ET Rips RahulG & Praises Modi, Medias New Trend?! India needs Modis iron fist for delivery and deliverance from UPA II, Narendra Modi has grabbed the pulse of a nation in stress, with an economic vision that seemingly has zero tolerance for Congress regressionist regime. That he could turn near-fascist is a rational fear. But the flip side of that fear is a dynamism that equates with urgency, speed and momentum. India needs delivery and deliverance from the dire, dark years of UPA II. We would rather have velocity in the pace of change and an Obamaesque Yes, We Can moment of exhilaration, than the ruling trinitys vanityfare, their imperious silence and hubris, totally dis-engaged and disconnected from reality. India is in need of a pugilists iron fist to accelerate change, not the rigor-mortis of numbness thats the hallmark of the UPA II. In Modi one sees the awning hope, much like that of a butterfly unfurling out of its chrysalis. Theres hope, yes. But power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Will Modi be able to change the destiny of a nation writhing in pain and crying for reforms, or will he fall prey to the venalities of a systemic rot? Its early days to iconize a PM-in-themaking. But where theres hope theres life! Irrational exuberance has its pitfalls. And surreal promises take time and patience to enact, given our rotten delivery mechanism thats decades old. STATE OF EMERGENCY Lets face it, we are already in an undeclared state of emergency fiscally. Its just that the government wont take draconian steps to stifle the liberties of the people, lest it evoke memories of the dark age of Indira Gandhis blunders of the 70s (if my guess is given a chance, they would love to do something close to it!). I go a step further and propose a thought that could well incur the wrath of the reader. That if Modi did come to power and impose on us a kind of benign dictatorship temporarily and awarded himself plenipotentiary powers, if only for an interim period - to state he means business in reforming the malaise - and that its not misused for vengeance or megalomania, so be it! If its a measure to shock the unwieldy power of politicians, bureaucrats, oligarchs, plutocrats, the cozy club, and check the prodigal, and curtail fiscal profligacy, again, so be it! The Indian taxpayers money has funded the consistently reckless policies of the ruling party for too long. A government thats too proud and in denial should have offered a mea culpa for mis-governance and misdeeds through actions, if not words! The UPA II has made blunders since four and a half years, now they swing from corruption to populism to mask their follies! That the apex court has ordered an inquiry into the dealings of some leading corporates who are in supposed cohorts with bureaucrats and ministries is a stricture on the depths to which suspicion awaits proof. Crony-connivance has reached its lowest ebb. In any case, are we not already a disguised dictatorship being run by a faceless power? Lets not be in denial, whatever nomenclature we call it by. The government that ought to function as a fiduciary to the countrys interests is functioning in effect as the biggest mafioso, usurping all opportunities for itself and its cronies and selling our national resources for a song, to the exclusion of the masses. Has it not practiced coercive, vengeful intimidation on peaceful dissenters and activists in every sphere from the time of Anna Hazares movement? Is this not neo-emergency anyway? How many ordinances has the government enacted in haste, without a procedural debate in parliament? To protect its ally, how did it try to overrule the apex court judgment in de-barring corrupt candidates in an attempt to give them a lifeline? In which country would such a law have prevailed anyways? Nay, which country would even conceive such a bizarre legislation to insulate a corrupt representative, voted by the people? SUBSIDIES AND GRANTS Extraordinary situations need extraordinary measures. We would rather have that than sink into insolvency and anarchy. We have in the past invoked measures like Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA, an act established to deliver certain essential services like public transport and health). Now consider how essentials in any economy, like food, electricity, security of the financial and banking system, have gone awry in India. Is double digit food inflation, with onion prices themselves inflating by over 300% in September, forgivable? Why have the state-owned distribution power companies hiked tariffs by nearly 72% in the last few years? Answer: to fill their coffers, which are empty because of mismanagement and little else. If populist measures to the underprivileged are draining, equally draining is the quality of assets of nationalised banks that have been giving sweetheart deals to the likes of aviation czars, infrastructure firms and leading builders without adequate due diligence. Prominent builders have incurred astronomical debt running into thousands of crores. Whose money have they played with? What is subsidy to the rich are grants to the poor. Banks are funded by deposits from people like you and me. If their asset quality is deteriorating because of inadequate checks and balances, are we not creating our own version of a subprime crisis? All these factoids of follies point to a need for stringent changes which can only be implemented with an iron fist. Granted my assumptions are a tad premature, as elections are six months away. As a huge supporter of Modi, its again an assumption that he will wrest power to be anointed PM. It would be presumptuous also to think Modi is the only saviour of the endemic rot and it will have to be seen if his actions match his words.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 04:37:01 +0000
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