In about three weeks from now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will complete twenty years in the position of power. Thirteen years as Chief Minister of Gujarat and seven years as the Prime Minister of India This journey is uninterrupted, undefeated and rare for a non- congress politician in post-independence India. This is one of the many firsts to his credit. What is the secret behind his success? There have been efforts to find out the reasons.
Many articles are written, books are published. He is discussed at various national as well as international seminars, conferences etc. Most of the time he draws extreme criticism. But even his staunch critics grudgingly concede that he has the mettle in him. He has something in him that attracts millions of Indians like a magnet.
His RSS background, his honesty, his integrity, his unadulterated love for the nation and above all his passion to work for the poor are the key drivers to his success. As he turns 71 today, I have made a small effort to fit his powerful and radiant persona in this article. An extremely difficult task indeed.
After assuming the chair of Prime Minister in
May 2014 he has changed how our country used to be governed. He led the BJP to its first resounding absolute majority and repeated battered the performance five years later. This absolute majority is THE reason behind many of his bold, aggressive decisions, successful foreign policy and much confident approach in dealing with enemy neighbours like Pakistan and China.
Now I will dwell upon some of the decisions and policies that separate Narendra Modi from others.
Demonetisation
This is easily the most controversial and fiercely debated and criticised decision so far. Critics are still debating about it. But Modi had the courage of conviction to carry the decision to its logical end and never budged an inch. The extent of black money will be known only after the completion of income tax assessments of potential black money depositors. What he probably achieved was the destruction of the fake currency that was threatening our economy. He also insisted on using non-cash modes of payment. He has an aim of turning out economy to more formal through routes of discouraging the use of hard cash. His efforts are bearing fruits now. Though it is possible to quantify the amount of destroyed fake currency the numbers of digital transactions are for everyone to see. Digital payments are now getting so deeply rooted that even one can see a guy paying fifty rupees for a lassi or a woman spending 200 rupees for buying her vegetables through various payment apps.
Foreign Policy
He is a true visionary so far as foreign policy is concerned. His frequent visits to foreign countries were severely criticised by the opposition and critics but few understood the reasons and rationale behind it. These initial efforts are bearing fruits now and you can see in the approach of developed western countries in dealing with us. India is also gaining support in the continuous isolation of Pakistan. We are successful in putting Pakistan under tremendous international pressure which is a major achievement. After recent events in Afghanistan, the importance of Modi is getting increasingly underlined. The recent flurry of meetings with Indian security bosses is an example. Under Modi’s decisive leadership, our security forces have given fitting replies to terrorism.
GST
GST was under discussion for quite a long time. Previous successive UPA governments were unable to achieve consensus among the states. Narendra Modi achieved a major breakthrough with ease. The implementation of GST was a landmark in the history of post-independent India. There are numerous benefits of GST which are being reaped by all stakeholders. Everyone in the value chain is happy with it. Initial hiccups apart the law is well settled, accepted and will act as a major booster in improving the finances of the governments. The niggling issue of bringing petroleum products under GST is the next step. I trust the leadership will address it on the appropriate occasion.
Article 370.
Abrogation of Article 370 was always on the agenda of Jansangh earlier and the BJP thereafter. Almost immediately after assuming the office for the second time with the absolute majority, Modi wasted no time in tackling the much important J & K issue. He has taken every effort to make the transition smooth, peaceful and without any outside interference. The Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh regions are free of terrorism. The development has picked up a rapid pace under the watchful eye of the central government. People over there are happy to lead a normal safe life after years of fear and bloodshed. Prophets of doom are frustrated. Handling of the Kashmir issue will be marked as an important milestone in the history of modern independent India and the name of Narendra Nodi will be written in gold and bold letters as its chief architect.
Schemes for the poor.
For him, the chair of Prime Minister is not to make money nor to derive undue benefits. He is there to serve the people. He is the first prime minister to call himself a Pradhan Sevak. His schemes are named after the post and not the person. Some examples are Jandhan yojana, Gram Sadak Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, Fasal Bima Yojana, Atma Nirbhar Bharat yojana, Ayushman Bharat Yojana and so on. He never makes big bang announcements to manage headlines. His forte is the actual delivery sans any corruption. He monitors and ensures that the purpose of the scheme is achieved on the ground. All these schemes are meant for those who are standing in the last strata of society. He is championing the cause of past Jansangh president late Shri Deendayal Upadhyay ji. His visionary dream concept of Antyoday is now seeing the light of the day. The Herculean task is unfinished and there are many more schemes in the pipeline.
