Prime Minister Modi expressed the right sentiments and touched the heart during his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort. But there are many areas in which his commitment is yet to be translated into action
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on the 68th Independence Day celebrations from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Delhi is important for many reasons. After a long time, a Prime Minister made an extempore speech on the day of independence. He was well prepared and did the job in style.
As a Member of Parliament from the newly-formed State of Telangana, and a proud citizen of India, I also listened to his speech with great attention. His speech was not monotonous like those of his predecessor, Mr Manmohan Singh. To some extent, it was a thought-provoking speech.
Talking about his humble beginnings and the long journey to the ultimate power-centre, New Delhi, Mr Modi said, “I am an outsider for Delhi; I am not a native of Delhi. I have no idea about the administration and working of this place. I have been quite isolated from the elite class of this place but during the last two months, while being an outsider, I had an insider view and I was astonished. It is not a political platform; rather it is a platform of a national policy and, therefore, my views should not be evaluated from a political perspective.”
I am glad that he wants to chart his own course and wants to take the road not taken. If the nation benefits from his ideas, all of us will also benefit, and across political lines, we will strengthen his hands in doing so.
He also raised another important issue. Talking about increasing rape incidents in the country, Mr Modi said, “Parents ask their daughters hundreds of questions, but has any parent ever dared to ask their son as to where he is going, why he is going out, who his friends are. After all, a rapist is also somebody’s son. He also has parents. As parents, have we ever asked our son as to what he is doing and where he is goingIJ If every parent decides to impose as many restrictions on the sons as have been imposed on our daughters, try to do this with your sons, try to ask such questions of them.”
As a mother of two primary school-going sons, I could not agree more with the Prime Minister. He was bang on. His words echoed the sentiments of crores of others in the country. The Prime Minister has asked the citizens to bring up their sons properly and teach them good manners. He almost spoke like an elderly family man. His comments on the importance of daughters is very timely. He became a darling of the women of India, who are tired of listening to insensitive and sexist comments of people in power.
The Prime Minister’s focus on the manufacturing sector is a good step forward. The licence-permit raj of the socialist pattern of Nehru-Gandhi Governments had killed India’s enterprising skills. PV Narasimha Rao revived it by opening the floodgates of the tightly-controlled economy to private sectors. Rao, who a proud son of Telangana, did great things for India and made life less painful for our generation. I hope Mr Modi will draw inspiration from his model of development. After all, India is not a monolithic country. It is a sub-continent. He needs to be more pragmatic and more accommodative, if he really wants to deliver on his promise of ‘achche din’ (good days) for all.
Mr Modi’s speech also emphasised on our booming information technology sector and how it has elevated India’s stature at the international level. Still, we need to focus on innovation and products. Despite our tall claims, we have not been able to produce a company like Apple or Microsoft. India can’t always remain an IT service giant. We must go to the next level — innovation.
Mr Modi has put an end to endless speculations over the fate of the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission is a relic of our past relationship with the communist Soviet Union. The Government should have scrapped it long ago. Centrally-controlled plans have no meaning in a liberalised economy and a federal system like India. States must be allowed to have a bigger say in the financial matters and planning. Hope, the commission or authority which will replace the Planning Commission should be more democratic and inclusive.
He also mentioned, “Sangachchhdhvam Samvadadhvam sam wo manansi jaanataam”. (We walk together, we move together, we think together, we resolve together). Undoubtedly, great words of wisdom. But, the question is whether any Government at the Centre has practised it in reality in the past. I doubt. As I have mentioned earlier, India is not a monolithic country of ‘one religion, one language and one culture’. It is a huge and diverse country. ‘One size fits all’ kind of mindset won’t work in our nation.
Mr Modi is the first Chief Minister who positioned himself as the prime ministerial candidate and led the campaign. During his campaign, he often attacked the dictatorial attitude of the Centre towards States and assured the people that he would decentralise the system. In the last three months, he has not showed much interest in giving greater autonomy to the States. In a federal system, States have every right to demand a fair treatment, equality and greater powers to function like truly federal states. The much-talked and appreciated ‘federalism’ still remains on paper. Mr Modi’s words on federalism must be translated into action. The onus is now on him to ensure that it happens at the earliest.
Now, for the other unfortunate part. The Government is trying to take away the constitutional rights of Telangana by giving unlimited powers to the Governor in matters relating to Hyderabad and its surrounding areas. Our pleas to the Centre to correct the mistake seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
The Prime Minister, while touching many core sectors of importance, has conveniently forgotten to mention some of the serious issues crying for his attention. He led the lok Sabha election campaign by rising issues like black money, price rise, corruption, internal security and minorities. By raising the issue of bringing black money back from foreign banks to end the poverty across India, the BJP rode to power. People believed in Mr Modi’s words. But, neither the Prime Minister, nor his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is talking about it now. The gullible voters seem to have been taken for a ride.
Another important issue is price rise. The price of all essential commodities is still going up. The Prime Minister is conveniently dodging questions related to inflation. The country was surely waiting to hear from the Prime Minister also on these issues. and, he has avoided the issue of minorities.
As an MP, I really think that these are exciting and at the same time very challenging times. We can truly achieve something, only when we translate our words into deeds. If it does not happen soon, the next year on August 15, people might say that the Prime Minister’s speech is a mere annual ritual. let’s pray and hope that, our country will not miss this great opportunity, this time.
The Prime Minister has made a promising beginning. I sincerely hope that he stays the course to make India a real super-power with a vibrant federal system.
(The writer is a Member of Parliament from Nizamabad, Telangana)