Modi's 3 years: Time to Rejoice or Review

By APURVA RAI

IT was like dawn of a new era in governance for the people of India in general, and the Bharatiya Janata Party in particular, when Narendra Modi government assumed power on May 26, 2014. It is a common belief that a change is always for the better and the political change that the people of India witnessed gave birth to new hopes and aspirations. Narendra Modi, like the Pied Piper, charmed people with his flattering speeches and a heart-touching tagline "achche din aane wale hain". His slogan of 'achche din' worked like a magic; it not only earned huge mandate for the party but also pampered our dreams and spoilt our hearts.

The BJP would have never come to power had Modi Magic not worked because unseating Congress government, firmly saddled for a decade, was not a mean job. The herculean task of changing the fortunes of the right-winged party was single-handedly done by Narendra Modi only, often referred and ridiculed as 'chai wala'.

Riding on the dream of 'achche din' the BJP celebrated its third anniversary on May 25 this year recounting its achievements and reminding people of their wisdom in electing the party to power. At the end of three years time is now ripe to assess to what extent the BJP and the prime minister have delivered what they had promised during election campaigning.

MODI IS DICTATOR?

On the occasion of third anniversary several ministers in the Modi cabinet and the party spokespersons stood in unison praising the achievements and tasks performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There was a chorus projecting Modi as a far-sighted, kind hearted, fearless and courageous leader who is most patriotic, has perfect recipe to transform the country and change the fortunes of its citizens. Honestly speaking, I get the impression that Narendra Modi has less of ardent supporters and more of PROs (Public Relations Officers). Modi's style of functioning has given enough indications though he is a democratically elected prime minister he is nothing short of a dictator. While people understand this nobody dares to question the sugar-coated authoritarianism.

 

All these three years the prime minister or a couple of his close aides remained in limelight on discussing any issue of national or regional importance. Responses would come quickly from the mouth of Arun Jaitley or Amit Shah-- the left and right hands of Narendra Modi. If one is talking about farmers' suicide the two will give reactions, if there is crime against women the two will stand up to speak, if one wants to know about industrial growth the two will speak, if you want to talk about centre-state relations both will come forward to give reactions on behalf of the government. In the last three years people barely heard any minister talking to the media or addressing on issues relating to his/ her ministry. 

The country was in for a surprise when defence minsiter Manohar Parrikar was sent back to Goa and assumed responsibility as the chief minister. The seat vacated by him, to utter shock, was handed over to Arun Jaitley who is already holding the important portfolio of finance ministry. Should the country understand that nobody is capable of becoming full-fledged defence minister? Let good sense prevail over Mr Modi and an 'overburdened' Jaitley get some relief.

CHALLENGES MANY, RESULTS FEW

Three years ago when Narendra Modi government took power it faced many challenges like corruption, menace of black money, farmers' suicide, growing demand for electricity, economic and industrial growth, agricultural production, terrorism and incidents of violence from across the border, caste and religious feelings raising head, crime against women, healthcare and poor education system etc etc.

The biggest challenge before Modi was to check corruption and bring back money deposited in foreign accounts; a major poll plank of the BJP during 2014 election campaign. Modi had promised to bring back black money of numerous Indian from their foreign account and credit every Indians' bank account with an amount of Rs 15 lakhs. No doubt every Indian anxiously waited for the windfall and started looking forward to becoming lakhpati overnight. Alas, even after three years the wait for aam admi is yet not over while the opposition continues to question the bounty.

Even though the government claims to have launched numerous schemes for the welfare of labourers, farmers and the youth we have yet to see a smile on their faces. To quote Amit Shah it is not possible to provide employment to over a crore people in India and self-employment is the best form of employment. There can't be a better example of government admitting its own failure in employment generation. No doubt, people are still waiting to see those achche din.

On the occasion of its third anniversary the Modi sarkar might claim huge rise in number of tax payers, steady strengthening of rupee, success in foreign direct investment (FDI) and much more the ground reality remains largely unchanged.

