NEW DELHI
The resounding triumph of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan has punctured the “external propaganda” against Indian democracy. The strong poll show of the BJP has also come as a major jolt to the elements in India who have been amplifying such “misinformation campaign” of external forces that operate from the soil of various Western countries, Pakistan and China. This is one of the key conclusions that the Indian diplomatic establishment has drawn after analyzing the three state poll results. The diplomats’ job does not end with just analysis of the poll outcome. Led by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, envoys and diplomats posted in various countries across the globe will be using BJP’s thumping victory in assembly polls to reaffirm and buttress Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s narrative that “India is the mother of democracy”, The Sunday Guardian has learnt from sources aware of strategy and planning on this line. “At various global forums, diplomats in open remarks and in backdoor conversations will be putting across the arguments on the basis of these poll results about how the huge electoral performance of the party in power at the Centre (BJP) is a perfect example of responsive, responsible, mature and vibrant democracy in India,” sources further said, adding, “PM Modi will also be referring to these results while seeking the global community to endorse his line about India being the mother of democracy.” According to sources, “it is the wish of PM Modi that the message that came from BJP’s stellar performance in the three state polls on this line should be amplified across the globe so as to silence and counter the unnecessary and justifiable international criticism of Indian democracy being fed by elements at home as well.”
Sources told this newspaper that diplomats in embassies and high commissions of various countries in New Delhi have also made detailed assessment of the assembly election results, and in the light thereof they have also discussed the future political scenarios that may emerge in India ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. “With the different foreign governments taking a detailed view of these poll results, the Indian leadership realized that New Delhi should seize the opportunity to amplify the message that these outcomes have given on India’s robust and strong democracy,” a source said.
Now, the diplomatic establishment is determined to work on a two-fold strategy. One, it will give further momentum to India’s narrative about India being the mother of democracy. Two, it will counter and expose a section of Western media and state and non-state institutions, civil society, who never miss any chance to show Indian democracy in a poor light. At the behest of anti-India forces abroad including the state institutions in countries such as China and Pakistan, these agencies without any evidence keep raising the “human rights issues” in India, sources said. “Where is the Indian democracy failing as alleged by them, when a strong democratic system with free voters and responsive democracy is thriving and getting more robust?”, asks a diplomat. He adds, “BJP’s win in polls is a stamp of approval by the voters on the Modi government’s commitment to welfare as well. This also busts the false claims of external forces being supported by internal elements that India does not respect human rights issues.” “In the light of this, governments and civil society in the West should stay away from false propaganda,” says an official. “Over the last several years, the Western coverage of Indian issues clearly reflected a well-conceived conspiracy from various quarters to defame New Delhi and PM Modi,” he adds. India has so far forcefully countered such a sinister agenda with facts and figures. “Now the campaign will be given a more aggressive dimension. The state election results will definitely be a powerful weapon to give the Indian campaign a lot of aggression with which New Delhi will be able to counter the virulent Western media and civil society campaign,” he says.
Officials in New Delhi say that the assembly poll victory has boosted the image of PM Modi not only at domestic front but also at international level. The officials refer to reports in the international media saying that global media hailed the victory as an expansion of PM Modi’s dominance. “This should be interpreted as Modi’s growing popularity not only in India but also as reaffirmation of his image as a global leader,” an official said, adding, “After all, a leader’s grand image at home does have its bearing on his or her image at the international level.”