Farm bills
Indian economy is a rural economy. The pace will pick up only after the real backbone that is farmer starts getting the money in his pocket. It is Modi's vision to double the income of the farmers very soon. To enable this he introduced three farm bills. The bills removed the barrier of commission agents, finished the monopoly of APMCs and empowered the farmers to approach the open market to fetch a price higher than MSP. There have been widespread protests against the bill by those whose unscrupulous means are closed forever. Modi has not budged an inch and his courage of conviction is such that all the efforts to bring down the farm bills have failed.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Barely ten months into his second term Modi faced possibly his biggest challenge from an unexpected adversary, the Covid-19 pandemic. The China-born virus has engulfed the entire world with different degrees of intensity and fatality. The fast-spreading horrible pandemic had severe repercussions on many aspects of society. It threw challenges of various kinds to all the governments. It threatened many aspects of the country.
A courageous leader that he is, Modi led from the front right from the day he declared janata curfew. He took great efforts to ramp up health infrastructure. Needless to say, the economy was the next victim. Lockdown has the worst impact. The livelihood of the poor had to be addressed. Various relief packages on the backdrop of dwindling revenue could have been the worst nightmare. But the strong, courageous leadership of Modi has enabled us to face the challenges. India has also fought the dreaded second wave much better as compared to other countries. All efforts were made to ensure adequate and timely supplies of medicines, oxygen and medical equipments.
His leadership came under tremendous fire and was being criticised not only in India by the opponents but also worldwide. But he stood his ground took fast decisions, consulted everybody relevant and has successfully overcome in three months.
Vaccination
Since this virus was new the vaccine and medicines were not available. So the care and cure became priority ahead of prevention. Once the vaccines were available it was all about procurement. Modi again took the initiative to encourage Indian companies, funded them and put the vaccination rolling. India's vaccination programme is now a tremendous success and is much talked about. It has earned praise all over the world. The procurement, distribution and overall management was the job of the central government. The execution was left with the states. The latest phase of total centralisation will complete three months on 21st September. India has already crossed an important milestone of 75 crore doses. With about three and half months to go, the target set by Modi will likely be achieved. The vaccination will become another feather in the cap.
He has a result-oriented style, he takes everybody including the opposition with him. At the international level, he is looked upon as a powerful leader. All these things make him a towering, influential leader. He has an uncanny ability to connect with everyone. No other leader knows the pulse of the people better than him. Men or women, young or old, rich or poor everyone look up to him with hope. He treats this country as his home and people as his family. People of this country feel secure when under his leadership.
He lives a simple life, takes immense pride in following Indian culture, practises yoga. He is not ashamed of carrying his identity on his sleeves. He enjoys his work and that is the reason why he effortlessly works for about 18 hours a day.
With his performance, he has made an indelible mark on Indian history post-independence. With more to come in near future, one can imagine how strong this mark will become. With every passing year, he has grown in stature. He has risen above the level of an ordinary politician to become a strong, fiercely nationalist and committed statesman.
Many articles are written, books are published. He is discussed at various national as well as international seminars, conferences etc. Most of the time he draws extreme criticism. But even his staunch critics grudgingly concede that he has the mettle in him. He has something in him that attracts millions of Indians like a magnet.
His RSS background, his honesty, his integrity, his unadulterated love for the nation and above all his passion to work for the poor are the key drivers to his success. As he turns 71 today, I have made a small effort to fit his powerful and radiant persona in this article. An extremely difficult task indeed.
After assuming the chair of Prime Minister in
May 2014 he has changed how our country used to be governed. He led the BJP to its first resounding absolute majority and repeated battered the performance five years later. This absolute majority is THE reason behind many of his bold, aggressive decisions, successful foreign policy and much confident approach in dealing with enemy neighbours like Pakistan and China.
Now I will dwell upon some of the decisions and policies that separate Narendra Modi from others.
Demonetisation
This is easily the most controversial and fiercely debated and criticised decision so far. Critics are still debating about it. But Modi had the courage of conviction to carry the decision to its logical end and never budged an inch. The extent of black money will be known only after the completion of income tax assessments of potential black money depositors. What he probably achieved was the destruction of the fake currency that was threatening our economy. He also insisted on using non-cash modes of payment. He has an aim of turning out economy to more formal through routes of discouraging the use of hard cash. His efforts are bearing fruits now. Though it is possible to quantify the amount of destroyed fake currency the numbers of digital transactions are for everyone to see. Digital payments are now getting so deeply rooted that even one can see a guy paying fifty rupees for a lassi or a woman spending 200 rupees for buying her vegetables through various payment apps.
Foreign Policy
He is a true visionary so far as foreign policy is concerned. His frequent visits to foreign countries were severely criticised by the opposition and critics but few understood the reasons and rationale behind it. These initial efforts are bearing fruits now and you can see in the approach of developed western countries in dealing with us. India is also gaining support in the continuous isolation of Pakistan. We are successful in putting Pakistan under tremendous international pressure which is a major achievement. After recent events in Afghanistan, the importance of Modi is getting increasingly underlined. The recent flurry of meetings with Indian security bosses is an example. Under Modi’s decisive leadership, our security forces have given fitting replies to terrorism.
