Wake up, PM Modi, it’s the Congress curse

It seems out of proportion for the entire BJP top brass to step up for defending Swaraj with such ferocity.

hat is the worst thing that can happen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government? That it starts looking like its predecessor. Over the last week, an uncanny resemblance has come to the fore. What Sushma Swaraj did for Lalit Modi — an out of turn favour — isn’t big-ticket corruption, but it certainly qualifies as ministerial misconduct or a grave error of judgement. It’s the kind of misdemeanour that cost another Foreign Minister, K. Natwar Singh his job in the tenure of UPA 1. It’s the kind of practice which would be routine for most Congress politicians so practised in the art of political patronage and favour. Also, it definitely seems a bit out of proportion for the entire BJP top brass to step up to defend Swaraj with such ferocity, something the Congress did every time a scam broke out. If only the BJP establishment had similar passion for subjects that relate to good governance and economic reform.

But what is even more Congress-like is the deafening silence of the man in the Prime Minister’s seat. Manmohan Singh had mastered the art of keeping at an arms-length from the machinations of his ministers. He rarely spoke decisively on any scandal until it was too late. Perhaps it was a studied strategy. The wily Manmohan probably calculated that by staying silent, he would portray a figure who was above the petty, corrupt politics that happened at levels lower in the hierarchy. Of course, the strategy did not cut ice in public perception.

Now, there is a danger that Narendra Modi — a vastly different politician from Singh — may also be choosing silence as a strategy to remain above the “petty fray”. Unfortunately, it will work even less for him than for Manmohan. Modi is, after all, known to speak his mind on issues of importance and non-importance. He cannot allow a scandal — whether the BJP likes it or not that is what it is in public perception — to simmer for so long.

There are other indications, not related to the events of the past week, which also suggest a slow “Congressisation” of the Modi Sarkar. In these columns last week, I wrote about how the BJP was pursuing a self-defeating strategy of interference in Delhi’s state government. Again, the strategy is very reminiscent of what the Congress usually does when in power at the Centre, deliberately undermining state governments. It just doesn’t fit in with Modi’s promise of cooperative federalism and empowerment of states, a promise that was so refreshingly different from India’s grand old party.

The government’s decisions on key appointments (think FTII) — with so much empha- sis on mediocrity and “loyalty” — are a throwback to the way Congress did business for more than five decades. Modi, we thought, would bring in the best talent from India and abroad into the wider system of government. But he hasn’t.

It isn’t too late for the Prime Minister to course correct. He is only 13 months into office and still enjoys a high approval rating. However, political goodwill evaporates quickly once public perception turns firmly negative. Modi need only ask Manmohan Singh who lost the political capital of a second successive term as PM in a matter of months. The last thing Modi and BJP would like to do is go down the path of UPA 2. Because everyone knows where that path leads to.