Go Beyond the Slogans: ‘Indian Currents’ Editorial
Dr Suresh Mathew.
If slogans can replace governance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins hands down. He surpasses his predecessors by miles in coining slogans. Like a magician who pulls out a rabbit from an empty hat, Mr. Modi has perfected this art. The electoral success of his first catchy slogan — Acche din aane wale he — during the last general elections gave him confidence in churning out more such words that catch the attention of people. The ‘Make in India’ slogan in the last year’s Independence Day speech and ‘Start up India, Stand up India’ in this year’s Red Fort speech indicate that he has perfected the art of coining slogans.
The moot point is how long will he be able to hold the people hooked to such hollow slogans? Coming out every now and then with such rhyming words can prove costly in the long run. Words not followed by action will lead to the realisation that people are being hoodwinked. They may no longer take such high-pitch words seriously. Even after 15 months of NDA rule, people do not see much change on the ground. Rather things have worsened in some areas.
Take for example one of the first campaigns of Mr Modi, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The national Capital of Delhi, where it was inaugurated with much fanfare, has become a dirtier city with the Municipal Corporations almost doing nothing to improve the situation. More garbage dumps and stinking colonies brought down the city’s ranking in the all-India cleanliness report. Building toilets in all schools across the country within a year was another target of this campaign. But available figures show that the ground reality is nowhere close to the target.
The ‘Make in India’ campaign has proved a non-starter with June 2015, for which the latest figures are available, marking the seventh straight month of decline in exports. The falling export figures are clear indication that ‘Make in India’ has made little impact. Less said the better about Jan Dhan Yojana. It goes to the credit of banking system that they opened over 17 crore more accounts within the stipulated time. But nearly half of these accounts have a zero balance. What benefit will it bring to the account holders is anyone’s guess.
There was yet another slogan — Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas – which, many would say, does not gel with Mr Modi as he was at the helm of affairs in Gujarat when the 2002 pogrom took place claiming almost 2,000 people. Since the NDA government took over, minorities are made to feel unwelcome with BJP Ministers and law-makers making Hindu-chauvinist statements never heard before. Mr Modi remained a silent spectator when issues like Ghar Vapasi and attacks of churches dented the secular fabric of the country. The most disturbing factor is that the Prime Minister, who gave out the slogan to take everyone along, is apparently going about filling decision-making bodies of every academic and cultural institution with people close to the Sangh Parivar. The facts are slowly exposing the hollowness of the slogans.
