The Narendra Modi government
completed its 100 days on September 2. With the Narendra Modi government
completing 100 days, the BJP is all set to flaunt its achievements on all
fronts.
There is much debate across the country about the performance of Team Modi. The
idea of 100 days in office possibly dates back to US Democrat President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt (FDR), who took charge in the midst of Great Depression and
pushed through 15 key pieces of legislation to tackle unemployment and a broken
financial system.
The flurry of law making - which Mr Roosevelt discovered later had taken him
exactly 100 days - formed the basis of the New Deal, which led his country out
of the downturn. There have been books written on FDR and current president Mr.
Barack Obama's 100 days in office.
Many democratically elected governments around the world give out 100-day
promises and report cards. Most recently, in March, Italy's new Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi promised to "change the nation" in just 100 days.
So there is also the blinding media spotlight on New Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's first 100 days in office. However, Narendra Modi has claimed in one of
his speeches that he does not believe in the ’100 days’ agenda, but the people
are analysing his frits 100 days and asking him, what you did for us in first
100 days.
Narendra Modi took charge his prime minister post on 26 may 2014 in Rashtaye
Bhawan as 16 Indian Prime Minister. And has started promises across the country.
The Modi government has taken some initiatives in its first 100 days. Among them
is the Jan Dhan Yojana, which gives a Rs: one lakh insurance cover to every poor
person opening a bank account. The Modi government has also launched two
initiatives which have a lot of significance for the rural poor – the Swach Gram
Yojana and the campaign for building toilets in every school in the country. The
prime minister has set a one-year deadline for construction of toilets in every
school in the country. This is a remarkable scheme which will have a bearing on
education of girl students because many stay away from schools which do not have
separate toilets for girls. The Prime minister has asked MPs to allocate funds
from MPLADS for this programmed and for building a model Swach Gram in their
constituencies. These ideas are refreshingly new and will enable better
utilization of MPLADS funds.
Mr.Modi has planned 100 smart cities and this received much attention even on
his current Japan visit when an agreement was drawn up for cooperation between
Kyoto and Varanasi to clean up the latter.
In the Modi government, ministries have been made more accountable. Ministers
are aware that they are being closely monitored and also know that they may have
to burn the midnight oil to fulfill Modi's 100-day agenda.
The bureaucracy has been re-energized. In a first, the new Prime Minister took a
meeting of all top secretaries and said they had his full support. There has
been higher visibility of growth as the Indian economy registered a GDP growth
of 5.7 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2014-15. The Indian economy
registered its highest growth in nine quarters this financial year.
Even So Modi and his Cabinet failed in 100 days on various issues. He couldn`t
begin good governance as he said.
Some of them are mentioned here.
1. When Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in the opposition, they opposed foreign
direct investment (FDI) proposed by UPA, but now the BJP has invited FDI in
railways, insurance and defence.
2: Likewise, the Jan Dhan Yojna seems a new version of UPA’s subsidy scheme on
the basis of the Aadhar card, which also made it mandatory to open a bank
account. The Modi government has given old things in new packages.
3. Vendetta politics: Since the Modi government has come into power; it has made
clear that it wants to replace governors who were appointed by the previous
government with nominees of its own. As of now, seven governors have resigned in
the last few months, allegedly in response to the Centre’s pressure. Taking the
first call against UPA-appointed governors, the NDA government sacked Kamla
Beniwal as Governor of Mizoram just a month after transferring her there from
Gujarat, where she had shared a fractious relationship with Narendra Modi while
he was Chief Minister. It clearly reflects BJP’s agenda of vendetta politics
against the Congress.
4. Promoting polarized politics: First, the Centre provided Z-plus security to
Sangeet Som, who was allegedly involved in the Muzaffarnagar riots and whose
case is pending before the High Court.
Second, the government gave a key post in the party to controversial leader Yogi
Adityanath before the by-polls. These points reflect Narendra Modi government’s
motto to polarise votes in Uttar Pradesh, as it has seen the good results of
polarisation of votes in the Lok Sabha Elections 2014.
Yogi Adityanath is the one who raked the ‘Love Jihad’ issue, which spread
communal hatred between two communities
Third, Modi government appointed Kalyan Singh as a Rajisthan State Governor, who
played the key role in demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. Babri Masjid was
demolished in 1992 when Kakyan Singh was the chief minister of Utter Pardesh in
the government of Bhartiya Janta Partiy (BJP). And the Congress was at center
leaded by Narsimha Rao as Prime Minister. Kailyan allegedly involved in the
case. ‘‘Iabrahan Commission Report’’ also has charged him an important guilty.
Forth, the former chief justice Sada Shivam has been given a post of Kerla
Governor after giving clean chit the BJP President Amit Shah who is the Convict
of Gujrat 2002 right.
5. International relations ship: Modi invited heads of SAARC nations on his
swearing. In his first maiden visit as the Prime Minister, Modi visited Bhutan
then Nepal and he chose Japan as his first destination for visit outside the
subcontinent. But he couldn’t get success as well specially on civil clear
agreement.
6. Relationship with Pakistan and China: Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi
made efforts to strengthen relations with India’s neighboring countries, but he
failed to maintain a healthy or diplomatic relationship with Pakistan & China.
The Pakistan army has been violating ceasefire continuously after Modi
government took charge, but the government failed to take necessary steps
against it. On the Pakistan envoy’s meet with Kashmir separatists, India called
off the Secretary level meeting but could not bar Pakistan from talking to
separatists through diplomatic pressure. China Army also has been violating
continuously after coming N, Modi into power, but the government is silence.
7. Most importantly, Modi as a PM, has shown great statesmanship and all his pre
polls rhetoric seem like a distant past. And his recent extempore on the
Independence Day brought a breath of fresh air after so many years of scripted
speeches from the ramparts of Red Fort. However, I feel while it was highly
stylised and well liked it lacked any major announcements, apart from
reconstruction of the current Planning Commission.
8. However, a word of caution. Whether Modi government is party to the hardline
Hindutva agenda being pursued by other significant BJP members and the RSS is
yet to be ascertained. And the media need to keep a hawk’s eye on the same.
9. The government has also decided to scrap the Planning Commission, which
launched in 1950 by the first Indian Prime Minister Jawaher Lal Nehru and still
he couldn’t suggestion its Subrogation. The government has also ensured passage
of the national judicial appointments commission bill in parliament to keep in
line the court. No need to say that this attack on secularism.
Expectations were high from India’s new prime minister, but after 100 days of
the Narendra Modi government, he has not given a single new thing which people
would admire. Though it’s not correct to judge the NaMo government just after
100 days but the performance till now shows how Narendra Modi will lead the
nation in the coming days. We hope we would be proven wrong!