The results of the 18th Lok Sabha election have emboldened not only the opposition parties but also the members of the BJP, whose voices were suppressed by PM Narendra Modi's dictatorial behaviour. They have started speaking out. Senior BJP leader and RSS think tank Ram Madhav spoke through his article, "A Mandate for Humility," published in The Indian Express on June 8, 2024.

After making an objective assessment of the gains and losses of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections and calling for a serious introspection by the BJP, Ram Madhav has cautioned the BJP and its allies, saying, "however, the situation calls for greater accommodation and responsible politics from both sides". He concluded his article with a warning that the coalition's success will lie in "humility and civility, qualities that the Indian polity is in dire need of".

Those who read between the lines can easily understand the implications of his statement. It indirectly warns PM Narendra Modi to become humble and adopt humility and civility in his approach to the alliance partners and the Opposition.

Addressing an RSS event in Maharashtra's Nagpur on June 11, Mohan Bhagwat, the topmost leader of the RSS, said that a true sevak (the one who serves the people) never shows arrogance and always maintains decorum in public life and has to desist from spreading misinformation and the treatment of the Opposition as virodhi paksh. He also emphasised the need to bring peace to Manipur. "Manipur has been looking for peace for a year now. It should be discussed on priority", he added. After Ram Madhav, Mohan Bhagwat also emphasised the need for humility in the life of a public servant, which was a direct message for PM Modi.

While addressing graduating students of the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), Anand, as the chief guest, former Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, said, "political parties, at times may win or lose-that is not the issue. The values, work for the downtrodden, taking care of the oppressed and depressed people- Gandhiji's Antyodaya, Ambedkarji's Antyodaya - taking care of the poorest of the poor should be at the top of our mind". Venkaiah Naidu's statement is a gentle but strong corrective to the economic policies pursued by PM Modi, which his adversaries call 'crony capitalism'.

When it became clear that Narendra Modi had to run a coalition government with wily, non-reliable and ambitious allies like TDP and JDU, political observers began to ask, "Will Modi, who used to run the government in Gandhinagar and Delhi on his own terms, be able to be accommodative and consultative to his powerful allies? "How long will the coalition survive" ask some others.

PM Modi's behaviour and body language show signs of self-realisation and accommodation. On June 11, he appealed to his followers to remove "Modi ka Parivar" from their social media handles. In his victory speech and address to the NDA partners, he repeatedly used "NDA government", absent during the last ten years. During the meeting of NDA parliamentarians in the central hall of the old parliamentary building, there was no shouting of "Jai Sree Ram".

During the electioneering by the BJP and PM Modi, references to the NDA and BJP governments were missing. The talk was only of the 'Modi government', and the BJP manifesto was termed "Modi guarantees." Now, PM Modi has started talking about the diversity of India as represented by the BJP's allies. The compulsions of a coalition government are, in a way, forcing PM Modi to change his language and gestures. How much he has changed internally remains a big question.

As Ram Madhav rightly said, Indian politicians from the ruling and Opposition alliance need humility and civility, which were conspicuously absent during the last ten years. Because of the bulldozing majority in the Lok Sabha, the BJP, especially PM Modi, became arrogant and proud in their language and actions. The kind of vulgar and salacious language PM Modi and his party leaders used against the Muslims and the opposition parties, particularly the Congress, during the electioneering are on record. Recently, in a TV interview, PM Modi said, "I am convinced that Paramatma (God) has sent me for a purpose…He does not reveal his cards, just keeps me to do things." The election results have shown PM Modi as just one more mortal politician.

What kind of humility and civility do the people of India expect from PM Modi and the BJP? First, humility requires accepting reality as it is, accepting one's own mistakes and saying, "Sorry, I made a mistake". Mistakes and failures of public figures cannot be hidden from the public glare forever. The scam involved in the electoral bonds scheme could be hidden for about 7 years, but the truth was revealed in the end. PM Modi needs to acknowledge his mistakes, especially spreading hate against Muslims and Christians and his critics. Mr Modi has to accept the fact that he is diminished before the people of India because of his arrogance, pride and promotion of a personality cult.

Accepting one's limitations is another aspect of humility. After the election results were declared, PM Modi must have realised that no political party can always remain at the top and win all elections. As with the lives of individuals, political parties also face ups and downs. Breaking opposition parties and buying MLAs and MPs of other parties is not the way to bolster one's party. He must give up the idea of a Congress mukt Bharat, an India without Opposition. Democracy will become a dictatorship in the absence of a strong opposition.

