I am a die hard Modi supporter and vehemently anti-Congress. I hold Congress and the Nehru Dynasty to be the prime reason India languished with respect to development for 60 years. They never gave us a chance to realize our potential. My School/College days was one of scarcity, and one had to fight for even basic things. In 1980s, you have to book for a scooter and wait for 5-10 years, in 1990s you have to book for a LPG Connection and forget about it, as you would never be allotted one. Ditto for Telephone Connection or Electricity Connection. The trains had primitive facilities, and if you wanted to be an entrepreneur ( I became one in 1994 ) you have to know somebody in the Bank to get your loan application in. I had to pay a real interest of close to 22% to for my term loan in 1994.
Vajpayee's tenure as PM towards the turn of the century was a welcome change. However, Vajpayee was not a game changer PM. He was as much a creation of the Delhi Clique as any other PM was. His loss in 2004, handing over a country on the rise to the nincompoop Manmohan Singh, remote controlled by Sonia Gandhi, was the worst thing that could have happened to India, barring the disastrous tenure of V P Singh in late 1980s.
Four years into his rule, I have to admit I have mixed feelings. True, he is way better than any other pretender to the throne. But that is not enough. As a devout Hindu, who cares for the preservation of Hindu Culture, there is a tinge of disappointment.
The successes are many. Demonetization, GST, Ujwala, Jan Dhan, Swach Bharath, Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme, Power Situation, Electrification, Infrastructure push, Udaan Scheme, Performance of Railways, Inflation Control, GDP Growth..............
However, one has to admit we have seen many areas where performance is less than satisfactory. Let me list out a few,
Smart Cities- This was a scheme which raised lot of expectation. People are fed up with creaking infrastructure in cities, coupled with their filthiness and local level corruption. Despite launching the scheme with much fan fare, not much progress is to be seen. True, the State Governments have to take the initiative. But with BJP ruling nearly 20 out of 30 States, this is no excuse.
Conviction of the Corrupt - Having come on an anti corruption platform, there was a crying need for a Ministry handling this on a priority. Someone like Subramanyam Swamy heading this would have sent a strong message. Lot of blame for Modi Governments lack lustre performance on this front has to do with Arun Jaitley, who has sat on files for 4 years. But this should have been visible to Modi, and he should have taken steps to replace AJ long ago. Filing a case against Chidambaram or Sashi Tharoor in the 5th year is insufficient. What about Sonia and her family, especially Robert Vadra? 2G Scam? Coal Scam? Why is a convicted criminal like Lalu allowed to fake diseases and run his politics from premium hospitals? Cannot blame people if they think Modi is not serious about convicting the corrupt. Maybe he is reserving it to time it just before election in 2019, but people are not swayed by what happens in the final year.
Disinvestment - Despite lot of noises on Air India Disinvestment, nothing much has happened on the ground.
Development of Model Villages by MPs- This scheme is a disaster. This was a chance for BJP MPs to show they are doers. Funds were available. Is it asking for too much of our MPs to adopt two villages every year? It is a crying shame.
Education - Education sector in India needs not incremental changes, but a total reconstruction. Our kids are still being taught rubbish history, and the methodology is akin to that of Fort Model T. This ministry has been handled by incompetent idiots, when the crying need was for this to be entrusted to a doer, like Piyush Goyal or Gadkari. Admittedly, Modi is handicapped by lack of talent amongst his MPs. What prevented Modi from giving this Ministry to Yogi Adityanath during the first 3 years?
Short changing Hindus - Hindus has had a rough time under Congress regime, which is blatantly anti hindu. In a Hindu majority country, Hindus feel sidelined, and see the minority Christians and Muslims get special privileges, be it running educational institutions or religious places. One expected this to change under Modi. But it has been a big let down. RTE should have been scrapped or extended to cover all educational institutions. Temples should have been freed from Government control and given back to devotees. The Minorities should have been brought under government control. The message should have been loud and clear. This is a Hindu Majority country. We respect other religions, but understand Hindus get the first right on everything. If a BJP Government under Modi wont take care of Hindu interests, pray who will?
Finally, Pakistan - We started well but drifted during the last two years. We should have put economic sanctions, stopped Sushma Swaraj's medical matha rubbish of giving visas, scrapped MFN status, and in short told Pakistan to go fly a kite. We lack the guts to do that, and they will continue to hurt us.
Maybe Modi wants to tackle the shortcomings in the Second Term. One has to wait and see. But I just have a feeling, he had his chance, but blew it.
I have no doubt he will win another term in 2019, but will he return stronger? That is the million dollar question.
