• This article gives examples of groups who might be unhappy with present government so would want to see it in the opposition.

To read part one - How will Modi Sarkar's likely return to power affect other nations. 

For the Congress party and the eco-system, popularly known as Lutyens Delhi, it is a do or die election. One can survive being out of power for five years but ten?

Lawyers have managed to stay out of the ambit of service tax and G.S.T. If chartered accountants are service providers how lawyers are not is a mystery. Perhaps because past and present finance ministers P Chidambaram and Arun Jaitley are both lawyers.

If Modi returns and the next FM is not a lawyer, then there is every possibility that lawyers would be brought under G.S.T.

The Left Liberals  and those who believe the ‘Idea of India’ is under threat would surely not want to see Modi return. The emergence of numerous digital platforms and social media have challenged their intellectual dominance. 

Notwithstanding the delays, promoters of companies, esp. those affected by the Insolvency and Banking Code and “Beneficiaries of Phone Banking” are an unhappy lot. 

It was Modi government that notified the 1988 Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act in 2016. Owners of Benami properties are not pleased for sure. 

As of October 2018 this government cancelled FCRA registrations of approximate 20,000 NGOs since it came to power. Simply put these NGOs cannot receive foreign contributions.

Why do NGOs oppose Modi government?

A domain expert says, “MS has punctiliously enforced the FCRA rules. Thousands of organizations that were not submitting their returns regularly were penalized and had their registration revoked. Some prominent NGOs that had openly carried out proselytization were penalized and were unable to receive money from abroad.” 

“The new Darpan portal made the trustees and key players openly available. In many cases, conflicts of interest were identified and the organization lost its registration or was revoked from the prior permission category. However, this has not reduced the fund flows. The remaining registered NGOs have had their fund flows unaffected.”

In 2000 NDA 1 formed a panel headed by Justice V.S. Malimath to suggest an overhaul of the century-old criminal justice system.

Nothing much came out of the report submitted two years later. Was it put in cold storage due to protests then or otherwise is unknown.

At an ‘Off the Cuff’ event recently Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor Government of India, said that the government is considering judicial reforms. Even though details were not spelt out speedy justice surely is one of its objectives.

This might be opposed by those lawyers who have benefitted from the ‘tarik pe tarik’ way of working. 

These are only some examples of groups adversely affected by this government.

One thing is for sure – 2019 is going to be the most hotly contested election in recent times. It shall decide the future of India in more ways than one.   

Author is an Independent Columnist, founder www.esamskriti.com and a Chartered Accountant.

Article was first published in Rediff.com with title ‘The 'foreign hand' in India's election 2019’