Why Modi must act

The political honeymoon period of BJP got over earlier than it would have expected and the marital discords that a political party faces after coming to power have started even sooner than it might ha

ve anticipated.

The historic mandate it received in the general elections last year, as a majority of us will agree, was made possible because of Narendra Modi. Modi the individual was the reason that people voted for BJP rather than the other way around.

So if the public perception is that the ‘Ache din’ have come then one has to attribute it to Modi and if the perception is that there is no change from the days of the UPA  then the responsibility for that also squarely lies on the shoulder of Modi.

History is made every day, to be presented years in the future after it is created. Ten-fifteen  years from now, pages of  history will tell us that whatever happened to this country, the good or the bad as it will turn out, was because of Modi. No one will remember the finance minister, the defence minister, the external affairs ministers or the various BJP spokespersons.

In light of these ground rules, that one can tend to disagree with, the inaction on the part of Modi to take ‘notice’ of the act done by Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, is surprising. More so because in case of Modi, unlike his predecessor, his act of taking notice of something is very much visible and more often than not, it makes news. In this case, it his inaction that is grabbing the headlines.

The BJP can field their best spokespersons to counter the allegations but can the truth that Swawraj was dealing with a fugitive be changed? Can the fact that her daughter and her husband were dealing with him change? Can it be safely said that the external affairs minister of the country, one of the top four ministers of the country , was unaware of the legal status of Lalit Modi? That he was ‘wanted’? Are ‘humanitarian  grounds’ a sound excuse to help a fugitive , that too without keeping others in the loop? And was ‘different shades of blue’ supposed to be a funny?

Similarly, no one, even Vasundhara Raje, will not and has not denied that Lalit Modi was a close friend of hers. People make friends, who later turn into acquaintances and foes and that is perfectly okay. However how can Raje, in her position as the leader of opposition in the Rajasthan assembly, do something that she knew was illegal? In her case, it is evident that she knew that what she was doing was wrong and that is why she asked for a disclaimer that the action taken by her in support of Lalit Modi should not come out in open.

How will she defend the fact that the shares of her son’s company were bought by Lalit Modi at Rs 11 crore? She cannot.

Inevitably,  Narendra Modi in times to come, will face many more such instances of impropriety from his cabinet colleagues, his party colleagues and his friends. For him, the easy way of coming out from such situation will be to close his eye and move ahead till the story dies down and is forgotten from the memory of the people and this is what the Congress led UPA did. And that is what the BJP is hoping will happen in the case of Swaraj and Raje.

The not so easier route for Narendra Modi is to act on these acts of impropriety.

The people of this country have for long lived in an era where things were said but not executed. So much so that the political promises and commitments are no longer taken seriously, let alone give rise to any hope. When Narendra Modi, during his political campaign, stated that there will be no corruption in his government, not many believed that but when he said that he will take action, quick and strict, against anyone found to be indulging in corruption, everyone believed it.

The time to put those words of promises into action has come. And with every passing day of the promises being reneged, the hopes and expectations of those who reposed faith in him will decrease, slowly,gradually but surely.

There have been many Prime Ministers before Modi and there will numerous after him. The path to creating a legacy and securing a name in the pages of history, as each of us wants, is well defined but whether we are willing to walk on that path is something that only we have to decide.

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