While there is no doubt Narendra Modi has changed the course of political, economic and social debate in the past year, has it taken the desired direction, too?
tridiB raMan // In his early days as prime minister, Narendra Modi was pretty excited about his Health Care Plan. Today, a year later, the government doesn’t have adequate funds for it. The five-year project needed $18.5 billion. Today, India’s public health gets just one per cent of India’s GDP, even though a vision document by the health ministry says the sector should aim at getting 2.5 per cent of the country’s GDP. The quality of government health facilities is constantly slipping. On the other hand, private healthcare facilities are mushrooming everywhere and they are backed by political forces. A mere 17 per cent of India’s people have access to health insurance.
During his election rallies in 2014, Narendra Modi gave several pointers on how India’s economy, growth and prosperity can be achieved. However, in his one year of leading the government, the prime minister has not come up to the common man’s expectations. Remember the surge of hope when he took over as the prime minister in Delhi? Well, that hope has dimmed now. Despite his pro-corporate and pro-capitalist image the corporate world seems to be disappointed with him. Industrialists feel the government is neither assisting the corporate world with tax and notices, neither is it making good on its promise of delivering.
There were five or six key points Modi had highlighted during his election campaign. He talked about his commitment to bringing back all the wealth that is resting in foreign banks as black money. Now the government is singing a different tune and is citing several international rules and procedures on the black money matter.
Modi also mentioned “Har haath ko rozgar” (Every hand will be employed) in his election rallies to target young voters. Recent statistics reveal the number of unemployed in India has crossed 40 million. He also talked about taking active measures for women’s safety and security in the country. But the number of crimes committed against women in the past 11-12 months has only increased!
Modi had raised his voice loudest when it came to inflation with the slogan, “Bahut hui mehengai ki maar, abki baar Modi Sarkar”. (Enough with inflation, it is Modi Sarkar this time). But how successful the government has been in controlling inflation is for everyone to see. Modi had promised there will be an end to Pink revolution – that the export of beef will be reined in. But Modi’s Minister of State Nirmala Seetharaman has agreed to the fact that the national exchequer has earned nearly Rs 17,000 crore from export of beef, and that the export has doubled during Modi’s tenure. Although chief ministers from the saffron party in states such as Maharashtra and Haryana have taken the initiative of banning cow slaughter, but for now it is being looked upon as a political move. Similarly, to gain confidence of the minority communities, Modi told the Muslim community that in his party’s rule, the Muslims will have the Quran in one hand and a computer in the other. Now it’s a different picture. BJP ally Shiv Sena says voting rights should be taken away from the Muslims, BJP Member of Parliament Yogi Adityanath wants to stop Muslims from bathing at Har-ki-Pauri, while Sakshi Maharaj wants them to have vasectomy. Modi stays silent on controversial issues such as Ghar Wapsi.
Remember when Modi had thrown so many challenges to Pakistan before elections? Now Pakistani flag is being hoisted on Indian soil but what action was taken? The BJP would cry itself hoarse about Common Civil Code and Section 370, and has formed a coalition with a party that has a soft corner for terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
Till the BJP was in Opposition, it was against foreign direct investment (FDI) in railways, insurance, defense and retail sector. But it is a different story now. Despite the Make in India catchphrase, the future of the manufacturing sector seems to be undecided. That is because the labour reform issue is on the backburner.
r c rajaMani // It’s not easy to evaluate the first year of a debutant prime minister. You also have to remember it’s just the end of the first year of a five-year term. For me, the remarkable aspect of the first year is that it has been free from corruption, which had reached the very roots of government during the UPAII years of 2009-14.
A sense of confidence is permeating the nation with the presence of a prime minister in complete control after 10 long years of Dr Manmohan Singh. Modi may be lucky to be the PM of a majority government, but he also doesn’t have any excuse to justify underperformance. He also has to deal with some fringe Sangh Parivar elements and a few loose cannons in his Cabinet.
A brief report card shows Modi made major inroads on India’s external relations, especially with neighbours. It was visible on the very day he took over as he was able to persuade Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend his swearing in ceremony. Barring Bangladesh, all other leaders of SAARC attended the event. He also chose to visit India’s neighbours first, starting with Bhutan. He went to Sri Lanka and even visited Tamil families in war-devastated Jaffna. He has visited the US twice, many parts of Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Because of Modi’s presence in these countries, India’s image as a confident nation has been established in the minds of their leaders and people.
On the economic front, the general Budget and the railway budget have been hailed as being positive and future looking. The conclusion of the coal and spectrum auctions has shown that transparency is possible with political will. Distribution of the LPG subsidy through direct bank transfers shows the success of the government’s strategy to help the poor.
Though there was some disappointment in meeting short term growth targets, global institutions such as the IMF, OECD and others have forecast better growth potential in the coming months and years. India is, thus, back on the global radar.
Throughout the past year, Modi has not been apologetic about asking people to join in the task of nation building. He also believes in the power of the common man. Even as he has emphasised the duty of every citizen in nation building, Modi had a stronger message and a louder call for the people’s representatives. He has even announced a scheme named after the Parliamentarians, “Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana”. Every MP has to develop one village in his or her constituency into a model village under this scheme.
He is the most communicative prime minister India has had. Pandit Nehru, Vajpayee and Indira Gandhi may have been eloquent and effective speakers, but what sets Modi apart from the rest is his astounding timing and keen sense of occasion.
His immense reach to the educated class through the social media is amazing. His Hindi is common man’s Hindi and so he carries his message across effortlessly. He has also displayed somewhat unsuspected facility in the use of English.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Modi personally is his low rating in the Muslim community. It was good that Modi met leaders of the community before he left for France and Italy in April, and promised his full support in addressing the grievances of all sections of Muslim society. He discussed concerns including “increased radicalisation and emerging threat of terrorism.”
The Muslim leaders reiterated full support of the community to the Prime Minister in trying to ensure speedy economic growth, promoting communal harmony and peace and strengthening national security.
To achieve all that he has set out to, Modi needs support, not only from the Opposition but also from the extended family of the BJP.