During
his election campaigns, Narendra Modi had often expressed his desire for two
consecutive terms as PM so that he might succeed in giving his development
agenda a practical shape. The two budgets – Railways and General – underscore
his vision of a developed Swachh Bharat, and firmly stamp Modi as India’s Development
Man.
In
fact, the evolution of Modi the Politician from being a partisan hothead to one
of the coolest, all-encompassing statesman, makes for an interesting study. When
he began his bid for becoming the BJP’s face for the general elections based on
his Gujarat Model, there was intense skepticism. Somehow, the stigma of 2002
riots would not fade away. The media, and his political opponents, ensured
that. It is a tribute to Modi’s self-belief that he stuck to his development
agenda and weathered serious challenges from within the Sangh Parivar, before successfully
taking on his opponents from other political parties. Actually, the attempts to
derail his development agenda have been far more persistent from within than
without the Sangh Parivar. The rabid communalism displayed by some of the
constituents threatened to detract from constructive governance. It was no
coincidence that the utterances of Mohan Bhagwat, Sakhshi Maharaj, Sadhvi
Niranjan Jyoti, not to mention the usual suspects like the Praveen Togadias and
Singhals, invariably burst onto media headlines on the eve of elections, the
Obama visit or some such event when the international media would take notice. The
recent attack on Mother Teresa is a case in point.
Modi
has done well to not get embroiled in these controversies. He has remained
steadfastly focused on his development agenda, as underscored by these two
budgets. It is perhaps the first time
that we are having a “path-breaking” or “historic” budget, which is not
populist. There are no air-conditioned garib raths, no new trains in the
incumbent PM’s or FM’s hometown in the Railways Budget. Similarly, there are no
eye-catching sops for the aam aadmi in the main budget either. Instead, we have
replacement of the wealth tax with a 2% cess on the super-rich earning one
crore or more per year; monetization of gold has been initiated – a politically
hazardous issue once upon a time; emphasis on infrastructure building,
employment generation and higher education by allocating new IITs and IIMs,
along with provision for better medical facilities through additional AIIMS,
the super-specialty hospitals to different parts of the country…
This
is not to say that there are no drawbacks. There is no mention of quality
medical facilities at the grassroots level. Or, provision of adequate quality
primary and secondary schools for the poor throughout the country. Similarly,
we have not heard much on better policing and security for the vulnerable. There
is a lot that needs to be done. But, this budget generates optimism.
In
short, the industry should be happy. The upper middle classes must be
delirious. The lower income groups must be feeling left out, however. Since MNREGA
is not being discarded, it might be some sort of consolation to the poor.
Moreover, the fact that the MNREGA is being strengthened, should give them hope
of more secure employment avenues; instead of dazzling them with sops this
government is focusing on real economic development that will be married to
social security and job creation. Eventually, this should lead to a better
quality of life. But would this happen? That’s a billion rupee question. And the
challenge is more political than economic.
Apart
from the expected rhetoric from the Left and the predictable whingeing by the
Congress party (Mani Shankar Aiyar complained about the absence of provision of
last mile delivery system for the rural poor) there is not going to be any serious
opposition from without as far as Modi’s development agenda is concerned. The real
threat will come from the forces within the Sangh Parivar. There are plenty
there who are alarmed at the increasing entrenchment of the Modi-Shah duo. They
will not miss an opportunity to embarrass Modi or even torpedo his development
agenda. Modi is not unaware of this. Modi knows well that for any development
to happen on an enduring basis there ought to be political and societal
cohesion, which is predicated on mutual trust, peace and cooperation. This
makes including of minorities in the nation-building process a pre-requisite. He
is already strengthening his regime’s hold on the national politics by reaching
out to the minorities in his attempt at reinventing himself as a votary of
inclusiveness. Although many look askance at his conciliatory gestures, he
should succeed if he remains persistent and genuine in his efforts and
intentions.
For the
sake of India, let us hope he does.
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