Sooner the government realises this better it is if it really wants to stage a comeback for a second term in 2019 general elections. Problems and miseries that haunted till now continue unabated and the ground realities too largely remain unchanged. It is another thing that people are repeatedly given an impression that genuine and serious efforts are being made to resolve their difficulties. This is, perhaps, the biggest success mantra of the Modi government.

SOUL SEARCHING PROGRAMMES

Anniversary celebration is the time to cherish the good work accomplished and re-dedicate yourself to the commitments yet to be fulfilled. It is praiseworthy that Modi government has launched numerous imaginative programmes which touch the hearts of a common man and sound very very realistic. Schemes like Start Up India, Stand Up India, Make in India, Cashless India, Digital India, Jan Dhan Yojna, Smart City Yojna, Kisan Bima Yojna, PM Awas Yojna, Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, Bullet Train, popularising LED bulbs under Ujala Yojna, massive highway construction programme etc etc sound quite promising. One only hopes that these schemes work well which is possible only when there is hundred per cent honesty, dedication and devotion in their implementation.

Critics, however, claim there is nothing new in these schemes and most of them are a repeat of the outgoing government with names changed.

Besides this a couple of other historic decisions were taken by the BJP government like reconstitution of Niti Ayog and making Rail Budget integral part of General Budget.

It is not to be forgotten that every government that comes to power initiates social welfare programmes though most of them remain on papers and files and the BJP is no exception to this. Modi government finds faults with previous governments and their programmes while the future governments will have similar views about Modi. This is a vicious cycle and is difficult to break. 

Somewhere Narendra Modi is a grounded man and this reflects in his programmes and schemes. He understands what people expect and has translated those expectations into numerous schemes many of which have paid dividends as well.

Modi talked of Bullet train and has taken steps to see the dream project come true but it remains a distant dream. He talked of piped gas line in eastern UP and Bihar and Bengal, he talked of trade through waterways by launching commercial steamer services on Ganga from Varanasi. Modi contested from Varanasi and promised to make it Kyoto of Japan; a promise that cheered people but many are jeering at it three years later. The ideas presented by Modi were very innovative impressed everyone though nobody knows their fate today. So much so that even the central government does not refer to them often.

POINTS OF PUBLICITY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been repeatedly highlighting several of his achievements to cash on the sentiments of the people.

Demonitisation: The biggest scoring point of the Modi sarkar is demonitisation which was, undoubtedly, the biggest step taken in all these three years. The move, kept highly secret till the last moment, showed Modi's strong political resolve in fighting the menace of corruption and terrorism. The prime minister claimed that discontinuing 500 and 1,000 rupee notes came as a major blow to corrupt practices in party funding, caused dent in parallel economy ruled by black money and curtailed funding to terrorists from across the border.

Demonitisation came as a 1000 volt shock and affected every single citizen of the country be it rich or poor. At one stage it looked like as if every person is standing in queue outside banks and ATMs juggling to find new currencies. It took several months before the situation could settle down and the aam admi had some cash in hand.

Today the government makes tall claims that demonitisation has resulted in addition of over a crore new tax payers. 

Surgical Strike: Yet another move that gives an edge to the BJP government is surgical strike that was carried out in September 2016. The drastic step taken after insurgents had attacked an army base in Kashmir killing 18 soldiers. The word surgical strike was new to millions of Indians and they overwhelmingly came in support of the government.

It goes without saying that surgical strike invited criticism from Modi's foes but a step taken in country's defence should not be debated much. Deep at our heart everyone of us is patriotic.

Jan Dhan Yojna: Modi government proudly says that over 28 crore bank accounts were opened countrywide and that deposit base expanded to over 63 thousand crore. One can only wish if the government could also proudly say there is also one bank in every village.

Road construction: National highway construction got a boost and the government claims that almost 23 km of road is constructed each day. The target is to construct 40 kms of road each day, claims Nitin Gadkari. According to government data a meagre two km of road was constructed every day under the previous UPA government regime.  

