Development for all best bet for minorities
The NDA government believes in the politics of empowerment over the politics of appeasement
When Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, a Turkish friend of my lawyer Atyab Siddiqui commented: “After the advent of Modi, it appears that India has at last got a PM ... for the last 10 years, it looked like India was without a PM.” At the world stage today, Modi has carved a niche for himself as the most-popular PM, if not the best PM. But the Opposition, which has no developmental or progressive agenda, has only one aim: demonise, deride, and finally, depose Modi. However, if one takes into account today’s scenario, Modi is the best bet to lead us.
While blaming the PM for demonetisation and GST, his critics must realise that he took over after huge scams: 2G, Commonwealth Games, Satyam, and Adarsh . The economy was also in the doldrums. In spite of such challenges, Modi has been managing well. He must be given at least five to 10 more years to fix the problems facing the country. The Opposition must realise that the more it targets Modi, his popularity increases.
The most common charge against Modi is that he is anti-Muslim. This is wrong. As for the riots in Gujarat, he has got a clean chit. For the betterment of the madrasa students, Modi slogan is: “Quran in one hand and computer in another.” According to Union minister for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Modi believes in the empowerment of Muslims, not appeasement, as the Congress did. Schemes such as “Nai Manzil”, “Nai Roshni”, “Hunar Haat”, “Hamari Dharohar”, the Haj and waqf initiatives, along with controlling the “triple talaq” menace, have been the salient features of Modi’s governance agenda. Here is another notable development: For the first time, 5.66% Muslim candidates have made it to the civil services, thanks to the coaching provided by the minority affairs ministry. In the last seven decades, only 2-3% made the cut.
Minorities are safe under Modi. The Opposition is howling about cases of lynching and cow vigilantism but they should take note that there have been almost 200,000 big and small cases of riots, starting from the 1947 Bengal riots in which 10,000 died. There have been riots in Jamshedpur (1964), Ahmedabad (1969), Moradabad (1980), Nellie (1983), Bhiwandi (1984), Delhi (1984), and Ahmedabad (1985), Meerut (1987), Bhagalpur (1989), Aligarh (1992), Bombay-Maharashtra (1992-93), Aligarh (2006), Dhule (2008), Deganga (2010), Bharatpur (2011), Assam (2012) and Muzaffarnagar (2013), all during the Congress’s tenure. Besides, the Congress has always used Muslims as a vote bank, scaring them about the RSS and the BJP. But after winning elections, the party disposes them like a tissue paper.
Modi is popular because of schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana, Swachh Bharat mission, Make in India, Startup India, Standup India and smart cities. The economy has also been doing well under him: The foreign direct investment inflow under the Make in India initiative has increased by about 41.29% and companies such as Bombardier Inc, Foxconn and Apple have committed investments in India.
Modi’s surgical strikes against Pakistan and his handling of the Doklam crisis speak volumes about his diplomatic and political acumen, something that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru lacked, resulting in the Sino-Indian war in 1962. A lot has been written about Modi’s foreign tours but the PM has used these tours to garner respect for India.
His decision to invite former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in ceremony and then attending his granddaughter’s Lahore wedding show that Modi is a fearless man and a symbol of peace. So far as demonetisation and GST are concerned, it is true people suffered. But no one can question his larger goals: making India a cashless society, controlling black money and tax evasion, and tackling terrorism. The implementation of GST is also a great step forward. What is to be lamented is that the manner in which a section of the Right-wing fringe is pushing the agenda of militant Hindutva, Dalit bashing and cow vigilantism is undoing the good work done by Modi over the last four years.
MODI IS POPULAR BECAUSE OF PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA, BETI BACHAO, BETI PADHAO YOJANA, SWACHH BHARAT MISSION, MAKE IN INDIA, STARTUP INDIA, STANDUP INDIA AND SMART CITIES