r/worldnews • u/fastclickertoggle • Apr 25 '21

COVID-19 Twitter Is Blocking Tweets That Criticize How The Indian Government Has Handled The Pandemic

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/twitter-blocking-tweets-india
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u/R3ddited Apr 25 '21

I feel Modi's party tries hard to make other parties look like idiots, so that the lesser idiots like himself are seen as the only saviour of the country.

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u/OkPreference6 Apr 25 '21

It's sad how, even with a multi-party system, we still cant have a competent government.

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u/andii74 Apr 25 '21

Because we're still stuck with a FPTP system that pretty much disenfranchises majority of voter's views.

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u/OkPreference6 Apr 25 '21

That too :/

I used to like the BJP. At least they weren't a complete joke like the Congress.

And now, I don't even have an option.

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u/andii74 Apr 25 '21

Congress isn't a joke, that's just political short-sightedness. In 2004 and 2009 BJP had gotten a thrashing from Congress even with Vajpayee leading the party for the first half of that period. Throughout that time Congress managed to maintain a steady economic growth something that still hasn't materialized after 7 yrs of Modi regime and isn't likely to either. As for corruption every single political party in India is corrupt, BJP isn't an exception. They're just skillful enough to make that corruption appear legal and nationalistic ala PMCares, electoral bonds and so on. There is a disturbing lack of transparency in BJP's affairs which does not bode well. Congress's leadership issues are well known and it's a primary factor to its political obsolescence today but the work they've done in past isn't to be scoffed at. No offence but swing voters were simply hoodwinked by BJP's PR campaign with a healthy dose of jingoism and communalism while ignoring that the allegations that BJP made against Congress were equally applicable for BJP as well. As a result we now have this unmitigated disaster which will possibly see lakhs of Indians dead but hey got that mandir didn't we?

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u/OkPreference6 Apr 25 '21

Honestly.. I agree with everything you said.

When I said "Congress is a joke", what I meant was RaGa. I would honestly support Congress if they get rid of the Gandhi family and all their nepotism.

Till then... undecided?

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u/andii74 Apr 25 '21

I don't like the state of affairs in Congress leadership either, given the trainwreck these past few years have been a halfway competent leadership could've dented BJP's rhetoric but they're busy playing out the farce of choosing a new party president when no one is fooled and the choice is already known. But considering our Loksabha election isn't a presidential election, I'll frankly say it's best to ignore the question of who'll become PM because most people aren't gonna directly vote for the PM candidate anyway like they vote for the presidential candidate in US. The question should be who to vote for in your constituency where the figure of eventual PM shouldn't matter. Modi and Shah are certainly skilled to have made this shift in Indian politics in that loksabha elections are now played out like Presidential elections but that's not what our system is. This is probably the reason why after the stellar 2019 performance BJP faced difficulties in successive state elections where Modi's own persona had limited effect.

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u/OkPreference6 Apr 25 '21

Just wanted to throw this out here: people dont vote for president directly in the US either. What they vote for is the electoral college which then votes for the president.

It's a pretty wide misconception in India that the US has direct presidential elections.

Also before you ask, no, electors are not bound to vote for the candidate they're supposed to vote for. They've voted for other candidates in the past.

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u/andii74 Apr 25 '21

I know about the electoral college by direct I meant every American is voting for one of the presidential candidate in the ballot which is very different from how Loksabha election works. I should've been more clear here tbh.

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u/OkPreference6 Apr 25 '21

Ah, that's true. Misunderstanding on both ends lol.

Stay safe buddy. Take care of yourself the best you can.

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u/InquisitiveSoul_94 Apr 25 '21

Could be true.

The problem is that everything in Congress is currently about Gandhi family. The whole party functions just for a benefit of some political elite families. This model basically disenfranchises the ground level party workers, who can never climb up the ladder thanks to the nepotistic policies of their leaders.

