Quantum of democracy: Stark contrast in the regime's treatment of farmer and CAA protestors

The farmers blocking access to the national capital, causing vegetable prices to shoot up, seem to be getting the 'kid-glove' treatment. Those participating in other recent protests were not as lucky

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s statement that "too much democracy" makes it tough for the government to implement reforms betrayed his government’s preferred corporatist approach to the messy business of governing a country with a multicultural franchise. But with the social media aflame with opprobrium, the ruling regime had to rapidly distance itself from its golden boy’s comments. There is good reason, though, not to take too seriously Ravi Shankar Prasad’s robust defence that his government is “proud of our democracy” either. After all, this is a government that leverages its brute popular majority in Parliament as the blunt instrument