Two years .. the gap is widening

Two years back Narendra Modi government was sworn in at New Delhi with much fanfare with all the leaders of SAARC countries attending the ceremony. BJP came to power with a host of promises, however one which lured the voters to the BJP was the promise of “ache din” (good days ahead), was given by none other than the Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Not only Indians but also many world leaders waited the unfolding of pompous promises, only to realize BJP that went all out criticizing policies of Manmohan Singh government was now content pursuing it. The wait still continues.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the initiative with neighboring countries including Pakistan and Nepal but the fact remains that relations with the neighbors have not been on the same cordial footing at what the Manmohan Singh government left.

Prime Minister Modi much publicized and well criticized by opposition, the foreign visits to around forty countries have only been able to project Modi as a leader who is self-centric and his frequent comments on the previous regime in a foreign land has left Non Residents Indians perturbed.

The “Ache Din” slogan didn’t have any comparative or tangible attribute to measure the performance, still charged up supporters of BJP have gone all out to claim the success quite contrary to the perception of the masses and to the opinion of the analysts. While the perception can differ and opinions challenged; the facts can best present the reality.

The bulletin released by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) presents a dismal picture of the economy. Food prices rose by 1.3 per cent in April compared to March. The consumer price index (CPI) has risen by 0.6 per cent. Industrial outputhas declined by another 0.1 per cent. Many states are facing unprecedented drought. The situation may turn worse if there is no timely and bountiful monsoon. The hard reality is that seventy years after independence, Indian agriculture still remains dependent on rain.

Investment remains stuck at around 30% of GDP, seven percentage points below the peak achieved in the mid-2000s. Exports are crippled and BJP wants the Indians to believe slow global growth as the reason. Import cost has gone up with the weakening of the rupee against the dollar. Lowered oil prices have helped curb the current account deficit as well as ease the subsidy burden on the exchequer, but Indians still pay the highest for Petrol and Diesel in whole of South Asia. Foreign investors have preferred staying away from India mainly because of communal uncertainty that exists mainly due to certain leaders of BJP who have followed the agenda Hindutva. Foreign companies like Nestle, Vodafone and Uberhave been handled in a way that furthers the feeling that agenda of development has taken a back seat.

The finance minister must have realized that the economy doesn’t perform to the dictates of the political masters. The laws of economics are universal and the same can’t be changed by pursuing aggressive Hindutva agenda. Farmers’ suicides continue. Increasing unemployment among the youth is resulting in the rising crime graph. That promise of “Ache Din” never took off.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Subramaniam Swamy has asked for sacking of RBI Governor’s apparently because the latter has said the foreign banks have stopped opening branches in India as they need to set aside a lot more capital due to the country’s higher risk credit rating. He was telling the truth, and Swamy called RBI governor as mentally not fully Indian, since he continues to renew the Green Card issued to him by the US government! The government didn’t recognize the very fact that such a comment when listed in the global media would only raise questions about the competency of the Prime Minister where a new inducted leader to the upper house can rate the RBI governor on his own scale of “being Indian”- Another loose cannon that is there to embarrass the government.

Indians voted for Narendra Modi in 2014, because of their disillusionment with the Congress indulging in mega corruption and they believed that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s promise of bringing in “acchhe din” (good days). In two years of Narendra Modi’s government Indians have realized that there has been a huge gap in the propaganda and the performance of the Narendra Modi government. The gap only creates a credibility gap for the political leaders?