With over two decades of public service, Prime Minister Modi has stayed grounded. People are close to his heart
Several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and ministers in the government had booked their travel plans to Ahmedabad soon after the news of the demise of Heeraben, mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was broken. But they all had to stay at their places, for PM Modi didn’t want their works to be affected. PM Modi went to Ahmedabad and dutifully carried out his duties to the departed soul and also to the country, as he soon joined a scheduled meeting.
Sitaben Patel, 83, had come to Somnath Temple for a ‘darshan’. She complained of heartache during her stay. The Somnath Trust, which is headed by PM Modi, got into action quickly, and air-lifted her to Ahmedabad for immediate medical care and treatment. Under PM Modi’s watch, the instruction is clear that all efforts at all costs must be made to respond to the emergency needs of the visitors at the Somnath Temple.
With over two decades of public service, PM Modi has stayed grounded. People are close to his heart. His eyes are open to people in distress. He thinks for the people. He has defined that statecraft must have a soul and a heart beating for the people. PM Modi, thus, has ensured that the people have always been at the centre stage of policy making.
In 2020, India was shocked at the extent of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The nation was not prepared. The pandemic arrived in the country too soon. On April 6, 2020, PM Modi joined the foundation day of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For the first time, the people saw PM Modi covering his face with ‘gamcha (a large towel)’. India at that time was not producing enough masks. In July, PM Modi was seen for the first time wearing a face mask. A day before, India for the first time had exported face masks to the countries battling the pandemic.
The message was loud and clear. People had to cover their faces against the Coronavirus. The scientists were busy making a sense of the virus. The vaccines were still not yet in sight. It would take months for vaccines. Covering faces had to be key to save the people. PM Modi gave the message that they must cover their faces with whatever means they could employ.
In July when PM Modi wore a mask for the first time, he again sent out the message that as a ‘Pradhan Sewak’ he would be the last to use the most essential item and that too when the country had begun exporting. This sensitivity at the top office of the country comes when the man spends years with the people listening to their concerns and pains.
PM Modi didn’t need the famed economists to advise that the people hit hard by the pandemic should be taken care of with free foodgrains programme. He knew that the people must first be protected against hunger. Farmers in the country toil hard each day to ensure that none in the country go hungry. The government’s abundant duty is to ensure that the people have the first and the only right to the national resources. Thus, PM Modi unveiled the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna (PMGKAY) at the peak of the pandemic. No country in the world had done this, and India became an example in ensuring food security.
India’s ‘Vaccine Maitri’ was also born out of the human touch of the Prime Minister, for he was concerned at the rising toll of the pandemic. ‘Vasudhev Kutumbkam’ has been an abiding mantra for India for ages. The world is one, and PM Modi showed the global community that India truly believes in the philosophy of the oneness of all. India provided the effective vaccines against the Covid-19 pandemic to the South Asian countries, extending to other Asian nations, Africa, South America, South Pacific islands, Caribbean islands and so on. No country which asked for the vaccines was left disappointed.
One day, while leaving his CM complex on a regular day, Modi noticed a stranger standing alone outside. Stopping his cavalcade, Modi enquired about him and found out that while the man was on a holiday, as his wife had fallen sick and he had no money for the treatment. Modi assured the stranger that he would take care of his concern. Treatment was done.
Modi inspired his party members to publish souvenirs dedicated to brave hearts from Himachal Pradesh like Vikram Batra and Sanjay Kumar, who lost their lives during the Kargil War. In his direction, the BJP Yuva Morcha workers from every district in Himachal Pradesh organized themselves to publish the biographies and photos of the martyrs. Although Himachal Pradesh was a BJP-ruled state back then, no government funds were used for this work. The souvenir also featured a poem on Kargil written by Modi himself.
On a trip to Japan, Modi saw how the country’s public places were optimised for the visually disabled persons. Influenced and inspired, he brought all the details of such an inclusive development model with him to India. Arriving at the Ahmedabad Airport, he ensured that the documents were immediately sent to the Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner for implementation. The measures to help the visually disabled persons were specifically implemented on the 2.5-km walkway surrounding the Kankaria Lakefront, a tourist place attracting lakhs in footfall every day.
During a friendly interaction with the Secretary of the Sevajanik University in Gujarat, Modi inspired a green movement, as he spoke on the ways one could save oil and protect the environment by mooting the idea of a ‘No Vehicle Day’ on all the four campuses of the University a day of the week. This not only resulted in better health for people, who resorted to cycling and/or walking to the University, but also ended up being a grand vision towards environmentalism.
According to BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, PM Modi wanted to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day with an idea that puts a lasting imprint on the common man and on the country’s ecology. PM Modi instructed the government to ensure that each district of the country has 75 lakes or ‘amrit sarovars’. As CM of Gujarat in 2014, Modi was to attend a rally of nearly two lakh people in Patna before the General Elections. Just one hour before his arrival, a number of bomb blasts took place at the Patna Railway station and at the rally spot, the Gandhi Maidan.
Arriving in Patna, Modi was warned and cautioned by IB officers against attending the rally, as it would mean putting his life in danger. However, worrying that his absence could cause a stampede at the rally and put hundreds of lives in danger, he chose people’s safety over his own and attended the rally, which ultimately had a calming effect on his supporters.
There are several anecdotes which tell stories of the human touch of PM Modi. Statecraft without concern for people is hollow. PM Modi has put people first in his statecraft.
(The author is Director, Public Policy Research Centre)
