Saeed Haider

Saudi Gazette

ALKHOBAR — If Indians residing in the Eastern Province formed the electorate for the ongoing parliamentary elections in India, then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi would have lost the election miserably, with a hung Parliament where the Congress and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would have shared bulk of the seats followed by regional parties in the southern and northern state.



These trends emerged during an interactive dialogue, organized and moderated by Saudi Gazette on Thursday in Al-Khobar. A cross-section of a several cultural and social Indian organizations and associations based in the Eastern Province participated in the debate. Syed Abdallah Rizvi, a prominent Indian social activist and marketing and business development manager at Bitumat and Abraham Valiyakala, managing director Eastern Channel Company & Soul of India, compered and moderated the session.



More than 12 speakers of different political, social and regional affiliations presented their views on the ongoing elections and issues involved in it. The basic concept of the interactive dialogue was to present an Agenda for India to the new Parliament.



Somayya Jabarti, Editor-in-Chief of Saudi Gazette, opened the discussion by thanking members of various organizations and associations in supporting Saudi Gazette’s initiative in empowering the expatriate community in the Kingdom. “We define our role as a bridge between the expatriate community and Saudi citizen,” she said. This is just our first step in our endeavor to be part of our readers. We are committed to take this effort to a higher level, thus, becoming part of your community — a member of your family.



Rizvi started the debate by engaging the audience in the discussion with a simple query. “Why do we vote?” he asked. To which the enthusiastic audience aptly replied: “So that we can elect a government of our own representatives.” Having established the premise as to why we vote, Rizvi put another poser. “What do we expect from this government?”



“Good governance, providing a comfortable standard of living, safety and security to every citizen, an overall growth of the economy and the image and status of the nation in the international arena,” came the spontaneous responses.



This was the basic premise around which the dialogue revolved. However, in the heat of the arguments and in passionate appeals for their respective political parties, at times speakers tended to skip these basic issues. Valiyakala, the moderator, in his usual mild tone interjected and brought the speakers back to the main issues.



Ibrahim Quraishi, a student at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, expressed the dilemma of the Indian youth born and bought up in Saudi Arabia. “I am born here and lived all my life here. I don’t know anything about Indian political parties nor could I comprehend the Indian political system. There is an urgent need to educate youth like us.”



Abraham and Rizvi set the tone of the discussion with their non-partisan but firm understanding of the issues.



Without pre-judging or diluting Saudi Gazette is putting the point of view of each speaker at the debate. To accommodate all the speakers, repetitions have been deleted and in some cases the content has been abridged without diluting the thought.



Shuja Mohammed Sheriff, founding member & president, Dammam Chapter of Indian Engineers Forum

The country is at crossroads. We as a nation are trying to be an economic superpower and to achieve this we must evolve a policy of inclusiveness whereby all should be involved in the growth and development of the country. It is about time that we should rise above casteism and religion and think in terms of a nation. We should discredit all those parties who are trying to flare religious, sectarian and regional passion of the people and deviating from the main issues of economic growth, technological development, infrastructure, education and hunger. India has developed socially and economically. Riots and communalism are non-issues but still we witness riots. Political parties orchestrate these riots are orchestrated to polarize voters on religious grounds. The Election Commission (EC) should have a provision whereby election would be countermanded in all those areas where riots take place.



Mansoor Shah (Hyderabad)



Secularism is enshrined in our constitution and the BJP is determined to destroy the constitution. The main issue in the present election is corruption. It is about time that all secular forces gather together and fight communal forces represented by BJP and corruption. We all are Indians and in our hearts there’s growth and development of the country. We must elect a government that can protect the interests of the minorities and provide a corruption-free government.



Shoaib Quraishi, manager (A), reference and information services King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)



I admire the anti-corruption crusade launched by Kejriwal, but on the national plank I firmly believe that we must ensure that secular and moderate votes are not divided. All the secular and moderate forces should bury their petty differences and unite together to defeat the divisive and fascist forces led by Modi. We must also be careful of the fence sitters like Ram Vilas Paswan and Ram Kirpal Yadav who are not motivated by any political ideology or ethics but purely by their vested interest. The country is passing through a decisive moment and if we do not take a correct stand our future generation will never forgive us. Another important issue is joining of politics by recently retired bureaucrats and services officers like Gen. V.K. Singh, former chief of the army staff, who has joined the BJP. There should be a constitutional moratorium of at least two years after retirement for such people before they could join any political party.



C. Hashim (Kerala), treasurer Saudi KMCC National Committee



We are at a historical juncture. BJP in its manifesto has pledged the establishment of a unified civil code, thus, undermining the status of the minorities and abrogating Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. In reality Modi and his henchmen are all ready to defile and damage the entire constitution. Our former President A.P.J Abdul Kalam pledged to the nation that Indian would become a superpower by the year 2020. It is our duty to ensure that we achieve this target. But the advent of fascist forces represented by Modi will never allow us to become a superpower. Our image in the international community will be tarnished. As far as AAP is concerned, I believe that it is not a political party but a NGO. It does not have any political agenda and no defined policy on internal as well as external issues. It is just playing with the sentiments of people. AAP will cause division of secular and moderate votes.



