Skip to main content

TINA factor? Why so many Indians still think: Modi’s stewardship is indispensable

By NS Venkataraman* 

For the last 19 years, Narendra Modi, first as the chief minister of Gujarat, and later as the Prime Minister of India, has been receiving bouquets and brickbats from a cross section of countrymen. Modi’s ardent admirers see everything positive in his personal and public life. But his sworn critics have found several negatives in him and have not hesitated to be very critical in order to tarnish his image.
When Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, he was described as a “merchant of death” by an opposition party leader, ostensibly referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots. As Prime Minister, he has been viciously criticised as a “thief”, a “liar” and now a “coward”.
Yet, the fact is, Modi has been winning election after election. He has so far remained unchallenged. The view has gone strong that he would win the next parliamentary election, too, again with a thumping majority. It is high time his ardent admirers and bitter critics dispassionately examine what he is actually worth.
One of Modi’s trump cards has been his ability to publicly project himself as a disciplined person in his personal life having a clean, non-corruptible image, one who is a determined achiever and a hard task master. His admirers think his predecessors did not any of this.
It is a fact that he has built this image against the backdrop of his strong effort to project himself as a staunch Hindu. He shows in qualms in participating in traditional Hindu rituals alone, which his admirers suggest is his courage of conviction.
Indeed, Modi shows little concern for his critics, when they call him anti-secular or a Hindu extremist. They are particularly perturbed about his refusal to participate in any Islamic or Christian rituals, which, according to them, goes against India’s secular ethos.
Modi comes from a very poor family and has seen poverty in his younger days. This has helped him project himself as a person who understands the needs of the underdog. His popular schemes are seen as his effort to end poverty. These include construction millions of toilets, distribution of free LPG connections to the poor, subsidised housing schemes, enabling poor to open zero bank accounts, the health insurance scheme for the poor, and so on.
In order to project his governance as corruption free, in July 2016, he amended a 1988 law, which was passed in Parliament. It was called Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016. This was followed by demonetization, in what seemed to be a desperate attempt to check black money in circulation.
Knowing well that any move to promote private sector and privatization of public enterprises would be viewed as anti-poor, he has suggested that business and industry should remain the domain of the private sector, while the state should concentrate on governance. He believes that private sector need not be a suspect, and that it is as much loyal to the country’s cause as others.
Modi calls private entrepreneurs as wealth creators. He believes that their development would inevitably help overall economic development of all strata of society, even lift poverty. Modi’s Atmanirbhar scheme and Make in India campaign appear to be part of this overall policy framework – of promoting wealth creators.
While Modi has continued with several of the major schemes of the past government such as Aadhaar and MGNREGA, he is facing challenges from several fronts. Farmers from several are up in arms against the farm laws. The Covid-19 crisis has uprooted several of the country’s development plans. Meanwhile, the collusion between Pakistan and China is posing a great threat to India’s security. All this and more have come under heavy criticism from opposition leaders and activists.
Modi’s detractors recently went so far as to criticise him for applauding an outgoing leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha with tears in his eyes, with some even stating that Hitler and Mussolini shed tears on certain occasions as a political tactic.
It is a fact that Modi has not eradicated corruption from India, nor has he been able to eliminate poverty to any appreciable extent. The performance of the government machinery, especially at the ground level, has not improved to any desirable extent. The streets in the country are still not adequately clean in spite of his Clean India campaign.
Alleviating poverty in India is not a quick fix job. It requires steady and forward looking policy measures. Large sections of countrymen still believe that as of today there is no alternative (TINA) to Modi and his stewardship, and that that there is no other political leader in India today who measures up to his standards.
No doubt, no leader is indispensable. A person would project himself as indispensable only when no alternative emerges on the horizon.
---
Trustee, Nandini Voice for The Deprived, Chennai

Comments

Jag Jivan said…
The author is right. In fact tears were rolling down the eyes of Hitler and Mussolini were very genuine. They were expression of feelings for their constituencies. They were surely not meant for lakhs killed during World war. Indeed, Modi is also following suit by caring for his constituency. Lovely Mr Venkataraman
Anonymous said…
The TINA factor is valid. The Congress is a laughing stock and Rahul Gandhi emotes the "Pappu" image .

TRENDING

Reducing emission? India among top nations whose coal as energy source going up

By NS Venkataraman*  The State of the Global Climate report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that the year 2023 was the warmest year on record, with the global temperature of 1.4 degree celsius above pre-industrial 1850-1900 base line.

Lockdown 'total failure' of science more than of politics: Open letter on 4th anniversary

Counterview Desk  In an open letter to fellow academicians, scientists and medical practitioners in India, marking the fourth anniversary of India's lockdown (25 March 2024), the Managing Committee* of the Universal Health Organisation (UHO) has insisted on the need to "repair two years of immense damage to science".

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor*  Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

'Wrong direction': Paris NGO regrets MNC ArcelorMittal still using coal-based steel

By Rajiv Shah  A new report by Paris-based non-governmental research and campaigning organization, Reclaim Finance, has blamed the MNC ArcelorMittal – formed in 2006 following the takeover and merger of the western European steel maker Arcelor (Spain, France, and Luxembourg) by Indian-owned Mittal Steel – for using use “climate destructive” metallurgical coal for its projects in India.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Attack on foreign students: Gujarat varsity's reputation, ranking at stake, say academics

Counterview Desk  Expressing anguish over the attack on international students in Gujarat University hostels, a letter claimed to have been signed by 122 current and former academics has asked the Gujarat Vice Chancellor, Dr Neerja Gupta, to provide emotional support to the attacked students and to ensure their physical safety.  

As double engine takes backseat in Odisha, BJP is pitted against 'firmly rooted' BJD

By Sudhansu R Das  BJP has got 25 years to build its party base in Odisha. After 25 years, it felt helpless and insecure to fight elections on its own strength. The party was almost crazy to have an alliance with the ruling BJD in Odisha.  Looking for alliance at the time of election shows that the party has not groomed its grassroots level workers into potential leaders.  The state BJP leaders woke up and convinced the Central leaders that they are capable of going solo; the alliance was stillborn. The question is can BJP defeat BJD which is firmly rooted in Odisha after launching piles of populist programs in the state.