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Modi's positives should not be swamped by negatives
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By Amulya GanguliSo, even as the economy is certified by the Reserve Bank governor to be
on the mend, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to take the
country into a digital age with more e-governance, it is the daily
stumbles of ministers and mandarins that are attracting greater
attention.
While these missteps may be difficult to prevent,
given the casual manner in which rules tend to be flouted by the rich
and powerful, a prompt and decisive intervention from the highest levels
will be an effective counter to the impression that the government is
being overwhelmed by various problems.
The prime minister's
decision to step into the rumpus caused by the deplaning of passengers
in Leh, Ladakh, to accommodate VIPs is a sign that the norms are being
tightened.
But there has to be more such steps at a time when the
various controversies range from la'affaire Lalit Modi to the
mysterious deaths of the accused and witnesses associated with a scam in
Madhya Pradesh to the holding up of an international flight so that a
member of a chief minister's staff can fetch his passport from home or
the non-submission of e-tenders (even as e-governance is being hailed)
by a Maharashtra minister for the purchase of fire extinguishers.
Collectively,
the drip-drip of allegations can erode the government's image. It will
not be until the economy reaches a high plateau of an 8-9 percent growth
rate, or the prime minister's fabled penchant for enforcing discipline
begins to visibly bear fruit on more than one occasion, that the
government will be able to breathe easily.
The only success which
the government has been able to achieve so far is to prevent a major
communal flare-up. This accomplishment cannot but disappoint Congressmen
like Mani Shankar Aiyar who was hoping for a "Godhra moment" to tarnish
Narendra Modi's name.
Related to this achievement is the
government's success in taming the saffron hotheads. As a result, the
incidents of 'ghar wapsi' and 'love jehad' have tapered off, suggesting
that a stern message is all that is needed to bring the doctrinaire
elements to book.
What is curious, however, is why the government
has been unwilling to take pre-emptive action against the
fundamentalists so that they will not be able to queer the pitch to
start with.
Had that been done, much of its image problems could
have been avoided. The anticipatory steps might have been expected since
the umbilical connections between those in the government and the
extremists outside would have warned the former what to expect.
Yet,
we have the instances of madrasas (Muslim schools) being downgraded in
Maharashtra or the National Investigative Agency's lawyers being asked
to go slow on Hindu militants, which cannot but reinforce the perception
of the government being guided by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS).
Arguably, by the time the economy picks up and the daily
gaffes are curbed, the next general election will not be far away. In
the meantime, the state elections in Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and
elsewhere, apart from the various by-elections, may not always yield
results in the BJP's favour, thereby denting its confidence.
Since
the run-up to a general election is not the time to take what may be
unpopular decisions, whatever the government has to do on the economic
front has to be done now. If any "bitter medicine" is to be
administered, as the prime minister said right at the beginning of his
tenure, this is the time for it to be given.
But as long as the
government continues to grapple with the various controversies, any
movement even on ushering in governance via mobile phones, as Modi
promised, or ensuring Swachh Bharat, let alone on the economy, will be
tentative.
What the fate of the Congress in the last general
election has shown is that the government must always be proactive about
its plus points. Otherwise, an accumulation of negative impressions can
be fatal.
As is known, the poverty reduction under the Manmohan
Singh government was the fastest in the country's history. This was
stated by none other than the present government's chief economic
adviser, Arvind Subramanian. Notwithstanding this remarkable
achievement, the Congress crashed to its worst defeat in its history
simply because the many scams, big and small, undermined the party's and
the government's credibility.
If the Modi government wants to
avoid a similar outcome, it will have to match its performance with
promise. And the promise is not only the one on economic growth but also
on transparency in official functioning based on trust and credibility.
However,
trust cannot be gained by rejecting a Right to Information (RTI)
application seeking details on the former cricket impresario, Lalit
Modi's passport. Nor can it be enhanced if a minister of state in the
external affairs ministry accuses those seeking such information as
conducting a "supari" (contract) operation.
This was the point
which L.K. Advani made when he recalled how he resigned when a momentary
shadow was cast on his reputation with the mention of his name in a
hawala transaction.
Considering that the octogenarian leader is
expected to indicate the marg or path which the party should follow, his
advice should not be ignored.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at [email protected])