The Modi Mantra at
India Today Enclave 2013
Narendra Modi speaking to the nation, has something of the
legendary cleaning out of the Augean
Stables about it. Hercules too was not expected to succeed by King Augeas who
gave him a seemingly impossible task, but he did.
Hercules innovated boldly, redirecting and channelling two
nearby rivers into the entrance of the stable, flushing out all the filth via
the exit.
Mr. Modi too, has,
over the last 12 years, performed a development miracle in his home state. And
he has done it using the same administrative machinery and system as all the
others had available to them. His short film on Gujarat’s progress, used at the
start of his lecture, demonstrated this almost overwhelmingly with a mass of
impressive statistics.
And Mr. Modi’s tone also has a missionary zeal to it,
something of Jesus chiding the Pharisees, particularly for their self-serving
hypocrisy.
Narendra Modi was relaxed and comfortable in his skin at the
Enclave. He did not disappoint. Everything about this occasion was somewhat
special. The live audience was august and distinguished, comprising of business
and industry leaders, foreign diplomats, professionals, journalists and also,
some politicians. They were attentive and more than willing to hear him out.
And the entire occasion was broadcast live by Headlines Today TV Channel, and
will no doubt be reflected on plentifully elsewhere.
The ringing introduction by Mr. Aroon Purie, Mr. Narendra
Modi’s own far from self- effacing speech, and the question and answer session
that followed it, was revealing of his vision for the country, and exciting in
its forward looking implications.
All of it had the ring of a full-fledged campaign event akin
to an American style presidential town-hall meeting, but amongst the high and
mighty of the land. It covered a great deal more ground than his speech at SRCC
or his address to the Indian diaspora in the US.
It particularly laid out the typical Modi vision of
privatisation, good governance, motivation of the administration, people
responsiveness, accountability, effectiveness, innovation, and development as a
solution to all ills. Mr. Modi also laid out his vision of a uniform polity
without special privileges for specific groups and ethnicities.
There was wry humour too, and a jauntiness that denotes
confidence in the future of India as part of his vision. He
also clearly indicated that he was speaking his mind with the tacit, if not
explicit, backing of his party the BJP.
And the audience in the packed hall listened to Narendra
Modi with a degree of fascination, and dawning recognition that this man could
well be leading the nation come 2014.
No one else in the Indian political firmament speaks in
quite the manner Mr. Modi does, with his tremendous emphasis on change,
transformation and a conviction in the power of good governance and
development. In Mr. Modi’s case, the lofty vision is not merely rhetorical,
because he always returns to the track record of Gujarat to drive home his
point.
Mr. Modi reiterated here, as he has before, that he saw “Vikas”
as a general solution to all the country’s problems. Not only that, but he did
not hesitate to welcome privatisation in various fields, including, for
example, the Indian Railways.
Mr. Modi brought an enthusiasm to his exposition at the Enclave’s
Leader’s Lecture that is definitely rare in the mouths of politicians,
particularly one that has ruled his state since 2002. He demonstrated an urge
to innovate at the national level, transferring the same positivity he has been
able to infuse in his state.
A key takeaway from this unusual man of the hour, is his
emphasis, not on endless legislation but on action to deliver results. The fate
of India’s progress could well hang on his advent into national politics, and a
success at that level that is no less resounding .
(633 words)
March 16th,
2013
Gautam Mukherjee
No comments:
Post a Comment