Mujahid Sherwani, Aligarh



Modi is one of the biggest threats that India has ever faced. He represents all fascist forces in the country and must be stopped at any cost. But more deplorable is Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, who came to power in Uttar Pradesh by luring in the minority community. But see what he has done in Muzaffarnagar. So many people lost their lives and property worth millions was destroyed. He is a black sheep and should never be supported. I believe AAP has proved itself by taking up the Lokpal bill issue and we should give it a chance.



Suresh Bharti, vice president Saudi Tamil Sangam



It is now an era of coalition and alliances come at a good price. Let’s be straight. There is no morality or political ideology involved in the permutation and combination of alliance and coalition politics. In the south it is Dravidians versus Aryans. BJP has bought Dravidians through politicians like Vaiko. On the other hand the youth and the students of Tamil Nadu are against Congress due to its policies on Tamil Eelam (Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka). I believe that Jayalalitha could have been a strong contender for the prime minister’s post but for the left, which broke the alliance, they had arrived at.

 

Humayun Sherwani, Aligarh



Corruption and communalism is the core issue of this election and if there is any party that is clean and should be given a chance then it is AAP. We gave so many chances to the Congress but they have betrayed the minority. We supported the Samajwadi Party but just see what happened in Muzaffarnagar. It is about time that we gave at least one chance to Kejriwal’s party. Their politics is non-conventional and corruption free. They will create a secular and corruption-free India.



Nayyar Siddiqui, Lucknow



The Indian political fabric is being gradually destroyed by criminals entering Indian political parties, thus, criminalizing the political structure of the country. Today our foundation is based on loot, corruption and plunder. AAP is the only party that does not have any candidate with criminal records. AAP has made a political dent in BJP stronghold and I am confident that AAP is the future of the country. It is bound to carry the nation toward a corruption- and criminal-free society.

 

Shariq Shamsi, Aligarh



We the people of India are responsible for the sorry state of the country. There is a hardly any difference between BJP and Congress. Both are the parties of the capitalist. In this scenario, the only party that represents the true aspirations of people is AAP. Through its movement the party has awakened the youth of India and provided them a direction. From total apathy the youth has now turned to political activism. It is time that all secular and moderate people rally behind AAP to ensure that fascists like Modi are kept away from power.



Athar Khan



This election is a game changer. People of the country are aware of the real issues. They cannot be fooled with peripheral issues like caste, religion, language and sects. There is a wind of change and that change will be bought by none other than AAP. The party has motivated the youth to become proactive in this election.



Mohammed Rahat Sultan, Aligarh



There is one unanimous point among the secular, moderate and liberal forces in the country that Modi should be kept out of power at any cost. He will not only destroy the Constitution of India but will also make a dent in our composite culture of which we are so very proud. He is a threat to the unity of the country. We should support secular and democratic forces avoiding division of vote.



Sahaul, Hamid of Kerala, Mohammed Asghar of Hyderabad and Abdul Qader, also of Kerala briefly expressed their opposition to Modi and appealed for national unity in dispelling the threat of fascism.



Syed Abdallah Rizvi in his concluding remark said: At the very outset, let me stress that this Lok Sabha elections in India will go down as the most expensive elections held anywhere in the world! Imagine BJP alone has an election budget of Rupees. 5,000 crores!! And I am not including the huge sums exchanged under the table in forging alliances. Parameters for comparison between the political parties are already set; we have to see that which of the political parties today would satisfy those parameters. Thus, the role and responsibilities of voters have now been established. BJP is the main contender to form the government, amply supported by the media. What does it offer? Good governance is the plank on which it is trumpeting its claims to govern. Let us see the so-called good governance model — The Gujarat Model. It is based on the following: Overwhelming participation by the corporate sector that leads to crony capitalism. This sector is the darling of Modi and he offers outlandish favors at the cost of the economy. TATA motors was given over Rupees 9,000 crores loan at a rate of 0.1% and repayable over 20 years! Today Gujarat is a debt-ridden state owing more than a lakh crores in debt! Current debt figure has doubled after Modi took over.

 

The Congress party has been involved in so many scams that all the good work they did to preserve and insulate our economy against the massive depression of 2008, is lost to the common man. Even though they ensured that our economy was more robust and resilient than the famed US, China, Brazil and the Europeans, poor governance was writ large. Having said that, the fact remains that it earned huge reverence for India and its people in international community.



The regional parties, by virtue of their definition, cannot provide governance at the national level. None of the regional parties inspire confidence. They can only usher in uncertainty and would be sans any cohesion or policies.



Finally, the AAP option. Is it a viable option? Perhaps yes in terms of minimum corruption and high on enthusiasm. But governance? I feel it is still a bit too early for them to plunge into governance. I suggest that they be the first option in the Legislative elections and then gradually mature into national governance.



Let me conclude with what we started with. What do we expect from the government? Friends, let us work to elect a government that is not scared to show us the election manifesto! Let us elect a party that provides answers to our needs. Not individuals who, by virtue of being almost megalomaniac, cannot carry the party manifesto. No individual can convert the lashing headwinds into wonderfully supportive tailwinds! Rizvi proposed a vote of thanks for those who helped in organizing the debate including Bilal, a prominent Indian social activist in the Eastern Province for the past two decades.