Modi govt’s third-year bash to showcase achievements, plans
HARD SELL Focus will be on creating awareness about peoplecentric policies, their impact
The Narendra Modi government, which will complete its third year in office on May 26, will launch a huge publicity exercise across 900 districts to showcase its accomplishments in the past three years and what it intends to do in the remaining two of its term.
All central ministers and state ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states and MPs have been roped in to participate in the government’s third-year bash, which will start with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address in Guwahati.
As has been done in the previous two years, people-centric schemes such as the Ujjwala scheme that provides cooking gas connections free of cost to women from poor households and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana that promises affordable houses for the economically weaker sections will be the focus of these publicity exercises.
A new feature this year will be 500 beneficiary ‘sammelans’ (gatherings), where the spotlight will be on the impact of schemes on the common man. Cases will be presented on how the policies left a positive impact on the people.
A senior official associated with the anniversary programme told Hindustan Times that the focus was to “reach every corner of the country and not leave out even single district” to create awareness about the people-centric programmes designed in three years, since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government came to power.
Ministers and MPs have been told to gather feedback during the public meetings. The idea is to have the government’s ear to the ground so that when the Bharatiya Janata Party seeks votes in upcoming assembly elections, it is aware of the work that’s needed and people’s mood.
A team of four ministers, headed by human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar, has been given the charge of drafting the programme for the third-year celebrations.
The broadcast arms of the government — All India Radio and Doordarshan — will offer their platforms to relay interviews with ministers and run scheme-based programmes.
Information brochures with details of government schemes will also be distributed as will a message from the prime minister to citizens.
The Congress wants to spoil the Modi government’s anniversary party.
It also announced the launch of a nationwide campaign to expose the BJP-led government in the next 24 months ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress opened its 10-day counteroffensive with a news conference at its headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday, fielding a battery of young leaders to attack the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over their “failures” in three years.
It was on May 16 , 2014 that the BJP won the Lok Sabha elections with a massive mandate. That was also the first time since 1984 that a single party crossed the 272-mark in the 543-member House on its own.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi set the tone when he tweeted, “Youth are struggling to find jobs, farmers are committing suicide & soldiers are dying at the border. What exactly is the Govt celebrating?” In another tweet, he said: “3 years of broken promises, non performance & betrayal of a mandate.”
Later addressing the news conference, Congress’ chief whip in the Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia reiterated his party’s charge that an “atmosphere of intolerance” is being created across the country.
“If anybody talks against it, they are called anti-nationals. The government decides what the people should eat, wear and read, and tries to push its policies based on a regimented ideological thinking,” he said.
Scindia said the Bharatiya Janata Party sold a dream of bringing Achhe Din (good days) when it came to power in 2014. “It has done nothing in the past three years and in fact shattered the dreams of 125 crore people and made them helpless.”
He summed up the BJP’s tenure by coining, “Teen Saal, Desh Behaal. Yahi hai Bhajpaa ka Kamaal (Three Years, Country in Distress…This is BJP’s Achievement)’.