As June 26 marks the culmination of the month-long Vikas Parv campaign to celebrate the completion of two years of the NDA Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the people were witness to an unprecedented phenomenon in political accountability — for the first time all the top leaders of ruling alliance, including Cabinet Ministers fanned out across the length and breadth of the country to present a report card on the performance.
The left and the Congress parties instead of appreciating the good initiatives taken by the Government and play a constructive role continued with their disinformation campaign by addressing Press conferences and mixing facts with fiction.
However, it was an altogether different experience for people as Ministers went to them to provide details of various milestones achieved during the last two years, present a progress report and outline plans for the future.
With the Ministers and other important leaders visiting 200 nerve centres all over the country, the Vikas Parv campaign indeed rejuvenated the leaders and cadre of the BJP alike and inspired the party and its allies to work with renewed vigour in addressing the problems faced by the common man. The interactions with intellectuals, opinion leaders and others provided important feedback and fresh insights to the leaders as the Government marches ahead with its vision and goal of achieving all-round progress and transforming the lives of the people.
The people while appreciating the schemes launched by the Government want them to be implemented effectively. The feedback from the party rank and file was that there was inadequate publicity on the schemes since there was no Central Government set-up at the district level to take the information to the masses.
From initiating a series of people-centric schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana to restoring India’s economy and image internationally, the NDA Government during the last two years had to countenance a systematic and sustained besmirching campaign from the Congress and the left parties, which many a time uncharitably targeted Narendra Modi in a highly personalised manner. Here, I would urge everyone to pause and ponder over the need for all political parties to appreciate the good work of the Government, instead of blindly opposing for the sake of Opposition.
Although the Congress and the left continue to take a blinkered view, the people fortunately are appreciative of the performance of the NDA Government as was evidenced by the massive turnouts and response during the Vikas Parv campaign. From their responses it is evident that they were particularly happy that the Government as promised by Modi has provided a clean and scam-free administration, while addressing the basic needs of the people.
Among the significant gains on the foreign policy front is the support extended to India by most of the major powers and other countries for its application to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It will be a matter of time before India formally becomes NSG member ending years of isolation and opening the doors for nuclear commerce. It is being hoped that the differences with China will be sorted out and it will be brought on board in supporting India’s entry.
Other important milestones on the foreign policy front include the key role being played by India in rebuilding Afghanistan and the agreement inked with Iran for development of Chabahar port in Iran. The port will provide direct access to markets in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe.
The recent address by Modi to the US Congress has given a new dimension to the bilateral ties between the two great countries. Many tweets from American Congressmen following his inspirational speech to the US Congress apart from the spontaneous applause he received on a number of occasions, showed the huge popularity enjoyed by the Prime Minister among both Democrats and Republicans.
During that address, Modi also outlined his ambitious to-do list to be implemented in a finite timeframe. It includes a vibrant rural economy with robust farm sector; a roof over each head and electricity to all households; to skill millions of youth; build 100 smart cities; have a broadband for 100 billion; connect our villages to the digital world and create a 21st century rail, road and port infrastructure.
As rightly pointed out by the Prime Minister during his address to the BJP’s National Executive, the time for sloganeering is over and focus continues to be on ensuring that the benefit of every scheme reaches the people and vastly improves their livelihoods in tune with the promise of achchhe din. To avoid repetition, I would not like to list out all the schemes again, but suffice it to say that infrastructure, power, education, health, agriculture, urban development and other core areas that touch the lives of the people are witnessing a sea change.
With focus on improving passenger amenities, safety and adding capacity, the capital investment in railways this year is expected to be over Rs 93,000 crore. Similarly, the newly announced Aviation policy is all set improve regional air connectivity and meet the air travel demand as India emerges to be a top travel destination in the coming years. In a landmark move, the Government decided to allow 100 per cent FDI in aviation and defence. This would provide a huge thrust to the economy and create jobs.
Swachchh Bharat is another revolutionary initiative that is changing the mindset of the people in both urban and rural areas of the country.
With many pro-active measures taken up by the Government on the power front, it is now expected that for the first time in the country’s history, India will not have power deficit in 2016-17. The country will have a surplus of 3.1 per cent during peak hours and 1.1 per cent during non-peak hours in 2016-17. This was cited to show how the Government through its focused approach is staying on course. Not only that, the Prime Minister is also asking people to rate his Government, reflecting the importance attached to the feedback given by the people.
The insolvency and bankruptcy code, the consumer-friendly real estate Bill that aims to give a push to the Government’s scheme of providing Housing for All by 2022, the amendments to insurance and labour laws are all progressive measures hailed by all.
In spite of the obstructionist tactics adopted by the Congress in Rajya Sabha, the Government through an approach of consensus ensured that the productivity of Parliament went up in challenging circumstances.
As the Government moves into its third year, all eyes particularly from the trade and industry are on the proposed Goods and Services tax regime. The Congress would do well to keep the country’s interests in mind and support the GST Bill as the Government prepares to take it up in the coming monsoon session of Parliament.
Attacking the Government and stalling Parliament might serve the transient immediate, purpose of getting headlines, but would hamper development and cause hardship to the people. I hope that the Congress and left parties will understand the message of the people for faster development and cooperate with the Government in realising India’s enormous potential to become a major economic power.
(The writer is a Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs)