Modi govt. complete 100 days – A realistic stock taking On 2nd Sept 2014, when PM, Narendra Modi’s clearly mandated BJP govt. complete its 100 days in office, it is necessary to look back on what all happened in India during the rule by a right wing govt. at the centre after one decade of Congress led UPA rule. The immediate post election shock of day light murder of a young Muslim techie in one of India’s most cosmopolitan cities, Pune, by the members of a rabid, right wing Hindu organization viz. Hindu Rashtra Sena over an issue of mocking at a cartoon of Shiva Sena icon, Chhattrapati Shivaji through social networking sites, it then appeared the road for newly formed BJP govt. would be much topsy turvy. Sensing seriousness of that issue, perhaps the PM himself immediately sent out a clear signal to his own fringe elements to be cautious. Simultaneously, the Congress-NCP led alliance govt. in Maharashtra too swiftly acted to arrest the head of HRS to stop further spreading of such insensible, day light murders of innocents. Otherwise, the new BJP PM started off well, right from his first entry day into the august parliament house, unlike others, by bowing his head at its first step itself which was traditionally symbolic and was repeatedly relayed by all TV channels. Thereafter, his impassionate speech in the central hall, addressing all the elected members of parliament and then the next shock was an invitation to all the heads of states of SAARC countries to attend his swearing in ceremony on 26th May at Rashtrapati Bhawan lawns. This was well received though it didn’t bring much dividend in normalizing relations, except that the External Affairs minister visiting Bangladesh soon and thereon the PM himself visiting Bhutan and Nepal, the two close neighbors, with whom hardlythere were any serious security problems, except in the case of Nepal where there is no functional govt. ever since dethroning of the erstwhile Monarchy and other elected govts of the Chinese supported Maoists. Even now, a nominal govt. is struggling to draft a constitution for bringing back a functional democracy. Modi’s visit could hardly have any impact except some pleasantries and the much publicized restoration of a Nepali youth, with whom Modi happened to make friendship, to his estranged family. Nepal is still under the strong influence of the Chinese. What kind of govt. would likely to take shape, once the constitution is passed/ enacted by an elected parliament, is still unclear. At the home front, the worst controversy erupted over the Modi govt. asking all the UPA appointed Governors to resign, so that some of its hard-core RSS nominees could be gifted with that plum posts. By fixing maximum age, 70 for partymen to hold any important position, in party or govt., it signaled the end of an era for two senior most BJP stalwarts, L.K. Advani and M.M. Joshi. Then, grabbing on full control of party by getting its general council approved the appointment of his right hand man, the one who knows every hidden secrets of N. Modi all through his Gujarat days, Amit Shah, as President of the party, Modi showed the nation that he is in full command of not only the party but also the govt. This was no mean achievement for Modi in comparison to what really caused for the UPA coalition govt’s failure due to distinct two power centers where the party President and UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi allegedly wielded more power than the PM Dr. Manmohan Singh who couldn’t, on many occasions, control the errand members of his council of ministers due to interference of the main power centre vis-à-vis the usual coalition compulsions. Dr. Manmohan Singh had to take much of flaks from general public, though the UPA in its one decade rule came up with several useful policies and programmes for welfare of the ‘aam aadmi’ which has literally been copied and re-named by Modi led BJP govt. now. The latest, much applauded one in these 100 days rule is the ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’ (JDY) through which the PM announced from the rampart of the Red Fort on his Independence Day speech that every family will hold a bank account and irrespective of any balance left in that account the holder of the account can draw up to Rs. 5,000/ and in case of death, he/she would get an insurance premium of Rs. 1 lac. This, in fact, was another Dr. Manmohan Singh plan, that he hinted about two years ago but now introduced by Modi within 100 days of his prime minister ship. The problem is that the nationalized banks would soon feel the pinch of their shoes when they start implementing it. Perhaps, while jumping into this scheme, Modi and Co. might have thought of bringing back the black money shored up in the tax havens abroad, a promise Modi made to fulfill within 100 days of his becoming the PM. Alas, there is no hint on what was really happening on that score, though a distinguished criminal lawyer and BJP executive member, Ram Jethmalani is hotly pursuing the case. On the BJP’s saffron clad, yet rabble rousing parliamentarians, like M.P. from Eastern UP, Yogi Adityanath’s persistent diatribes on hard Hindutva and his Muslim or minority bashing, the less said the better. Instead of N. Modi standing in parliament to clear his govts’ policies and programmes, it was Adityanath who lambasted and for that he was even made election in charge in U.P. where communal divide is much deep. This is in anticipation of winning back UP for the party where the SP leadership is giving tit for tat replies from time to time on allegations of severe law and order problems. U.P. CM Akhilesh Yadav is now on a foreign trip to find investors in his State to tide of the ever deepening power crisis which not only his State but even BJP ruled ones like M.P. are facing now. The power crisis situation faced by Delhi, immediately on takeover by the Modi govt. when it was put directly under control of the Lt. Governor in the absence of an elected govt. is known to all. Now, to write from instances like scrapping of the Planning Commission, taking away the Collegiums system for appointment of Judges in Supreme Court/High Courts, the persistent violations (20 instances) of ceasefire by Pakistan on the LoC, the Chinese intrusions 25 KMs deep into the Indian territory to the latest three controversies over the renaming of ‘Teachers Day’ (5th Sept) to ‘Guru Utsav’, offer of appointment as Governor of Kerala to the recently retired Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam and the PM’s latest Japan visit where, without naming any country, he had made a veiled attack on ‘expansionism’ (vistaarvad) over ‘development’ (vikaasvad) which the critiques/applauding brigade of Modi immediately commented as a ‘masculine foreign policy pursuit’ in comparison to the ‘Luke-warm’ sterile policies of the former UPA govt. What one really fear now, if these kind of attitudes remain in the working style of the new dispensation, maintaining communal harmony, federalism and all the more the center-state relations intact would be the biggest casualty at a time when security situations around our neighborhood is volatile and some of the states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, J&K already started openly challenging the BJP govts’/RSS ideologues’ imposition of its hard Hindutva pursuits. What really expects from a democratically elected chief executive of the nation is his openness and firmness to put in place jingoists and extra constitutional bodies/authorities who creates nuisance in day to day administration and dealing firmly with issues of federal, national and international importance, without any fear or favor, as per the oath of allegiance he took as the PM.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 08:40:51 +0000
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