Only his headgear was colourful, missing was Modi Magic

By Jagtar Singh

What was common between August 15, 2014 and August 15, 2015 was the colourful headgear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amiss was what has come to be known as the Modi Magic associated with this wizard of words and hyperbolic assertions. His emphasis was on delivery but during the last 15 months, his performance as The Deliverer has come under question with little change at the grassroots.
The only new addition to his terminology this time was Team India that he used repeatedly in his 86 minutes speech, the term that signifies inclusive approach which has to be seen in the context of the jarring notes coming from even his party MPs as majority of cadre of the Bharatiya Janata Party has its political and ideological rooting in that school of thought whose approach is known to be parochial. When the Prime Minister addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, his or her words carry high degree of significance and are considered to be sacrosanct.As he was addressing the nation, protest was going on in the national capital by a section of the society whom Narendra Modi had made a commitment in his capacity as the prime ministerial candidate during his election rally in Haryana. That rally was that of ex-servicemen and the promise was to implement long pending demand for one rank one pension which had been accepted in principle by the earlier UPA government while modalities were to be worked out. The protest was by the ex-servicemen who were in the national capital to remind him about his promise as even mediation by General V P Malik (retd) a few days back had failed to produce the desired effect.A reference to history in this context would not be out of place and the year was 1921 when the Akali Dal had launched Guru Ka Bagh Morcha (agitation) as part of the gurdwara liberation movement. The British India government got a sudden jolt when a group of ex-servicemen volunteers joined what has been the most peaceful protest in the country during the British rule. The government stopped repression on the unarmed agitators when the second group of ex-servicemen in black robes came forward to face lathis. Sikhs constituted a major part of the British Indian army and this could have led to unrest in the armed forces, at least this was the assessment. The government immediately moved to come to settlement to resolve the dispute regarding management of gurdwara Guru Ka Bagh near Amritsar on the Ajnala road.In the present context, the situation can have demoralising effect on the armed forces. The babus dealing with the policy matters have a priority and that is to take care of their own welfare first, be it revision of pay scales or pensions.The Prime Minister did not come out with any new scheme and even rhetoric was missing. Modi has been missing from the Parliament during the disrupted monsoon session over what has come to be known as the Lalitgate with which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are linked, although in different ways. Then there is Vyapam scam for which the opposition has been pressing for resignation of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.As expected, he did not utter a word about these controversies. Disruption of Parliament is the tactic that was perfected into art by the BJP itself while in opposition. Now when on treasury benches, the ruling BJP is speaking the very language of UPA when it continued to disrupt Parliament session after session.Of course, he talked more of weaker sections and farmers this time to remove the impression that his government was pro-corporate. But it is the corporate sector that exposed its nexus with the BJP towards the end of the monsoon session by pressing for the adoption of certain bills, including the GST.The shift in emphasis seems to have been dictated more by Bihar elections to be held within the year and that too when the Modi Magic is losing its lustre. Losing Bihar after Delhi would be too heavy a price for the BJP in general and Modi in particular. The Congress is already on the revival path with Rahul Gandhi emerging as the leader.Yet another example is Punjab. The Akali Dal government in the state in which the BJP too is a partner is now frustrated as the Modi government has belied all its expectations. Comparatively, Dr Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister perhaps cared more for Punjab. The Akali Dal is back with its discrimination discourse.
Punjab case is just an example as to how the enthusiasm about the Modi government is on the wane.Modi had emerged as the symbol of hope but it is frustration that is now again taking over the people at large for whom he has used the term Team India.