Who has taken the bait, Tharoor or Congress?

When Prime Minister Modi invited Shashi Tharoor for his dream project Swatch Bharath Abhiyan, many guessed it as bait. When Tharoor accepted the challenge, observers commented that he has taken the bait. The Sunanda Pushkar episode has put him in a great difficulty, and now BJP in power, he has to be extra careful. Even if he is so innocent in the incident, the ruling party with its control over CBI can do a lot of damage to Tharoor’s political career. So, it is quite normal for anybody to assume that Tharoor was trapped by Modi. However, it is clear that Modi is not just aiming Tharoor alone, but the whole Congress itself; see how Congress leadership, especially the KPCC reacted against Tharoor’s praise of Modi. Their image is declined and was criticized for being narrow minded. When the prime minister is taking an initiative to improve the country, why the ‘opposition’ is trying to find only negatives? In other words, by taking disciplinary action against Tharoor, it is the Congress Party which has taken the bait. I would say, even Tharoor scored well in the challenge with his good response.

The Political One-Man Show and Diplomatic Successes

If one tries to judge just a few months old government, it would be erroneous. In the same way, glorifying someone in such a short time also can be considered immature. These two are the observations one can find in newspapers and TV channels regarding the Modi India. However, one thing alone can be said of Modi’s approach: he is doing things in an unprecedented way, beyond the conventional logic and thinking. He has rewritten the concepts concerning foreign policy and administrative method. The way he interacted with students in Japan, the public gathering he organized at New York. We have seen presidents or heads of the states visiting schools and places of popular praises. And they used to meet important business groups, pressure groups and so on. However, it is not so common to meet the common man, a public gathering in a foreign land. It is all good and just OK. There is no denying that the common man was impressed, they got a new deity, a new role model. With his ‘swatch bharath abhiyan’, he again received loud applause.

The one and only difference of opinion I have with both Modi fans and critics is that when we analyze a policy, we should judge not based on popular impressions and media coverage, rather it should be based on the results. Of course, we have got a good response from Japan. But the question is, was that an unprecedented gesture from Japanese side. Didn’t we receive good response and business investments? When a head of a state with a good majority in the parliament visits other countries, they will get a warm welcome. Other than this usual help, can we say Modi’s visit to Japan met all its purposes? Similar is the case with his visit to US. Nothing more happened other than some false promises and some meaningless gestures. In the case with Pakistan, it remains where it started, a deadlock.

The Modi era, if we can call the period in such a way, can do great things to the country if only if we stop the blabbermouth, and concentrate more on action.

(Image courtesy: google.com)