The best and worst of #Modi1
Achievements
1. Economy: In the one year of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in power, India's fiscal deficit has been contained and government's revenues are improving. Inflation has come down. Prices of essential commodities have also been checked. Sensex has risen. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has increased from $20.8 billion in 2013-14 (April 2013-February 2014) to $28.8 billion in 2014-15 (April 2014-February 2015) largely because of the "Make in India" campaign which was launched with great fanfare eight months ago.
2. Social security schemes: A huge emphasis has been put on strengthening social security and social sector schemes, benefitting the poor and weaker sections of the society. More than 15 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts have been opened. An effort is now on to put money in those accounts. Government schemes for the weaker sections are in place and the LPG subsidy are also being transferred directly into bank accounts of more than 12.6 crore beneficiary households.
3. Life insurance and pension schemes: The government has, for the first time, started insurance schemes and they have got an impressive response. The scheme for accidental death, launched on May 9, got 5.57 crore subscriptions in the first nine days. This scheme involves a premium of Rs 12 per year. The life insurance scheme involves a premium of Rs 330 per year and got 1.74 crore subscribers in the first 18 days. The Atal Pension Yojana has also been well received.
4. Aid to small entrepreneurs: PM Modi launched MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) bank under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana to fund the unfunded small entrepreneurs. The MUDRA bank will assist 5.77 crore small entrepreneurs in raising funds. According to the government, the big industrial houses provide jobs to only 1.25 crore people, while small entrepreneurs employ 12 crore people and the MUDRA bank will cater to the needs of such people.
5. More money to states: Adoption of 14th Finance Commission recommendation was made on far-reaching changes in sharing the revenues between the Centre and the states. It increases the share of states in Central taxes to 42 per cent from the earlier 32 per cent.
6. Yemen operation: India evacuated close to 5,000 nationals from war-ravaged Yemen. It rescued 960 nationals from 41 other countries as well, winning accolades worldwide and also at home. Minister of state for external affairs VK Singh was deputed in Djibouti to oversee the extensive evacuation operation.
7. Nepal earthquake: Modi was quick to announce and reach out to Nepal when it was struck by a 7.9 earthquake on April 25. Even before the impact of the earthquake could be known, Modi had ordered dispatching of relief and rescue teams to Nepal. In fact, Nepalese PM Sushil Koirala admitted that he learnt about the earthquake in his country through one of Modi's tweets. India launched "Operation Maitri" and was the first country to offer and send relief and rescue teams to the neighbouring country. Hundreds of Indians and 170 foreign nationals were evacuated. India sent relief materials, medicines, medical teams and engineer teams to the erstwhile Himalayan kingdom.
8. Defence: The scope of middlemen and paybacks in defence deals was minimised when, during his visit to France in April this year, Modi ordered direct purchase of 36 ready-to-fly French Rafale fighter jets and their induction into the Indian Air Force in a span of just two years. The government-to-government deal, which could be worth about four billion euros, is also aimed at modernising India's ageing warplane fleet that needs urgent upgradation.
9. Foreign office: Modi has improved our relations with neighbouring countries, including Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka since his swearing-in ceremony on May 26, 2014. While building on diplomatic relations, he has also attempted at improving economic ties with them.
Failures
1. No check on trouble-makers: Modi has shown no real sign of reining in the saffron hardliners such as Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Sakshi Maharaj, Yogi Adityanath, Swami Chinmayanand and Giriraj Singh who have spewed venom and made controversial remarks on several occasions. While Adityanath has been pitching for reconversion of Christians and Muslims to Hinduism, Sakshi Maharaj praised Nathuram Godse who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, while Chinmayanand said that some Muslim leaders were "illegitimate". Jyoti had termed as "illegitimate" all those who were not "born of Lord Ram". Though active on social media, Modi's studied silence on these issues is worth ruing about.
2. Ghar wapsi and love jihad: We still do not know what's Modi's stand on these two issues. "Ghar wapsi" (re-conversion) programmes were kicked off on December 8 last year in Agra by the Hindu Jagran Samiti, a fringe Sangh Parivar organisation to reconvert Muslims back to Hinduism. However, later it was reported that the Muslims accused the Samiti people of alluring them with central government-sponsored houses into reconverting. In January, more than 100 tribal Christians were allegedly converted to Hinduism in West Bengal's Birbhum district. Allegation were raised against the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for conducting the ghar wapsi programme. Like ghar wapsi, love jihad also has its origins in Uttar Pradesh. The RSS and VHP blame the Muslim boys of luring Hindu girls, eloping with them and converting them to Islam after marrying them. The Sangh Parivar claims the boys eloping with Hindu girls are rewarded by the Muslim community. However, there is also a view that ghar wapsi and love jihad have been made into a campaign by the Sangh Parivar with an eye on the UP Assembly elections in 2017.
3. Late to react on church attacks: The NDA government was initially on the defensive on the half a dozen attacks which took place in Delhi and other parts of the country since December 2014. The Christian community blamed the majority community for being behind these attacks. It was quite late in the day that the government denied any "communal" politics being behind the series of attacks on churches and the gang rape of a nun in West Bengal. But by that the damage had been done and India, Modi and his government got defamed internationally. This even provoked US President Barack Obama into saying how Mahatma Gandhi would have reacted to these untoward incidents.
4. Megalomania and narcissism: Modi's image took a major beating over the alleged Rs 10 lakh monogrammed pinstripe suit which he wore during his meeting with Obama in the capital. The suit drew international criticism. Sensing the huge negative publicity, the suit was auctioned. Though the proceeds of the auctioned were donated for Namame Gangey project, it was seen as a damage control exercise.
5. Anti farmer: The new Land Acquisition Bill remains a sore point with industry and lack of consensus among political parties is not helping in boosting investor mood. The government lacks numbers to get the bill on land acquisition passed in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress and even some of BJP's allies have termed the Bill anti-farmer. While the original Act had the provision of securing the consent of 80 per cent affected people before land acquisition, the new law will abolish the provision. With amendments, the government can acquire private land without the permission of owners.
6. Delhi debacle: Modi's image of being invincible, winning in state elections such as Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana elections, was tarnished during the Delhi elections earlier this year. The BJP, which had won 32 seats in the 2013 elections, got reduced to just three in 2015 Delhi elections while Aam Aadmi Party increased its tally from 28 to 67.
7. Kejriwal factor: The Delhi chief minister has taken on the Centre through lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung on the issues of full statehood to Delhi, powers to transfer and post senior bureaucrats and powers of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. So rattled was the BJP that the Union ministry of home affairs issued a gazette notification supporting lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung who has questioned the Delhi government's powers in these issues. This has conveyed that Modi himself is wary of Kejriwal confronting it as the latter is seen by the people to speak his mind. No leader of any political party apparently, including Modi, has as impeccable credentials as Kejriwal.
8. Ordinance raj: Modi has been accused of running his government by issuing ordinances instead of getting them passed as legislations in Parliament. The government's indirect governance is facing flak for it. It has issued eight ordinances in 225 days since assuming office with an average of one every 28 days. Ruling through ordinance is like ruling indirectly. It reflects badly on any ruling dispensation. It shows the government does not have the courage to face Parliament.