Harnam Singh Verma: Reflections on the world around me through my bifocal lens November 26, 2014: Judging Modi’s Six Months in Office I am my own man generally, and chart my own path. However, on the issue of judging Modi’s six months in office I am following the others. This is because the man himself told all and sundry during his campaign trail that he would fix the ills of the country in a jiffy! I think that the six months period is far too short considering the fact that a PM has to act within the given social, economic and political environment. Making a drastic change so quickly is not just possible in a constitutional framework circumscribed by a system of checks and balances. His single most important focus was fixing the economy. How has he fared on that? The paid media has churned out key market milestones (GDP growth rate, inflation, market capitalization, infusion of foreign funds, etc). Yes, the statistical indicators do show some improvement from the bad days of MMS. However, how much of the improvement can be attributed to Modi’s policies and governance and how much of it should be attributed to the favourable market conditions is something that requires utilization of a measure like Discriminant Function! Modi’s reform process has moved only a bit. The combined opposition is going to delay if not altogether stall it. The big business lobby that financed his campaign blitz wants its returns fairly quickly and is already grumbling at slow pace of reforms. Changing Acts like Land Acquisition would not be very easy. In fact, even introduction of the GST is not galloping, and would require emergency oxygen. The Make in India is still in the air and has yet to be given shape and substance. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna has made impressive beginning despite strong reservations by the RBI as well as the public sector banks. Swatch Bharat Abhiyan is only a Photo Opp: cultural process fostering civic culture is totally absent even among the upper middle and rich classes, not to say anything about the middle and the lower classes. Unless that changes, this would remain a fond hope.One thing that overshadows uncleanliness is population explosion on which no party has the guts to take tough decisions. How do you ensure cleanliness in the whole country when your city fathers don’t allow operation of garbage disposal systems that utilize it to generate positives with lesser costs? Politically, Modi has moved fast. He has secured a few states, and is poised to change the scenario in J&K 180 degrees. The TMC is rattled, and the BJD and AIDMK are quite unnerved. The Congress is on its way out in Assam where Modi may walk in! On home front, Modi has silenced his detractors in the BJP, and is cruising at high speed. On the international circuit, he has just mesmerized almost every country where ever he has gone so far. Gains for the country would begin to flow hereafter provided the rusting bureaucracy does not goof on their operationalization. Yes, Modi knows how to handle the Babus, and I can tell you that this might well be the game changer in his performance in the ultimate analysis. Modi is sleeping on farmer’s problems. The cane crisis very much remains as do the farmer’s suicides in larger geographical tracts. The R&R in the J&K and Andhra Pradesh has been partisan.Modi has penalized the poor Kashmiris for the sins of the separatists. The Kashmiris have changed, and this is now to be internalized both by Modi as well as the main contenders of political power in J&K. The phased withdrawal of the AFSPA was a necessity but has not been undertaken in J&K. Why it continues in the NE defies logic? Modi’s greatest failure lies in not reigning in the Hindutwa outfits baying for imposition Talibani measures on the hapless Indian population, especially the women, and the minorities. Well, you can never hope to be a great PM if you ignore all these sections of the diverse Indian society.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 05:03:25 +0000
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