Unity of corrupt?: PM sets a fresh challenge for Opp.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed far from nervous or apprehensive when he took on the seemingly coalescing ranks of the Opposition parties by calling it the coming together of a fearful gang of the corrupt who are only uniting to scuttle his decisive bid to win the war against corruption. While at his combative best in recent times, Mr Modi sounded supremely confident that the majority of the people in the country will see the issue in the way he has put it – a movement by a corruption-free BJP government to take lawful action against corrupt leaders of family-ruled political parties who are opposed to its efforts to cleanse the system. The efforts of the various Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, among others, to play a narrative of democracy being under threat from an autocratic BJP led by Mr Modi has not had much impact, and most ordinary people seem to view the issue as is being defined by the ruling party. Interestingly, Mr Modi not only portrayed these early moves towards Opposition unity as a coming together of the corrupt on a single stage but also an attack on the credibility of India’s institutions – the investigative agencies, the judiciary and the various echelons of the judiciary.