Much hyped leader prefers silence!

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has prided on its promise to exterminate corruption and came to power with strong mandate as its manifesto presented the voters a sense of change, an impression to strip off corruption that had become the hallmark of UPA.

On the completion of its one year in office, senior BJP leaders may have been relieved that it has largely been a corruption-free year with no major scams. Now the conditions are different, as leaders of the BJP cutting across hierarchy – ministers at the central level, a two time chief minister in Rajasthan, a minister from a political dynasty in Maharashtra, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for 10 years – get embroiled in controversies, with more than a scent of impropriety and financial taint. Today, the voters are getting feeling that BJP too believes that Promises are like piecrust, made to be broken. Indians across the globe have begun to ask an all important question. Has the promise by Narendra Modi to stand tough against corruption come to an end? Or did it ever take off?

With the former chairman and commissioner of the Indian Premier League, Lalit Modi, embarrassing Narendra Modi, his colleagues, his party and government at the centre and in Rajasthan in a series of revelations, perhaps the Narendra Modi government is facing one of the biggest challenge.
If it was Robert Vadra son in law of chief of Congress party that gave enough reasons to the previous government to worry about, this time it’s Dushyant Singh Member of Parliament and son of Rajasthan CM. Both Varda and Dushyant seem to have made extraordinary profits from a business model which strives on proximity to power and doesn’t call for any tangible investments. IPL chairman Lalit Modi and Dushyant Singh conspired to convert the Dholpur Palace, a government property into a luxury hotel; and are alleged to have received unaccounted money from abroad .It’s not only Dushyant who is causing unrest for Narendra Modi. More damaging are the revelations linked to the signatures of his mother -Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on an affidavit in favour of disgraced IPL chief Lalit Modi’s immigration application in England and having accorded land to a Portugal based Hospital where Lalit Modi’s wife is reported to have received treatment for cancer. Another close confidant of Narendra Modi, Sushma Swaraj overstepped her role as the Foreign Minister who facilitated issue of travel documents to Lalit Modi by the UK government without any preconditions attached. Lalit Modi wanted by India’s Enforcement Directorate could have been asked to return to India after the surgery of his wife. But Sushma Swaraj failed to initiate any such clause. Allegations against seasoned politicians are vast, and a rookie too has joined in to raise more questions about the intent of the party. After the demise of cabinet minister Gopinath Munde, one of BJP’s tallest leaders in Maharashtra, it was his daughter Pankaja Munde who stepped into his shoes .At one point of time, during the state elections last year, there were murmurs that she could even be named the chief minister who finally was given the crucial Women and Child Development (WCD) portfolio. Today, less than one year into office, young Pankaja faces allegations of corruption worth more than Rs 200 crore that she awarded contracts for procuring chikkis, medicines, growth monitoring machines, water filters, carpets and educational material for on a single day without inviting tenders. Another rookie,Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani embroiled in educational qualification row caused even more embarrassment with the court taking a cognizance of a complaint against her for allegedly misrepresenting facts in her election affidavits. Another stalwart in Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan too finds himself in a major hullabaloo with numerous witnesses and accused linked to “Vyapam Scam”.
A Prime Minister known for his oratory skills, has preferred to remain silent along with those facing the taint.BJP has gone all out to defend its ministers and chief minister, and at times had to cut a sorry figure when some of their assertions were proved wrong by media and opposition parties.
By sidestepping key contemporary controversies Prime Minister Modi does not quite retain his national appeal. While there is no challenge to his authority at the Centre, regional forces in the form of Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan do not believe they owe Narendra Modi anything in their political careers. By maintaining persistent silence, Modi and his coterie have not only left Indian dejected but also seems to be abdicating his responsibility.
After having won the elections on an anti-corruption platform, relying heavily on a carefully crafted clean image of himself, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot afford to now be seen as leading a party or government of corrupt individuals.