The Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are suddenly shrieking about “regime change” from every available media forum. But why should a government, which has always celebrated its political dominance and strong control of state institutions, suddenly feel the need to talk about street protests and the Opposition’s mobilisation of mass support as a threat to its survival?
The way government and party spokespersons are being marshalled to level charges of a conspiracy to bring about “regime change” suggests that there may be some fire behind so much smoke.
Why has public support for the protests against alleged manipulation of voter rolls to ‘fix’ elections created panic in the government? Instead of answering questions about electoral rolls, voter deletions, and administrative lapses and misdemeanours, as it is expected to do, the Modi government is asking people to judge the protestors by the intentions it has ascribed to them—of "regime change" through street protests.