PM Modi came to power in 2014 with a thumping mandate of the people, the largest in 30 years; what has he managed to achieve and lose out on, two and a half years down the line?
The Quint met up with Dr Shashi Tharoor at the Tata LitLive Festival in Mumbai and managed to get a word about what he thought were the three big hits and three disappointing misses of Prime Minister Modi until now.
Expanding on Dr Tharoor’s ideas, let us take a look at how the PM has achieved both his hits and misses.
1. ‘Dynamic Energy in Foreign Policy’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi handles foreign policy like he handles his elections – he believes in campaign diplomacy.
In 2015-16 alone, he visited 28 countries and billed a whopping Rs 117 crore in expenses. He also received the heads of 12 states including USA, Germany, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
He travels tirelessly, signing MoUs, discussing policy, extending a warm handshake to countries big and small. And that’s a good thing because it means India, the country, and India, the brand, gets noticed on the world stage.
Also, Modi has unarguably energised the Indian diaspora in all these countries across the world, which in turn has had an effect on the domestic policy of those countries. President-elect Donald Trump felt it necessary to appeal to Indian Americans by attempting to say “Ab ki baar Trump sarkar” along the lines of Modi’s winning campaign slogan.
2. ‘Neat Vision for India’
Prime Minister Modi definitely sounds like he has a plan, and with his strong oratory skills, he has told us what it is. For domestic policy, it includes Swachh Bharat, Digital India, Make in India, Beti Padhao Beti Bachao. For foreign policy, it includes Neighbourood First, Act East, Project Mausam and Para Diplomacy.
If there’s one thing Prime Minister Modi is good at, it is embedding a concept, a notion, in our consciousness by the use of catchy, inspiring vocabulary, and thus engaging millions in public welfare policies.
3. ‘Statesmanly and politically correct’
Since coming to power, Modi has opted for a steady image change, toning down the Hindutva and focussing more on growth-oriented, forward-looking policies. It is no longer about building a Ram Temple at Ayodhya, but about environmental protection, youth empowerment and digital advancement.
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1. ‘Huge Gap between articulation and implementation’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be lauded for coming from a good place, whether he’s making India the manufacturing hub of the world with ‘Make in India’ or fighting black money by demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
We have a bunch of schemes – Startup India, Standup India, Make in India, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Digital India – and many others keep getting added to the list. In this hurry to move forward to the next progressive, well-intentioned scheme, very few bother to look back on their progress.
In July, of 728 applications under Startup India, the government chose only one for tax benefits; several MoUs have been signed by international manufacturing giants but the investment is yet to come in and the promise of 25 million jobs per annum seems like a distant reality; over 60% of Jan Dhan accounts have zero balance; and Swachh Bharat has been relegated to photo-ops of government officials or minority groups with brooms on official events.
2. ‘His silence at crucial moments of divisiveness’
When, in 2015, Mohammed Akhlaq was lynched to death in Dadri and his son’s skull was crushed on the mere suspicion that the family had beef in their refrigerator, Modi, who talks on a radio show every month and tweets regularly, didn’t so much as refer to the incident despite all but a riot breaking out soon after.
This unarguably contributed to empowered gau rakshaks believing they could flog Dalits in Una in broad daylight earlier this year, under his implicit protection. To be fair, Modi did break his silence after the Una incident, but many saw the emotional appeal as a political ploy that was too little, too late.
3. ‘No tangible consequence in Indo-Pak relations’
With the killing of militant Burhan Wani in July, earlier this year, the Kashmir crisis precipitated to the point where PM Modi was forced to withdraw the hand of diplomacy he had extended to Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif several times after coming to power.
His opposition has critiqued him harshly for his largely yoyo-like strategy to deal with Pakistan: from paying Nawaz Sharif a surprise visit just one week before the Pathankot attack, then allowing Pakistan to investigate the incident, to carrying out surgical strikes against them in September earlier this year, after the Uri attacks. It doesn’t help the opposition that his foreign policy strategy towards Pakistan has found much resonance with the public at large.
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