Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, initially a contender for the Prime Ministership, put his government in a spot. He said that his government had come to power in 2014 with absurd promises. He thought that the BJP would be on a sticky wicket in the 2019 elections and so made tall promises at the time of the poll. Gadkari is known to be a candid critic of his own government. Last August, he had embarrassed the NDA saying reservations will not generate employment. Jobs are shrinking in the country. Joblessness is a key political issue in 2018-19. Gadkari is not alone in making such an observation. BJP President Amit Shah also admitted that the 2014 poll promise of Rs. 15 lakh in every bank account proved illusory. The minimum government, maximum governance slogan also faded into an unrealistic promise. The government belied the promise by making Aadhaar mandatory for a large number of basic services.
‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’ also turned into a pious noise especially as cow vigilante groups went on the rampage in BJP ruled states. A healthy environment for business also proved impracticable. It was claimed that monetisation would unearth black-money stashed aboard to the tune of Rs 15 lakh per Indian. But demonetisation on the contrary caused immense sufferings to ordinary tax-paying Indians. Some lost their lives waiting at long queues at ATMs a fact we seem to have conveniently forgotten. The Government has of course promoted Yoga which is decidedly good for body and mind. But Government health services have hardly shown any improvement despite the many names that have been constructed while launching different health schemes. If the BJP rides to power again in 2019, it will only be because of the disunity of the opposition and the over-ambitiousness of leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav, not to forget Rahul Gandhi the Congress President who seems determined to grasp the seat of power in 2019 althoiugh how that will come about is still unclear.
Gadkari’s honesty is about the only thing that goes in favour of the BJP today. It is pointless trying to defend the indefensible. And the voter is likely to reward honesty rather than euphemisms for a failed gambit of the NDA Government. Perhaps Modi meant well when he tried demonetization but it back-fired. As everyone says, the intent was good but the implementation lacked acumen.