The People’s Prime Minister

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP government at the Centre is about to complete seven years in office, at a time when our country is facing a crisis from the second wave of the Covid pandemic. The challenge, though, is not unfamiliar to Modi, even though its nature keeps changing. When in 2014, Modi was sworn in, the administration was wallowing in ­inefficiency, corruption, lack of accountability, dual and ­conflicting power structures etc. The first task of the Modi government, therefore, was to regain confidence of the ­people that his government could deliver on their promises.

Modi took the bull by its horns, starting with the first of several mega drives to empower people—the Jan Dhan Yojana. He set a target of opening a hundred million zero-balance bank accounts in a year. It was perceived as an impossible aim. But with the right policy framework, close monitoring of progress, use of technology and motivation, the target was met.

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Without going into details of this or several other mega schemes launched in these seven years, one can clearly see a pattern worth studying. First, every programme has made material difference in the lives of their beneficiaries. In short, the cardinal principle is to have every programme/scheme outcome-driven and not just a well-drafted academic exercise. From providing LPG cylinders, clean tap water and electricity, to advancing the battle against climate change by ramping up renewable energy capacities, particularly in solar, every ­programme of the Modi government has changed the lives of millions of vulnerable people of the country.

One of the salient features of these schemes is to have an end-to-end execution plan. Established wisdom in government circles was that many schemes planned with good int­ent fail to deliver end results due to lack of planning. Modi learnt that in the early days of his tenure as chief minister of Gujarat. Being a man of details has helped him foresee possible bottlenecks in advance.

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Modi’s insistence on the use of technology in every aspect of governance has brought enormous efficiencies and transparency. But here too, the uniqueness of his vision is that use of technology did not remain confined to the English-speaking class. With the help of Aadhaar cards, cellphones and one-time digital passwords (OTP), anyone who can read and write the numbers zero to nine, has now been empowered to use digital technology.

The scale at which these schemes are implemented is also unprecedented. In many cases, the numbers achieved in the past seven years surpass the cumulative achievements of the past over 60 years. Today, every village in the country has electricity and drinking water on tap. More than 400 million Jan Dhan accounts have been opened. Infrastruc­ture projects pending for decades, many in the Northeast, have been completed. The speed of construction of roads and bridges is as never seen before.

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In the process, Modi has brought in a paradigm shift not only in the way government works, but in how people in seats of power think. Give me another example of a head of government talking about the need to build toilets while addressing the nation on its Independence Day? This is just one example of how the government has touched upon many basic issues faced by common citizens every day, which no politician bothered to talk about in the past. Either these were perceived as too complicated to implement, or too trivial to be given national importance. Think of toilets in girls’ schools, use of sanitary napkins by women and enhanced maternity benefits, to name a few. Even ­abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A should be seen not only as fulfilling the will of a majority of patriotic Indians, but also in terms of gender justice and equality.

The list of financial reforms he has carried out is too long to mention. Right from direct benefit transfer, One Nation One Ration Card, faceless appeals to income tax disputes, GST, to the Farm Acts, he has brought uniformity and ­coh­erence in the system and simplified processes by ­trusting honest taxpayers.

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His communication style is unique and therefore ­unsettling for many. He prefers to communicate directly with his constituents, without any intermediary. No ­wonder, he was the first Indian politician who realised the potential of social media even before many of his contemporary politicians had heard of Facebook and Twitter. He opened his Facebook account in 2009. His Maan ki Baat programme, a monthly non-political talk show on radio that has been running since 2014, revived the “outdated” med­ium of radio to reach out to the population that ­remains under the media shadow. Most importantly, he brought to limelight many unsung heroes in the process. The list of those who get Padma awards every year on Republic Day is evidence of this. No longer is the selection dominated by the Delhi social set.

In the past seven years, Modi has invested heavily in global affairs. When he took over as PM in 2014, there were several gaps in our global outreach. For example, the last time an Indian PM had visited Nepal was 17 years before Modi. In case of Sri Lanka, this gap was 28 years, for UAE it was 34. India used to have dealings with Israel even during the UPA regime, but Dr Manmohan Singh never dared to visit Israel for fear of upsetting his domestic vote-bank. Whereas his government had signed a document giving Pakistan a free hand, saying terrorism and talks could go on together.

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PM Modi has not only bridged existing gaps in foreign ­policy, but also continued India’s strategic partnership with friendly countries such as the US, despite dealing with three different White House residents since 2014. He visited Israel, but also strengthened ties with India’s traditional friends in the Middle East. He opened new avenues of ­collaborative partnership with African countries and with India’s neighbourhood. He diversified the sourcing of latest defence equipment and technologies, getting rivals US, France, Israel and Russia involved, while at the same time giving a boost to FDI in defence production. He is instrumental in strengthening the QUAD. His tough response to cross-border terrorism and adventurism by India’s northern neighbour has received appreciation the world over.

All these years of diplomatic effort and investment have been reciprocated by the global community every time India has faced challenges, whether it be terrorist attacks, border crises at Doklam and Galwan, or the Covid crisis. Today, every country supplying India with relief material is first acknowledging India’s assistance during the crisis in their countries. Those who are criticising ‘vaccine maitri’ fail to understand these sentiments. The fact remains this stream of assistance is a result of goodwill generated by India since 2014.

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The Covid crisis has emboldened several day-dreamers to fantasise their political rehabilitation. One first-time MP has even declared in a prominent Western newspaper that she has found the master key to defeat Modi. Few others are busy baking their TRP breads on funeral pyres. But Modi is as sharp, focused and determined to pull the country out of this crisis, as he is every other day. For him, every crisis is a re-enforcement of his commitment to serve the poor, downtrodden and vulnerable sections of society, through reforms with human touch, efficient delivery and cooperative federalism. He is on the right path and leading from the front.There is no doubt that with the goodwill and support of more than a billion Indians, he will overcome even this challenge and continue to chart a path of ­comprehensive development for the country.

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The writer is in charge of the BJP’S foreign affairs department. Views expressed are personal.