By Kartik Lokhande
As the Central Government
under Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi completes one year in the office, already
there is much high-pitched discussion whether it has been successful in ushering
in ‘Achche Din’ (good days) for the people. And, instead of helping in shaping
a balanced view, there is clear distinction based broadly on political
inclinations – yes and no. The supporters say that good days are here, and the
critics say that the promised goods have not been delivered.
If one looks beyond the
smokescreen of television-centric debate over the issue, one finds that in some
areas the good days have already arrived and in certain areas they are on the
horizon. Also, in several areas, groundwork is being done so that the results
will be visible in years to come. Having said that let us look at some broader
points.
For the long years of the
rule of Congress and its allies, the focus was only on religion and caste
centric politics. There was appeasement policy, there was ‘divide and rule’
policy, there was ‘we are secular because we support one group, and they are
communal because they support another’ policy, there was general chaos in
governance and administration due to lack of toughness required to take certain
decisions that may ruffle the feathers, and there was a consistently falling
perception about India in the International arena due to ‘policy paralysis’.
In such a situation, the
people of India elected for the first time a non-Congress majority Government
under Mr Modi because it promised development beyond barriers of caste and
religion. Time and again, Mr Modi made it clear through words and action that
he was in favour of federal structure, and would ‘add’ on whatever good every
previous Government had done. But, he took up the most challenging task as the
first and foremost task – that of improving perception about India in the
global arena. He took over when India was losing allies, economic ties were
tilting in favour of other countries because of lack of confidence in
negotiations. He embarked upon a whirlwind tour of nations and it has yielded a
positive outcome – India’s significance is being recognised once again, and
foreign policy matters are looking up in favour of India.
Also, the Government under
Mr Modi took up the task of streamlining the decision-making process. For
instance, every department was asked to function as a part of the larger system
of governance and not in isolation. As a result, Environment and Forest
Department started approving long-awaited infrastructure projects in the
North-Eastern states. Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces had been
pressing for roads and other infrastructure projects especially in the areas
closer to the border with China, for years. However, for over 50 years since
the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the demand was neglected for the reasons best known
to the then Governments. Mere development of roads, educational institutions, communication
networks can throw up new employment opportunities for people of the
North-Eastern states. And, on this count, the current Government has definitely
successfully started effecting a positive change.
Previously, politics played
a major role in release of grants to states having a party ‘other than that at
the Centre’ in power. The new Government, as is evident from launch of various
projects in different states under different Governments, has broken this
unhealthy tradition. As a result, even West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata
Banerjee said a couple of days ago, “Politics is one thing, development is
another. Unity for development is our strength.” Consultations with the State
Governments have increased. Loose strings are being tied up properly to weave a
fine cloth of an united nation-state of India.
Further, without bias,
several of the previous Government’s decisions and laws are being implemented
with little modifications. Modifications to Land Acquisition Act, passed during
Congress regime, have been proposed. But, many of the Congress ministers also
had desired these changes when they were in power. For, even they had opined in
private that Congress had rushed up with passing this and some other laws only
with an intention to have a ‘soothing effect’ on the voters of the country who
were becoming more disappointed with the party then.
During the previous
Government, there was general neglect of even the opinions of learned ministers
like Mr P Chidambaram, Mr Pranab Mukherjee (now, the President of India), Mr
Anand Sharma, Mr Manish Tewari and others. Instead, a particular coterie within
Congress held the sway as nepotism was encouraged in the party. As a result, Mr
Chidambaram’s opinion to make the NGOs receiving foreign contributions
accountable, was not paid heed to. Now, the Government under Mr Modi has shown enough
toughness to act against NGOs that were not held accountable despite not filing
details of use of foreign funding though it was required to be done under
Foreign Contributions Regulation Act. Thousands of NGOs have not filed returns
for several years, and in the name of furthering the national interest, many of
them usually worked to scuttle developmental projects in India.
Previously, private
companies had become so weary of the prevailing governance set-up that they had
started moving out of the country looking for greener pastures in other
countries. The new Government has started simplifying the process of clearances
and approvals. Further, it has launched a major initiative ‘Make in India’ to increase
economic ties with other countries, and open up more opportunities for
long-term growth of India as a major world economy.
However, there are certain
segments that expect the results to be delivered faster. The impatience has its
roots in the performance of the previous Government that had only one policy ‘delay
the decision making and try to please all’. As a result of this policy, the
previous Government failed to take decisions required, but rushed up with laws
and certain decisions to please certain sections. This created a set of contradictions
and resulted in loss of confidence in governance.
Now, as the new Government completes
one year, globally and even nationally there is a sense of confidence in
overall structure. Of course, there are times when stray statements of a leader
or two in the Government cloud the minds of the people. Of course, the current
Government faces the challenge to meet the expectations of people that were
created by its own leaders during pre-election campaign. Of course, there will
be incidences when this Government may not deliver goods at a pace its leaders
promised. However, these are things common in case of any past Government.
Still, no one giving due
importance to facts can deny that the biggest achievement of the one-year-old
Government under Mr Modi has been restoring faith in India. As far as fulfillment
of the promises is concerned, at this moment, one should wait. For, there is no
magic wand.
(10-05-15)
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