New Delhi, Jun 2 (PTI) The CPIM has come out with a scathing assessment of eight years of the BJP government, alleging the period has been marked by "systematic efforts" to abridge parliamentary democracy, curtail citizens' democratic rights and subvert all the institutions that uphold the constitutional order.

In an editorial in the latest edition of its mouthpiece People's Democracy, the Left party said that in the list of achievements to celebrate its eight years, the BJP government could not name steps taken to strengthen democracy, and the constitutional framework to safeguard democratic rights and ensure social and economic justice.

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The editorial also stated it is a "sign of the consolidation of the authoritarian regime that none of these threats" to democracy is part of the public discourse while discussing the eight-year rule of the Modi government.

"The devaluation of parliament and the degrading of parliamentary procedures have become particularly virulent in the second term of Modi government. Parliament has sat for less than fifty days last year," the editorial stated.

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It further alleged that apart from a lack of discussion on legislations, there was hardly any scrutiny of legislative bills.

From 60 to 70 per cent of the bills being referred to the standing committees by the Lok Sabha during the UPA government, it dropped to 27 per cent in Modi's first term and to just 13 per cent in the second, it said.

"This is compounded by the denial of the right of the opposition to raise issues and press for a vote during the legislative process. The way the three farm bills were railroaded through the Rajya Sabha is a prime example," the party said.

It further said government agencies were being used to attack opposition parties, and raised the case of Congress president Sonia Gandhi who has been summoned for interrogation by the ED in the National Herald case.

It also referred to the cases of Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and NCP minister Nawab Malik in Maharashtra who are under ED probe to buttress its argument.

"The criminalisation of dissent and the suppression of civil liberties have reached unprecedented heights through the use of draconian laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the sedition clause," it said,

In seven years between 2014 and 2020, around 690 cases were registered under UAPA and 10,552 arrests made under its provisions, the party said.

"These include political activists, civil rights advocates, journalists and writers. The sedition clause, section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, is also wielded as a weapon against those who voice their opposition to the regime. From 2014 to 2021, over 450 cases of sedition were registered," the party said.

On the discourse around the eight years on the government, it said, "The reality of an overarching project to convert India into a Hindutva authoritarian State is studiously avoided. The central fact of the eight year rule of the BJP government is the relentless pursuit to reshape the Indian State according to the Hindutva agenda of the RSS."

The editorial also alleged that all the existing parameters of a parliamentary democracy, the role of the judiciary, civil service and the media are being altered and subsumed to serve an "insidious authoritarianism."

"The entire gamut of economic policies are designed to buttress the Hindutva-corporate alliance which, in turn, fuels the authoritarian drive further. If there is any lesson to be learnt from the eight years of the Modi regime, it is that democracy and the basic economic, social and civil rights of citizens are in peril from the ruling dispensation," the edit said.

"The eight years of Modi rule have been marked by systematic efforts to abridge parliamentary democracy, curtail democratic rights of citizens and subvert all the institutions which uphold the constitutional order," it added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)