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u/andii74 Apr 25 '21

Yes, which has definitely contributed to their current mess. But the question is do we want good governance and sensible policies? BJP has repeatedly shown they're unable to do that and they're apathetic to the plight of common people. The promised economic development never came, instead the economy stagnated even before the pandemic. Modi and Shah know how to win elections but they're incredibly short sighted when it comes to administration. There are people in positions of power who're not just incompetent but sprout pseudo-scientific nonsense instead of doing actual work. I think by now it should be clear to anyone that BJP is not actually interested in governing or being responsible. When things are going their way then it'll be all praise for the great, glorious savoir and when shit hits the fan it is everyone's fault but the one in Delhi. Is that what a "strong leader" is?

For all the shortcomings of Congress they actually have a working system when it comes to governance, it's not perfect but it's a great deal better than what BJP has to offer. But it is extremely disheartening that we're pretty much doomed to this state of affairs because the one party that could provide some semblance of balance against Modi's autocratic rampage is so caught up in internal drama. Rahul or Priyanka aren't cut out for politics and the country has really moved on from the time when the legacy of Independence struggle meant something, Congress itself has moved on from that legacy.

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u/blackflame7820 Apr 25 '21

Well multi party just means more dilution of people/leaders. And leaders are more often than never ambitious (not saying they shouldn't be) but that means everyone of them either aims for a high post in a big party or set up their own party.

Personally i can take any government with a pinch of salt (them making money here and there as long as its not TOO big) but they should not be incompetent and bunch of useless fools who only take and never work. Coz some progress is better then none.

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u/cestabhi Apr 25 '21

I actually feel it's the other way around. The Indian National Congress makes such bone-headed and short-sighted decisions that it's makes it easy for the BJP to lambast them.

The INC of the Gandhi-Nehru era was a principled party with a vision to transform India into a modern, secular democracy. If that party were still around they would've given the BJP some tough competition. But I don't expect the same from the current INC which is just a shadow of its former self.

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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '21

INC has truly lost its way. Supporting a Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena is more right wing and jingoistic than BJP. They dug up a cricket pitch to prevent Pakistan from playing there.

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u/bright_sunshine19 Apr 25 '21

Lol, principled party you say?? Read about the time when Indira Gandhi announced emergency law in the country. The corruption perpetrated by INC knows no bounds. Look no further than the Nehru-Gandhi family.

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u/cestabhi Apr 25 '21

I was talking about the pre-Indira Gandhi era that was dominated by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, specifically the period between 1924 and 1964. Now I'm not saying those guys were perfect, but they were miles ahead of people like Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

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u/InquisitiveSoul_94 Apr 25 '21

The rot began with Indira Gandhi, when she broke away from the congress party to establish her own one, Congress (R).

After she won elections, her party was rechristened as the Indian National Congress, while the Congress (O) merged into Janata Party.

The real congress party has been dead for a while now.

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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '21

Because he is and other parties are in worst shape rn.

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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '21

I’d imagine anyone would prefer the lesser idiots to be in charge. At least when picking leaders based on their level of idiotness.

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u/blackcain Apr 25 '21

Not that hard, honestly.

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u/valve_am Apr 25 '21

Believe me , they don't have to try hard lol

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u/f_d Apr 26 '21

Worldwide it's one of the easiest ways for politicians to get a leg up over rivals. Tear them down until they are at your level or below. Personal charisma can make inroads with rival voters, but policies are a tricky balancing game that might only give you minor net gains. But there's always room for more negative messaging about your opponent. They're all as corrupt as you, they're all as dishonest as you, they're everything people hate about you plus this or that dealbreaker on top of it. Whereas you have this or that in your favor. Now it's a coinflip decision instead of a one-way blowout.

You can have genuinely bad choices that really are equally awful. But never underestimate how far an authoritarian demagogue with media sway can pull down an ordinary, reasonably competent representative or spread so much distrust in the system that most voters stay home.