Open Forum

New Delhi, 25 August 2015

Modi’s Performance

NOT IN RIGHT DIRECTION

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

The present state of affairs in the political arena is a sad commentary for the aam admi, most of whom have lost faith in the political class. The government has lost its credibility and all sections of people are somewhat disgruntled. There is no hint to suggest that things will improve in the short-term, as number of problems have emerged which would be greatly difficult for the Government to tackle.    

As the monsoon session of Parliament has shown the political climate has deteriorated and both the Government and Opposition are on a warpath. There is sufficient reason for the Congress to react. This long stalemate is bound to affect policy implementation and economic development. What is worse is that Modi’s silence cannot be expected of an able leader. And the question is beginning to arise whether he has the capacity to give desired leadership, keeping all sections of leaders happy and carry out his mission of social and economic development?   

The Government is now toying with the idea of convening a second session of the Monsoon session of Parliament to clear important bills including the Goods and Services Tax bill (GST). However, the Modi’s lack of initiative to break the recent deadlock was clearly indicative of his arrogant style and may be considered his principal failure in delaying economic revival and make the country an investment destination.

The GST bill, which aims to turn India into a single customs union by replacing a plethora of taxes imposed by States, was delayed for seven years because of the obstinacy of the BJP when it was in the Opposition. The main opposition to the measure came from none other than Modi when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat! But now as Prime Minister he is putting the blame on the Congress. One cannot deny the fact that we need a reasonably low, attractive and modern indirect tax structure to boost compliance and achieve revenue buoyancy.

Modi is akin to Nehru in his elevated sense of self. But the personalities between the two are in no way matching. Nehru was scholar and statesman with secular credentials while Modi carries a RSS background. Though it may be too early to say at this point of time, but the practicality of Modi’s vision in ensuring achche din (better days) remains to be seen.

There is no indication that he has been able to win the support of the masses, not to speak of other political parties. The parties that are supporting him have extracted concessions, some of which should not have been given. Though one may say that such political maneuvering is nothing new, the trend set by Modi can definitely be said to be most unhealthy.    

Lot of schemes and programmes has been announced by him, but making these effective is indeed a big challenge. The tendency to rename schemes is obviously a political ploy but all this can succeed only if positive achievements can be shown within a reasonable time frame. The strategy of a pro-industrial approach may help in keeping the GDP on the higher side but cannot ensure adequate employment opportunities, which is a burning problem.   

The perception that Modi would be able to create a significant number of jobs for the 8 to 10 million youth that enter the market remains to be seen. As is generally agreed, one per cent rise in GDP roughly adds 15 lakh direct jobs which, in turn, create two to three indirect jobs. But to make this a reality, announcements and slogans apart, lot of grass-root work remains to be accomplished. 

Apart from the economic perspective, critics point out that Modi’s continuous silence in the face of bigotry and communal brazenness is an unspoken commitment to majoritarian creep. There have been incidents across the country where the minorities have been affected in various ways.  Also there have been attempts to place in the commanding heights of Indian education and culture with sectarian ideologues.

Meanwhile, the agrarian crisis has deepened during the last year or two. The prediction of lesser than normal rainfall along with floods having taken place in eastern and western India may have caused considerable loss to crops. The prices of vegetables have been soaring at a fast pace, with onions costing 80 per kg affecting the poor and even the middle class. There is very little that the Centre has done to mitigate the pathetic condition of farmers, who continue to suffer.   

The rural scenario does not give a picture of much hope in spite of the various schemes launched by the government though much would depend on the future implementation of the schemes and funds made available to the State governments. Most States, including West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh etc are clamouring for more funds either for flood devastation, enhanced backward areas grant or for special developmental projects.  

The Prime Minister is only inspiring when he announces plans but not much is known on the follow-up work that is being undertaken. Whether it is the skills mission, the river cleaning programme or the rural infrastructure development projects, there is no report on what is  accomplished and what would be done in the current year or in 2016-17.

Only the Swachch Bharat appears to have got some boost but even in this programme how many toilets in girls’ schools with proper water facilities have been constructed or will be constructed in this financial year is unknown. Meanwhile, reports reveal that in as many as 13 States and Union Territories are yet to build household and community toilets to address open defecation.

Availability of potable water is an area of much concern and though a new irrigation scheme has been announced, there is very little attention for providing drinking water to the rural mass. A plethora of issues need to be prioritised and worked out after judicious planning. However, it is not known what the new Niti Aayog is doing and what role it would play in social and economic progress and growth of the country in the coming years.

If things do not improve in the right direction, Modi’s leadership and capability is bound to be questioned. Already critics are sceptical of his vision and style to make the desired changes at the grass-root level. Time will be the essence.

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)