Humble leaders listen more and speak less. The track record of Narendra Modi as a chief minister and prime minister has been of speaking more and listening less. As per the observation of many political analysts, PM Modi ran a government from a most centralised PMO. Every month, he addressed people directly through his mann ki baat but never held a press conference to be questioned by journalists. The limited interviews he had with some chosen journalists were all choreographed. If the coalition government is to complete its five-year term, PM Modi must listen to his allies and his ministers, party leaders, the Opposition and the people's voice. Instead of Mann ki baath, the PM has to start an online Jan sunwai programme monthly.

Another aspect of humility is empathy. PM Modi miserably failed to empathise with all those who opposed his policies and ideology or were critical of his actions. The farmers who protested against the three controversial farm laws, people who opposed the anti-constitutional Citizenship Amendment Act, the social activists, including those who were arrested and jailed for being accused in the Bhima Koregaon case and the journalists who were critical of the policies of the BJP, had to face the cruelty of the Modi government. PM Modi, in his third term, has to be empathetic.

Ram Madhav wants civility from political leaders. Though it applies to all politicians of the two sides, the BJP and PM Modi must present themselves as role models in civility. First and foremost, PM Modi has to desist from all kinds of hate speeches and invectives against religious minorities and his political opponents. He has to control his colleagues and party members who are serial offenders of hate speech. No civilised person will use the kind of language the PM resorted to during electioneering that recently concluded.

Civility demands strictly following the rule of law. Arresting and jailing citizens without following due process of law, applying the law in a discriminatory way, bulldozing houses and establishments and, allowing some extremist organisations to take the law into their hands, etc., are to be stopped. Many articles that appeared in different news portals and newspapers after the declaration of the result of the elections highlighted that millions of people in India, especially religious minorities, heaved a sigh of relief. The people of India hope that the reduced strength of the BJP and the influence of its allies will put a hold on the recklessness of Modi 3.0.

Civility also demands loyalty to the Constitution of India in letter and spirit. PM Modi and his party cannot satisfy the people with ritualistic veneration of a copy of the Constitution. As soon as Modi entered the central hall of the Parliament for the NDA partners meeting on June 7, he bowed before a copy of the Constitution placed there and lifted it to his forehead reverentially. Plenty of violations of the spirit of the Constitution, particularly secularism, have occurred by the Modi government during the last ten years.

PM Modi held the inaugural function of the new parliament building with a religious ceremony by incorporating Hindu rituals by a group of Hindu priests from Tamil Nadu. Thus, a ceremony that was supposed to be purely secular was converted into a religious function. The consecration of the Ram Mandir built in Ayodhya was to be performed by Hindu priests. Unfortunately, PM Modi took the role of the main celebrant of the consecration. Thus, the Prime Minister of a secular country purported to show himself a high priest, a clear violation of the spirit of secularism. As a Hindu, the PM has the freedom to take part in any religious function, but attempting to establish the notion of theocracy is a violation of the secular principle enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Narendra Modi's political journey has been characterised by mixing politics with religion. The allies will hopefully put the brakes on this journey.

Many legal experts believe that some of the laws passed during PM Modi's ten-year tenure, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), violate the principle of equality enshrined in the Constitution. The writ petition regarding the CAA has been pending before the Supreme Court for about four and a half years. The Supreme Court declared the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional in mid-February this year.

In the case of the Prime Minister of India, civility requires accountability to the Parliament. The regime of PM Modi saw the Parliament being converted into a rubber stamp. Many laws were passed without any discussion in the Parliament. The three controversial farm laws were passed without sufficient discussion in the Parliament and withdrawn without any discussion. Three bills relating to the criminal justice system, namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, replacing the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, were passed by the Lok Sabha in the absence of 97 opposition MPs. This tendency to rush through the bills without discussions has to change.

It is expected that increase in the strength of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and influence of the allies of the BJP will force Modi 3.0 government to be accountable to the Parliament, to listen to the views of the Opposition and people, to be empathetic to the citizens of India, to be loyal to the Constitution in letter and spirit, to follow the rule of law and to be sensitive to all religious communities by desisting from hate speeches against Muslims and Christians. The Modi 3.0 government must be characterised by humility and civility.