GST
GST was under discussion for quite a long time. Previous successive UPA governments were unable to achieve consensus among the states. Narendra Modi achieved a major breakthrough with ease. The implementation of GST was a landmark in the history of post-independent India. There are numerous benefits of GST which are being reaped by all stakeholders. Everyone in the value chain is happy with it. Initial hiccups apart the law is well settled, accepted and will act as a major booster in improving the finances of the governments. The niggling issue of bringing petroleum products under GST is the next step. I trust the leadership will address it on the appropriate occasion.
Article 370.
Abrogation of Article 370 was always on the agenda of Jansangh earlier and the BJP thereafter. Almost immediately after assuming the office for the second time with the absolute majority, Modi wasted no time in tackling the much important J & K issue. He has taken every effort to make the transition smooth, peaceful and without any outside interference. The Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh regions are free of terrorism. The development has picked up a rapid pace under the watchful eye of the central government. People over there are happy to lead a normal safe life after years of fear and bloodshed. Prophets of doom are frustrated. Handling of the Kashmir issue will be marked as an important milestone in the history of modern independent India and the name of Narendra Nodi will be written in gold and bold letters as its chief architect.
Schemes for the poor.
For him, the chair of Prime Minister is not to make money nor to derive undue benefits. He is there to serve the people. He is the first prime minister to call himself a Pradhan Sevak. His schemes are named after the post and not the person. Some examples are Jandhan yojana, Gram Sadak Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, Fasal Bima Yojana, Atma Nirbhar Bharat yojana, Ayushman Bharat Yojana and so on. He never makes big bang announcements to manage headlines. His forte is the actual delivery sans any corruption. He monitors and ensures that the purpose of the scheme is achieved on the ground. All these schemes are meant for those who are standing in the last strata of society. He is championing the cause of past Jansangh president late Shri Deendayal Upadhyay ji. His visionary dream concept of Antyoday is now seeing the light of the day. The Herculean task is unfinished and there are many more schemes in the pipeline.
Farm bills
Indian economy is a rural economy. The pace will pick up only after the real backbone that is farmer starts getting the money in his pocket. It is Modi's vision to double the income of the farmers very soon. To enable this he introduced three farm bills. The bills removed the barrier of commission agents, finished the monopoly of APMCs and empowered the farmers to approach the open market to fetch a price higher than MSP. There have been widespread protests against the bill by those whose unscrupulous means are closed forever. Modi has not budged an inch and his courage of conviction is such that all the efforts to bring down the farm bills have failed.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Barely ten months into his second term Modi faced possibly his biggest challenge from an unexpected adversary, the Covid-19 pandemic. The China-born virus has engulfed the entire world with different degrees of intensity and fatality. The fast-spreading horrible pandemic had severe repercussions on many aspects of society. It threw challenges of various kinds to all the governments. It threatened many aspects of the country.
A courageous leader that he is, Modi led from the front right from the day he declared janata curfew. He took great efforts to ramp up health infrastructure. Needless to say, the economy was the next victim. Lockdown has the worst impact. The livelihood of the poor had to be addressed. Various relief packages on the backdrop of dwindling revenue could have been the worst nightmare. But the strong, courageous leadership of Modi has enabled us to face the challenges. India has also fought the dreaded second wave much better as compared to other countries. All efforts were made to ensure adequate and timely supplies of medicines, oxygen and medical equipments.
His leadership came under tremendous fire and was being criticised not only in India by the opponents but also worldwide. But he stood his ground took fast decisions, consulted everybody relevant and has successfully overcome in three months.
Vaccination
Since this virus was new the vaccine and medicines were not available. So the care and cure became priority ahead of prevention. Once the vaccines were available it was all about procurement. Modi again took the initiative to encourage Indian companies, funded them and put the vaccination rolling. India's vaccination programme is now a tremendous success and is much talked about. It has earned praise all over the world. The procurement, distribution and overall management was the job of the central government. The execution was left with the states. The latest phase of total centralisation will complete three months on 21st September. India has already crossed an important milestone of 75 crore doses. With about three and half months to go, the target set by Modi will likely be achieved. The vaccination will become another feather in the cap.
He has a result-oriented style, he takes everybody including the opposition with him. At the international level, he is looked upon as a powerful leader. All these things make him a towering, influential leader. He has an uncanny ability to connect with everyone. No other leader knows the pulse of the people better than him. Men or women, young or old, rich or poor everyone look up to him with hope. He treats this country as his home and people as his family. People of this country feel secure when under his leadership.
He lives a simple life, takes immense pride in following Indian culture, practises yoga. He is not ashamed of carrying his identity on his sleeves. He enjoys his work and that is the reason why he effortlessly works for about 18 hours a day.
With his performance, he has made an indelible mark on Indian history post-independence. With more to come in near future, one can imagine how strong this mark will become. With every passing year, he has grown in stature. He has risen above the level of an ordinary politician to become a strong, fiercely nationalist and committed statesman.