Swachch Bharat Yojna: The programme was launched on Oct 2, 2014 with the objective of Clean India by Oct 2, 2019. The scheme has won billions of hearts though debates and counter arguments keep pouring on the success of the agenda. With this scheme the government has taken major initiative of ending the menace of open defecation. 

 

However the problem of waste management and sewage disposal are other major challenges that need immediate attention.

GST: The BJP government is not lagging behind in taking all the credit for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The GST comes into effect from the midnight of July 1, 2017. 

Believed to be biggest step in tax reforms in the country the Modi government hopes to widen its tax net as a larger number of evaders will fall in line.  The GST is facing stiff opposition from shopkeepers and traders who have created an atmosphere of fear among consumers that prices are going to increase once the new structure is implemented. But these shopkeepers arfe the ones who are biggest tax evaders too.

Triple Talaq: The BJP government dared ending the (mal)practice of triple talaq and bring respite for Muslim women who have been suffering from this vice for several hundred years. Mired in controversy ever since initiated the issue of triple talaq has not found any solution but has been successful in generating favourable views from Muslim women as well as from several quarters of Muslim men.

There are several other appreciable steps taken by the Modi government but we are certainly not here to list them though we praise them.

MUCH MORE WANTED

When the Bharatiya Janata Party asssumed power on May 26, 2014 and Narendra Modi became the prime minister of India with decades of administrative experience as Chief Minister of Gujarat, the dream of good governance took wings and people of India believed that peace and prosperity will be coming in soon or, to say in other words, achche din aane wale hain.

Time flies and now three years of BJP rule have lapsed. Have the people of India witnessed achche din? Is the country on road to growth and prosperity? Can we say we Modi has prepared a roadmap to put India in the list of fast developing nations in coming years? Has the life of aam admi become easier and comfortable than before? Or is it that we have just another government at the Centre which snatched power just on sloganeering and playing with the sentiments of the people.

It is better to examine the Modi Raj now with a critical view and also suggest what should have been done for the welfare of the nation, its society and people. It is important to judge the prime minister, having a background of a commoner, who claims he is not the prime minister but the prime servant of the nation. The BJP government initiated many schemes which sound very attractive too but fall below expectations and have not yielded the kind of results they should have.

Black money still rules the roost: Demonitisation was a right step taken in wrong manner. While demonitisation was done with the objective of restricting corruption and creating a less-cash society the ground realities have a different story to tell. Who can forget people forming serpentine queues outside banks to exchange currencies or outside the ATMs to withdraw own money! This was the condition of every single aam admi across the length and breadth of the country. 

This is, however, just half the truth. The other half truth is that a lot of influential people, lot of rich people, lot of people with 'right connections' did not stand in queues outside ATMs or ever visited the banks. Still their work was done while they enjoyed hot cups of tea in the comforts of their home and watched millions of people queueing outside banks on TV sets. The job was done by so-called 'friends' in banks, acquaintances or what we call in India jugaad or the currency exchange agents who happened to be extremely busy and very active during those days of crisis. 

Knowingly or unknowingly massive corruption and malpractices were witnessed despite the government move which aimed to check corruption and curtail black money. The colour, shape and design of black money had changed without harming those involved in such activities. The government claimed huge success and made solid claims of ejecting black money but this too is a fact that not a single 'common corrupt person' was affected. They merely shed a few pounds and that is the price you have to pay if you seek comfortable life.

The government claimed several big fish fell into the trap but small fish swam freely. The 'common corrupt person' thrive in millions. They live comfortably among us in every lane and by-lane of our cities or in our neighbourhood, as our acquaintance or relations. These millions of 'small black money hoarders' have an opulent lifestyle, move around freely and fearlessly with raised heads. They enjoy the goodness of life and in return create an atmosphere of greed, desire, inequality and frustration in the society.

'Arrest' honest people: Instead of arresting the dishonest few it is better to take several honest persons in custody because one such person can reveal the names of at least five dishonest persons and their (mis)deeds.  

