Promises, delivery: Bridge the gap

Earlier this week, the announcement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would break his silence and do his first television interview in office generated huge interest.

Besides novelty and the choice of the most favoured news anchor, there was greater interest on the points he would talk about. First, the interaction came just after India’s failure to secure membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group despite the much-hyped attempt led by Mr Modi.

Second, the interview was also in the backdrop of Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan’s announcement that he would not seek a second term. Third, the decision on the tête-à-tête was taken when the BJP’s motormouths had revived a communally-surcharged campaign in Uttar Pradesh as the state headed for elections eight months later. There were several other issues too, including the farm crisis and the monsoon slowing despite the positive signals earlier, the spurt of terrorism in Kashmir, the shattered Pakistan policy and a dip in the aam aadmi’s index of satisfaction with government performance. How much of this would Mr Modi touch upon if asked And what would he say

The interview was no different from the standard Modi interventions. Like on every such occasion, he converted this opening too into an opportunity. He came, he spoke and he conquered — at least among the bhakts. Make no mistake, this was another Modi monologue with limited prods and some polite counter-questions. The interview, however, is an important pointer to the Prime Minister’s thinking on some crucial issues and what lay behind some recent initiatives.

The PM’s references to China merit close inspection, to assess if this strategy will bring Beijing to the table for a reasonable discussion on India’s NSG candidature. When I heard Mr Modi take pride in being able to “speak to China eye-to-eye and put forth India’s interests in the most unambiguous manner”, I was reminded of several instances when Indian cricket teams prepared for overseas trips and pace bowlers of rival teams began psychological warfare by warning them to get ready to face “chin music”. What was the need to use this phrase and risk Beijing’s predictable response, accusing India of being the “spoilt, smug golden boy of the West” What additional benefits would India have got by membership beyond the NSG waiver that India secured in 2008 Is this significant enough to jeopardise our fragile ties with China

Mr Modi would have come prepared to face questions on Dr Rajan’s imminent departure. But all that Subramanian Swamy got by way of disapproval was a solitary line: “Such things are inappropriate... The nation won’t benefit from such publicity stunts. One should be more responsible while conducting themselves.” If ever there was a benign rebuke, this was it. True, there’s no need for the PM to use the lowly language that Mr Swamy has made his hallmark, but there was a real need for a sterner ticking-off.

There was, however, not even the apology of a reprimand for the fringe forces, which are once again putting the communal cauldron on the boil in UP. Mr Modi repeated what he had already said in Allahabad at his party’s national executive, that he believed “the nation should progress on the issue of development”. But then he tells the media not to “make heroes out of those people who make such comments”. But they are leaders of the ruling party and the larger Sangh Parivar. The onus of controlling them has to be on Mr Modi and his party. The media merely reports what it considers newsworthy, and if the BJP MP from Kairana makes a blatantly wrong claim on the mass exodus of Hindus, this must be disapproved of publicly by the leadership.

Repeat violators must face disciplinary action. Mr Modi’s limitation on this issue is understandable as he has an election to win and this won’t be possible unless he holds the development placard in front of his cavalcade and asks potential troublemakers to remain hidden below and strike furtively whenever suitable. There is also considerable doubt if the BJP’s fringe is not really the mainstream, or is its actual face. After all, party chief Amit Shah spoke from the same platform as Mr Modi, but he spared no time for talk of development. Instead, he focused on the now-proven-wrong exodus from the western UP town. But Mr Modi didn’t accept his responsibility and instead stayed firm in his argument that the situation is vitiated by such leaders because the media gives play to their provocative statements.

As we rarely get an opportunity to hear Mr Modi on the pressing issue of job creation, his thoughts on this were specially important. The PM doesn’t sound as enthusiastic now on mega job-creating initiatives like “Make in India” (that was referred to only once, and that too by the interviewer) and instead emphasised on ordinary people becoming entrepreneurs with loans under Mudra Yojana. From an economic dream built on mega ideas, Mr Modi has now recalibrated his goals to generating jobs by small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs. He says that the government has allowed small shopkeepers to keep shops open for longer hours seven days a week to bring them at par with businesses in shopping malls. The problem is not of opening shops but to ensure that they don’t shut down. A short walk in any neighbourhood mall in major cities will reveal vacant retail spaces and few buyers as people don’t have resources to splurge. The housing sector, instead of providing jobs, is facing the challenge of a growing inventory of unsold properties for a variety of reasons, the most important being the resource crunch of potential buyers. Forget about creating more jobs, the first challenge is to ensure those who have jobs continue to get their monthly salaries on time.

Mr Modi’s problems primarily stem from being able to step down from his campaign vehicle. While lofty ideas, e-mandis for instance, sound seductive during election campaigns when delivered eloquently and with dramatic gestures, they appear insincere amid multiple problems.

The real challenge for Mr Modi is to bridge the growing gap between promises and delivery. But this doesn’t seem feasible with the vision he demonstrated in the course of the 85-minute interview. There is need for more substance, Mr Modi.

The writer is the author of Narendra Modi: The Man, the Times and Sikhs: The Untold Agony of 1984