Having settled down in his seat as the country’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday looked back to evaluate his one month journey in governance. Thirty days into power, Modi has clearly identified the areas where his Government has to focus more and where there is need to improve.
Writing in a blog on the completion of his Government’s first month in office, Modi said that unlike the previous Governments he did not have the luxury of a honeymoon period. Taking exception to the criticism his Government faced within the first few days of taking over, Modi pointed to the series of allegations that began in less than a hundred hours of the new Government coming to power.
He was obviously referring to criticism his Government faced over the Railway fare hike, controversy of a circular promoting Hindi, removing officials who worked closely with UPA Ministers and change of Governors.
“Every new Government has something that friends in the media like to call a “honeymoon period.” Previous Governments had the luxury of extending this “honeymoon period” up to a hundred days and even beyond. Not unexpectedly, I don’t have any such luxury. Forget hundred days, the series of allegations began in less than a hundred hours. But when one is working with the sole aim of serving the nation determinately, these things do not matter. That is why I keep working and that is most satisfying,” Modi wrote.
The man who came to power on the poll promise of “acchey din” has said that he is facing a big challenge in Delhi in conveying to “a select group of people” about our intentions and sincerity to bring a positive change in this country.
“These are people who are both within and outside the Government system. There have been some instances in the last month with which our Government had nothing to do yet these controversies have persisted. I don’t blame anybody but I surely feel that we need to strengthen systems whereby the right things are communicated to the right people at the right time. Hopefully things will change then,” Modi said.
He asserted that every decision his Government took has been guided solely by national interest and that “the support and affection of the people has been overwhelming and inspires us to work even harder.”
“67 years of previous Governments is nothing compared to one month but I do want to say that in the last month, our entire team has devoted every single moment for the welfare of the people,” he further wrote.
Revealing his feelings at the time of taking over as the country’s new PM, Modi said that when his Government took over a month ago, he kept thinking that he was new to this place. “Some people believed that I would take at least a year or even two to learn the intricacies of the working of the Central Government. Fortunately, a month later that thought does not exist any longer in my mind. My confidence and determination has increased tremendously and I credit a substantial part of this to the collective experience and wisdom of my ministerial colleagues and also to my experiences as a four-time Chief Minister. The affection of the people and support from officials has also added to this confidence in large measure,” Modi said.
Referring to the series of meetings he had with Cabinet colleagues, various Chief Ministers and bureaucrats, Modi said there has been exchange of thoughts and ideas and the Government has come up with excellent roadmaps for various ministries and departments.
Incidentally, Modi’s one month in office coincides with imposition of Emergency in 1975. “June 26 is an important date for me. It marks the completion of one month of our journey to fulfil the aspirations of the people. This day is also another landmark day, when in 1975 I witnessed an important phase that taught me the significance of a vibrant democracy. June 26 was the day when the Emergency started, having been imposed an evening earlier. As a youngster, I have several memories of those testing times,” he wrote.
He went onto add: “The Emergency surely stands out as one of the darkest periods in our history and is a grim reminder of the dangers associated with subverting freedom of speech, Press, expression and silencing opposition. Our democracy will not sustain if we can’t guarantee freedom of speech and expression. Today is also a day to reaffirm our pledge to safeguard these values and at the same time create strong institutions through good governance so that we never ever see those dark days again.”