing the middle classes into deeper crisis the BJP government is answerable to the people. The financial packages announced are not only inadequate, but have practically nothing for the middle classes. It is increasingly becoming clear to this segment of India’s society that the BJP merely pays them lip-service and is insincere towards them. Just as India’s poor were left to fend for themselves on the highways, India’s middle classes too have been abandoned by the BJP in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, if one were to objectively analyze the behaviour of the BJP, they were never concerned about any segment of the society except the large corporates who mostly fund the party. The middle classes failed to see this when the BJP introduced secret electoral bonds. They failed to connect the dots to see the correlation between how India incurred massive NPAs under the BJP and the corporate loan waivers—corporates enjoying loan waivers are seldom portrayed as ‘lazy’ by the middle classes. The BJP adroitly pits one section of society against the other to create a smokescreen in order to cover up their incompetence and their nefarious administrative schemes.