Modi on Track

 The New Indian Express Writes




The colossal failure of the UPA government forced the desperate people of India to expect miracles from Narendra Modi from the day he was sworn in as prime minister. Restless and impatient for results, for them, each day passing seemed a year long. But, look at what Modi had inherited from the UPA. Added to the near-bankrupt fiscal and financial portfolios, the UPA had left behind a miserable administration wrecked by a powerless prime minister unable to stand up to the all-powerful UPA chairperson. The misery of low growth and even lower national confidence were accentuated by relentless scams that invited ceaseless judicial interventions and tore apart the economy. Post-elections, Modi’s own party was unprepared for the new grammar of an all-powerful prime minister that signalled power shift within the party and the NDA. This made ministry-making difficult, not easy, as Modi rightly forced changes overdue in the BJP. Yet, saddling of two heavy ministries on one minister amounted to admitting that the BJP was short of competence and that rightly did not go down well. Many saw, and still see, the Modi cabinet—not wrongly—as incomplete. This certainly was the first major slip of Modi in Delhi.

But Modi began with a bang on the external front. He shook his friends and adversaries in and out of the nation by inviting the SAARC leaders to his swearing-in. It was a soft but powerful start. His visit to Bhutan and Nepal ahead of big nations is a lesson in relation-building diplomacy. He reconnected India’s umbilical relation with Nepal that was neglected for long. But on the internal front, where he faced formidable challenges, he appeared slow. His admitted unfamiliarity with Delhi elites and soft lobbies, ranging from touts to media personalities, is his great strength. But it also delayed his start. If he had campaigned like a tornado to get voter support, once elected, he shut himself and began working silently on the way forward unmindful of his impatient supporters. He had to be patient and slowly choose the right ones in the bureaucracy—a task still incomplete. With no discernible team around him, he had to work as the hub with spokes of individuals around him. He made it clear to his ministers their offices are no more status symbols but work stations. The more he worked the more he reinstated the work culture that had long before disappeared in Delhi. He reminded the bureaucracy, which had become either subservient or lethargic, of its mission of service. He was bringing about a paradigm shift in the system.

But with the overtly perceived status quo on the domestic front, the depth of his external initiatives and the challenges he faced in reviving the paralysed system were not adequately appreciated by the media. They began projecting him in a dim light to the delight of his adversaries. But he turned the tables on sceptics with his brilliant extempore Independence Day address that reached crores of people and lifted their morale sky high. This began turning the national mood. Now, his silent and patient work and the way he drove his ministers and the government machinery gear up seem to bear results. Clearly the nation is regaining lost confidence. The economy has begun looking up with Q2 GDP growth of 5.7 per cent recovering from the humiliating sub-5 per cent growth in UPA’s final years. Prices are moderating and current account deficit is showing real decline. With global crude prices soft and diesel under-recoveries negligible, hopefully oil subsidies will reduce or go, improving the fiscal portfolio. The runaway success of Modi’s Jan Dhan Yojana with 21 million-plus new bank accounts in just two days shows how different is the “Modified” governance. His Japan visit which institutionalises his “Look East” policy seems a huge success already. More than strategic relations, he is building stronger, durable civilisational ties and redefining India’s new geopolitical thrust.

But challenges remain. The effect of inadequate monsoon is unclear. The Insurance Bill remains stalled though the government hit the jackpot of the Judicial Appointments Bill, an overdue reform. Politically anti-BJPism is emerging as a philosophy to unite non-BJP parties, the impact of which in coming Assembly polls will be a crucial test. Yet, if Modi continues with the depth he is showing, he might well lead India to great heights and for long.