India was lucky enough to have selfless and great leaders before and during the critical years after its start as a young republic. It had all-time greats like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, along with others who made the world aware of India. These people tried their very best to make India known for what it is and succeeded in their hard efforts.

After the Nehru era came leaders with their selfish ends and private motives who could not follow the paths shown to them and put to test the nation’s functioning as a true secular democratic republic. They went their way with bottomless corruption and ingratitude to the people who elected them to responsible governmental positions of power. The so-called leaders strayed into the treacherous territory of vicious verbosity, thus banishing all logical debates and dialogue. As a result, the country plunged into absolute corruption and moral values too, are perishing.

The nation, which was known for its age-old tolerance could not even tolerate the eating habits of its people. Beef was banned by the government, which led to quite a few scuffles in the streets. No other government has told its people what to eat and what not! It was the time of meaningless fights and verbal wars bordering on silly arguments between the Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, public interest is suffering and governance have come to a standstill — a policy paralysis has come into effect. Even a senior minister told the media that beef eating was not possible on the land of cow-worshippers and told such people to go and live elsewhere! In short, the victim of the burgeoning bitterness between the two major parties is going to be the common masses, who simply just want good governance.

Instead of extending an olive branch to the Opposition, the BJP government is posing as a pure enemy of the opposite and the Opposition appears to be worsening in its posturing. Negative elements are at work, which makes the entire nation suffer. It is time that they consider the national interest as paramount.

— The reader is an Indian writer based in Kochi, India