Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on Independence Day was the first after his reinstallation in the post for the third consecutive term. The speech on expected lines lacked zest. There were no major announcements; only listing of his government’s achievements for over a decade, some ‘plans’ that were unveiled and remained unaddressed in the past, and the usual taunts against the opposition. On such solemn occasions the Prime Minister would do well to unveil his vision for the future, like new initiatives to achieve the Viksit Bharat 2047 goal, more measures to uplift the poor and ways to address critical issues of joblessness and the nation’s fall in productivity.
Modi harped on the topic ‘One Nation, One Poll’ though he had set the ball rolling in his first term and appointed a panel to make recommendations. While the Ramnath Kovind panel gave its report, nothing moved further. Another was the PM’s return to the Common Civil Code theme. He skilfully refashioned it as a ‘Secular Code to replace a communal code’, meaning the Muslim Personal Law. Rather than using this as a stick to beat Muslims with, the endeavour’s positive side needs to be highlighted and pursued. Population control is a national requirement but such efforts by governments get stuck in the ‘right’ being claimed by a community citing the special constitutional privilege. This is as ridiculous as the Special Status that Kashmir enjoyed for long decades, and under the cover of which terrorism thrived there. The government must work steadfastly for a national consensus and carry the Opposition parties too along to control population growth.
Modi again harped on the theme of fighting corruption, but his track record in the last two terms has been abysmal even as he claims to have “waged a war” against corruption. Arresting or jailing some major opposition figures like Arvind Kejriwal or Hemant Soren was fine even as a political motivation was suspected in such actions. Those siding with the government or those funding the BJP have been left untouched or are handled with kid-gloves. A tendency of selective amnesia was evident in the way the central agencies went about doing their job. CBI and ED have turned into laughing stocks under Modi. Most corrupt elements remain untouched and corruption in the bureaucracy is at its worst. Modi has all along been comfortable with this and no hard-edged action came from him. Modi’s exhortation to draw in one lakh youths to public platforms from apolitical families, to check the sway of dynasties in politics, is well appreciated but, like charity, this too should begin with his own party. At ground level, BJP often encourages such dynasties and their offsprings.