Does the government feel that an black money amounting as small as one or two or five crore is too small to be noticed and checked. In fact, this amount is the most dangerous form of money in circulation and such people are like evils in the society. But these are also the safest people as they are confident that no harm can be done to them-- neither they can be checked or arrested nor the cash in their 'hidden domestic safety chest' be ever taken away by the government. Such people believe in cash payments for all purposes because their spendings are never accounted for. 

They are dishonest to the core yet it is difficult to catch hold them since almost all of them are tax payers but file an incorrect return. These are the people who poison the society, fuel disparity, discrimination and inequality, exhibit arrogance and intolerance. This class of 'Haves' creates an atmosphere of frustration and despair for the 'Have nots'.  

Cash still preferred: Yet another purpose of demonitisation was to bring about a less-cash society. However the dream has failed to come true as 'small black money hoarders' refuse to budge from age-old practices of exchanging notes. The reason for this is obvious. Such people, mostly local businessmen/ shopkeepers or servicemen with 'extra income' necessarily prefer cash transactions because that is what suits them most. This eventually leads to difficulties for such people who want to see change in society, seek transformation and wish to live a hassle-free modern life.

To cut the story short corruption continues and black money still rules. People are not very wrong when they say that demonitisation brought chaos and has not yielded anything other than discomfort.

Agriculture and Farmers' Issue: Farming is most important sector in India but unfortunately most neglected too. We still do not have developed farming techniques and the socio-economic condition of farmers in India is not hidden from anyone. Primitive style of farming, poor lifestyle of farmers, lack of godown facilities, underutilised farmland and many more problems surround the agriculture sector and this gives a golden opportunity to politicians here to score a point and make good career for them. 

Since Independence every government that has came to power has talked about agriculture and the plight of farmers but none has done anything for their betterment. An honest miniscule contribution of any government would have changed the situation of farmers and farming in India in the past 70 years. One can only regret that politicians, irrespective of their political allegiance, have merely played with the sentiments of farmers and used farming for personal gains. 

It is a harsh reality today that not a single politician dies of debt or hunger in India while the farmer does.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government under the leadership of Narendra Modi too has not been indifferent. Farmers continue to live in debt, poverty and hunger. Still what they produce makes India proud. Yet the farmer community in India is the one that is most honest, least corrupt, least talked about, never valued and highly uncelebrated. On the contrary what is the output of politicians or what they have done to make the country feel proud? Perhaps nothing.

India is known for its agriculture for centuries but today young ones prefer to take to other menial jobs than farming. According to the Census 2011, every day 2,000 farmers give up farming in India. Has any party or politician ever thought Why?

One can only pity on politics over farmers and farming.

Modi claims to be the messiah of the poor but has he or any of his minister ever done an honest reality check of its contribution to Indian agriculture and the farmers. The answer will definitely be no. No need to convince anyone until you are yourself convinced because if prosperity is visible from a distance, so is poverty. 

Industrialisation: An area, perhaps, grossly neglected is setting-up of a couple of big or large-scale industries.

Soon after assuming power Modi talked about Make in India, Make for India and Start Up India. All these schemes have been launched to encourage self-employment among educated or skilled youth of the country. These schemes are synonyms for small industries which is not a bad idea to counter the problem of gross unemployment facing our society. However, this is not the complete solution to the problem of unemployment and country's industrial growth. With manufacturing one also needs to address issues like distribution, marketing, sales and advertising. When all of them are put together it does not make the entire business a profitable venture.

The next best solution is to help set up one or two industries on a very large-scale which will co-exist with small industries. Big industry comes with its own advantages- huge capital investment which leads to banking activity, construction activity, heavy machinery installations, operation and maintenance, support to small industries by ways of mutual collaboration, numerous non-technical operations and much more. When all these activities begin to function simultaneously one witnesses sudden spurt in employment generation. This also leads to country's massive industrial growth while also bringing national pride.

