In politics and governance, as much as in inter-personal relations, credibility is a necessary virtue. If a leader promises something and doesn’t deliver, he loses trust. But if he promises something and routinely does the exact opposite of what he has promised, he not only becomes untrustworthy but also compels others to think that he has dishonourable motives.
In his first term, the promise Prime Minister Narendra Modi made to the nation was “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” — to seek the partnership of all and to ensure development for all. When he won a renewed and bigger mandate in 2019, he enlarged the promise to include “Sabka Vishwas” — to earn the trust of all.
How much the Prime Minister has delivered on each of these three assurances is debatable. But the debate is already settled beyond any doubt if one looks at the performance of his party’s government in the country’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. The state’s Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, does not even pretend he believes in any of these promises. On the contrary, he has deliberately broken them by showing that he cares two hoots for earning the trust of Muslims, who constitute nearly one-fifth of UP’s population.