Former judges defend Modi govt in an open letter, bash critical colleagues

A group of former judges and bureaucrats has issued a rejoinder to another exbureaucrats group which expressed concerned about politics of hate in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing it of trying to sway public opinion and indulging in virtue signalingCalling itself Concerned Citizens the group said it does not believe the open letter to Modi by the Constitutional Conduct Group CCG the name of the association of former bureaucrats had sincere motivationsThey said the letter was the groups way to let out its frustration against the public opinion which remains solidly behind Modi and cited BJPs recent election winsEight former judges 97 former bureaucrats and 92 former armed forces officers signed the open letter written to Modi to counter the letter criticizing him and other BJP governments by the CCG which was signed by 108 former bureaucratsTheir anger and anguish is not only empty virtuesignaling they are actually fuelling the politics of hate they seek to combat by attempting to engineer hate against the present government with their patent prejudices and false portrayals said Concerned CitizensThat these open letters repeat the same language have the same tenor and use biased terms with clear ideological moorings speaks for itselfThe group tried to draw attention towards a striking similarity between the phraseology of the CCG missives and utterances in the western media or by western agencies questioning the groups intentIt also called out its alleged silence on postpoll violence in West BengalIt lays bare their cynical and unprincipled approach to issues the Modidefending group saidThe same attitude shapes their reactions or rather the lack of any reaction to the multiple violent incidents in various states ruled by different political parties and targeted violation of human rights adversely affecting the livelihoods of the poor irrespective of their religion it saidThe exjudges and bureaucrats alleged that the studied omissions of the CCG had exposed itThey also claimed that the instances of major communal violence have palpably decreased under the BJP government which has been appreciated by the publicThis has instigated groups like the CCG to highlight beyond proportion sporadic instances of communal violence that no society can entirely eradicate it saidThe 108 former civil servants had written to Modi urging him to call for an end to what they termed a politics of hate allegedly practised assiduously by the governments under BJPs controlIn an open letter they had said we are witnessing a frenzy of hate filled destruction in the country where at the sacrificial altar are not just Muslims and members of the other minority communities but the Constitution itselfIn the counterletter the Concerned Citizens group advised the former civil servants against orchestrating a false narrative of colourable use of state powerIt alleged that the other groups real intention is to foster a counternarrative against the premeditated attacks on peaceful processions during Hindu festivals be it in Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Gujarat or New DelhiIt accused the group of having double standards creating an issue out of nonissues and having a distorted thinkingThe group alleged that the CCGs attempt to resort to bloated vocabulary to grab international attention motivated tirades against the democratically elected governments was a malaise of our societyIt also alleged that the recent controversies relating to hijab and halal certification among others was the work of vested interests that wanted to keep alive the narrative of Muslim persecution and Hindu majoritarianism and Hindu nationalism under the BJPSuch a narrative gets recognition and encouragement from international lobbies that want to halt Indias progress it claimedThe socalled intellectuals the same set of retired civil servants and their backend international lobbies seek to capitalize on this narrative to create political and social fissures in India and weaken the country from within on the pretext that they are serving some higher constitutional cause when they are serving their own egos it saidThe group advised the CCG to free itself from its personal biases and propose viable solutions and asked it to not spread fear and falsehoods seeking to fan the flames of religionbased separatism and even balkanizationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever