Modi@2 | Catalogue of Disappointments, Achhe Din Elude: Tharoor

‘Achhe Din’ are nowhere to be seen even after two years, writes Shashi Tharoor on NDA’s second anniversary.

(As the NDA government completes two years in power, The Quint brings for its readers ‘Modi@2’, a special series evaluating the performance of the current regime.)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Prime Minister Modi marks its second anniversary in office, and as it approaches the halfway mark of its term, the “achhe din” promised by its overblown (and lavishly financed) election campaign are nowhere in sight. Mr Modi offered himself as a business-savvy “man of action” who would transform India with unprecedented reform and growth. His message appealed to the electorate, and his party became the first in thirty years to win a majority in the Lok Sabha.

But if the Modi government must receive full marks for anything, it is for setting towering new standards in how to disappoint Indian voters.

Two years into his rule, the Prime Minister still finds it challenging to rise from the role of an election campaigner into that of a leader who can match his grandly declared intentions with realistic, dedicated action. He has become the first PM to attack the Opposition on foreign soil, as well as the first to campaign so fervidly that he insulted the people of the states of Bihar and Kerala to his own detriment.

Too Much Rhetoric

Nor have his good ideas translated into admirable results. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan that was trumpeted across the country has gone nowhere and even the increased budgetary allocation this year is less than the UPA’s sanitation budget. I know from personal experience how the campaign has been little more than a PR exercise for the government – Mr Modi and his office are yet to reply to my application for assistance in cleaning up the historic Parvathi Puthanar canal in Thiruvananthapuram nearly a year-and-a-half after I wrote to him.

The gap between rhetoric and reality as far as Mr Modi is concerned has been widening with every additional mile the Prime Minister flies on his frequent foreign travels. All that these trips have resulted in, is sustained publicity for Mr Modi at grand receptions followed by promises of investment that have largely, and inconveniently, failed to materialise. The Prime Minister is undoubtedly an energetic salesman for the Government of India, but how long can a salesman remain credible if all he is selling is an empty package?

The PM proclaims “India First” but then proceeds to deliver more speeches in Parliaments abroad than in our own where he is a member. “Make in India” makes for a great slogan, but India still ranks 130 out of 189 economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business Index — well short of Mr Modi’s goal to crack the top 50 in two years.

Distracted from its Goal

But the biggest problem that has arisen in the two years of the Modi government is how distracted it has become from its own self-proclaimed goal of “sabka saath, sabka vikas” (development for all) by unnecessary forays into bigotry and communal polarisation. On one hand the authorities go around making pious declarations about Startup India and Digital India to attract foreign investors, while on the other the Prime Minister’s party colleagues blatantly instigate a politics of hatred in the country whose effect is to Slow Down India and Divide India. You cannot successfully promote “Make in India” while your party colleagues are busy advocating “Hate in India”.

The government appears blind to the discontent simmering on the ground. It is busy looking the other way while the ABVP turns universities into battlegrounds and party members (and even ministers) spout hate speech, accusing everyone who happens to have a contrary opinion of being “anti-national”. Even historical figures are not left in peace – Nehru is of course completely demonised, but even Emperor Akbar is, in the view of some BJP members, comparable to Hitler!

Missing in Action

• Modi government aimed to reach the top 50 in two years in the ‘ease of doing business’ index but India still stands at 130 among 189 countries.
  
• In contradiction of the slogan of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’, BJP workers have been making unnecessary forays into bigotry and communal polarisation.
  
• Development and economic reform has taken a backseat and communal chauvinism seems to dominate the discourse.
  
• Slashing of health budget and funds for women and children have further added to the woes of the aam aadmi.
  

Over-emphasis on Communal Chauvinism

I had incurred the displeasure of many in my own party in 2014 by acknowledging that Mr Modi’s statements suggested he recognised the importance of switching from the politics of religious identity (which his party had been so notorious for propagating) to a politics of performance. Unfortunately, it has become clear that I was too optimistic – Mr Modi’s mantra is one of making promises with little regard to fulfilment, while divisive bigots are given free rein. There has not only been no development, no sign of economic reform, no national transformation and no jobs for the young – but far worse, there has been an over-emphasis on communal chauvinism and a distasteful display of Hindutva triumphalism across the board.

It should perhaps not surprise us that the Modi government has hacked the health care budget, slashed funds for women and children, rewritten history textbooks and hiked excise taxes on petrol and diesel to a point that all the gains from plummeting international oil prices have gone to the government rather than the aam aadmi. But that it has failed to live up to its core promises is the most disappointing aspect of its rule.

To take just one example: For all its muscular claims on nationalism, Mr Modi’s government has completely betrayed the armed forces. It repeatedly announced, but has so far failed to implement, the One Rank One Pension (OROP) policy and has alienated millions of veterans by its indecisiveness and complete lack of respect for our armed forces. In 2013, Mr Modi famously declared to a large gathering of retired army men that the “problem is not on the border, the problem is in Delhi”. He promised to resolve this “problem” after becoming Prime Minister.

Governance is Missing

As it happened, from 1.8 percent of GDP in the UPA’s final two budgets, defence allocations under Mr Modi have actually declined to 1.65 percent this year, though the government has dressed up the number by adding pensions and ministry expenditure to the budget (which was never done in the past) to give the impression that defence spending has actually increased.

Mr Modi did come to Delhi, but doesn’t seem able to find time to solve the “problems” facing our armed forces. What greater indictment can there be of a “nationalist” Prime Minister?

After two years we know that Narendra Modi is an orator of ability. If only governance was a question of making speeches and coining slogans, he would be unchallengeable. Unfortunately, the responsibilities facing the Prime Minister of India are vastly more demanding and serious, and no amount of compelling speech-making will prevent him from being held accountable in 2019 for the catalogue of disappointments that is proving to be his first term in government.

(Former UN under-secretary-general, Shashi Tharoor is a Congress MP and an author.)

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