Revolution in India's automobile sector as well as Indian Railways are major examples of employment generation and nation's growth. 

Education: Another most neglected area is education. Education institutions run by the government are nobody's choice and it is the biggest business in private hands. Then how shall the state of education improve in our country where huge funds are allocated every year but where is it spent is anybody's guess. It is a tragedy that we have not been able to set accountability for schools and other government institutions. Politicians are interested in corpus and make false claims to get votes. I only wish if the Modi government would have made one honest step to improve the lot of education and secure the future of our children who live in small towns or villages.

Health: Imagine if someone falls ill in some village or small town far away from a big city. Can this person even get first aid not to talk of proper treatment. The answer is big no and if it is negative then certainly the health sector is in shambles. If every patient needs to be transported to Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai then how shameful for the administration that looks after the health sector. Every single person who falls ill should have access to medicines and doctors within city limits but that is one thing we have not been able to ensure till date. And the Modi government is no exception to this.

Job creation: Employment, unfortunately, has become the biggest poll plank to win elections in India. Once in power who bothers to spend time and energy on ways to create jobs. True, no government has a magic wand to create jobs as it is not easy and cannot be done in a single day. On the contrary it is the easiest topic to talk about, play politics and create opinions in the society. One needs to put the entire system in place so that employment becomes part of the process. It is sad that no government has ever made efforts to establish a system which encourages demand for manpower.

Employment generation comes with industrialisation for which a government needs to create right system and appropriate atmosphere. Even the Modi government has not been successful in making such an attempt. There is no desired atmosphere to establish large industries in India. Major failure in three for the BJP government.

Fear of Law: Crime and criminal activities are a continuing menace in our society irrespective of states or state governments. Criminals are fearless and the innocent man lives in continuous fear. Has the BJP government been able to reverse the trend. No.

Ganga Cleaning: Pollution of rivers has been a major problem for the last several decades. Millions and millions of rupees have been spent but the river pollution has not ended. Cleaning of Ganges has stolen the limelight as it is one of the most sacred rivers of our country. Go anywhere Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi or Patna holy Ganga is still unclean. 

Has Modi government prepared any report card on this front?

Modern and Smooth lifestyle: What do understand when the prime minister of India says achche din aane wale hain?

Achche din indicates a hassle-free life for the aam admi. Achche din means ease of doing things. Achche din means problem-free everyday life. Achche din means a modern lifestyle where ease of doing things is supreme. Achche din means convenience in your hands. Do we have a life like this? The answer is obviously No. So even after three years achche din remain elusive for most Indians.

CONCLUSION

To conclude I have no hesitation in saying that no doubt the idea of having internet in every village is good, the idea of smart cities is good, the idea of make in India is good, the idea of exploiting solar power is good but it is also necessary that the commonest of the person in the remotest part of our land lives happily, gets a bank close to his home, has a good, affordable hospital nearby, does not have to bribe a policeman when he comes for passport verification, does not have to bribe electrician to get a connection, does not need an agent to get rail reservation or does not need a 'connection' to get his child admitted to a well-known school or college. 

We are a country of jugaad and it is imperative to end this system which is possible only when there is administrative willingness. The BJP government under the leadership of Narendra Modi needs to set up this administrative willingness and a proactive approach to it even after the completion of three years of its rule.

While one should appreciate Modi's desire to change India but his skill to manage India is on test. He will succeed in bringing achche din once he passes this test and secedes vote-bank politics.

It is often seen that despite excellent schemes lack of proper implementation does not bring desired results and the benefits do not percolate to the bottom of the ladder. The prime minister will, therefore, need to display his strong willingness and determination if he is, indeed, keen on seeing a reformed and modern India.

Second Opinion  wonders if Modi could adopt what former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had once preached- Work More, Talk Less (काम ज़्यादा, बातें कम). 

NOTE:
Copy/Paste following Link to read another article in Hindi on completion of 100 days of Modi2.0 government.

https://apurvarai.blogspot.com/2019/09/20.html