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Business News/ Opinion / Online-views/  Prime ministers must establish authority without being authoritarian
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Prime ministers must establish authority without being authoritarian

This is still a period of settling down for Narendra Modi's NDA govt, but certain trends, particularly relating to style of governance, are clearly visible

The Prime Minister has demonstrated his mastery of political packaging and branding, and has continued with a number of initiatives launched by the predecessor government and given them new names. Photo: BloombergPremium
The Prime Minister has demonstrated his mastery of political packaging and branding, and has continued with a number of initiatives launched by the predecessor government and given them new names. Photo: Bloomberg

Narendra Modi’s government marks 100 days in office on Tuesday. This is always a period of learning and of settling down. The Prime Minister has received a decisive mandate for around 1,825 days and, therefore, to judge him only after a little short of 6% of the time has elapsed may appear to be very premature. Such a short period does not lend itself to definitive conclusions. But certain trends, particularly as they relate to the style of governance, are clearly visible already.

The Prime Minister had an unusually long stint of 12-and-a-half years as chief minister where both his strengths and limitations came into sharp public focus. Even so, what is obvious more than ever before is that he is in complete command of both the administration and the party. His is the only voice that is heard and that counts. This may give an impression of cohesion and coherence in governance but it has already established an extreme centralization of power. Omnipotence gives rise to a belief in omniscience, and that will prove counterproductive sooner or later. Minimum government, which has been a motto of Mr. Modi, certainly cannot become a one-man government. This model may work in a state, but it has doubtful value for managing the country’s complex affairs.

The Prime Minister has, for the most part, sought to steer clear of divisive issues and has attempted to project himself as a non-sectarian leader. He has tried to give himself a statesman’s aura and certainly attempted to focus purposively on economic and social challenges facing the nation. The substance of his maiden Independence Day speech was unexceptionable. But there is a definite “good cop-bad cop" routine being played out here meticulously. His choice of the rabble-rousing Yogi Adityanath as the main election campaigner for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh undercuts his claims that he wants to govern in a manner that is not polarizing. He has also maintained a studied silence on inflammatory statements being made by some of his colleagues that have vitiated the communal atmosphere. He has not chided his cadres for their boorish behaviour in public meetings where non-BJP chief ministers have been present and heckled, thereby giving rise to needless bitterness. While speaking of the need for a new political culture of cooperation, he has not hesitated to be pointedly partisan, as on the governors’ issue.

The Prime Minister has demonstrated his mastery of political packaging and branding. He has continued with a number of initiatives launched by the predecessor government and given them new names, imparted a fresh momentum and, most importantly, given them his personal imprimatur. This is true, for instance, in regard to sanitation, cleaning of the Ganga, skill development, financial inclusion and the expansion of Aadhaar. He has also clearly signalled his penchant for prestige— “us-too" projects that have high visibility but that may not necessarily be what the country urgently needs. His fixation on bullet trains that has now seen the formation of the High Speed Rail Corp. of India Ltd is a telling example of this.

The Prime Minister has said that he believes in governing through consensus. That is a laudable sentiment, but there has been little evidence of it so far. He has yet to reach out to his political opponents to seek their support on what he has rightly declared to be national endeavours. His presence in Parliament has been minimal and so have been his interventions.

There is a strong sense of dread about how a comfortable parliamentary majority will be used to push through reforms that change the character of institutions. He was cheered wildly by corporate India. But strangely, he has decided to choke its access both to himself and to his colleagues.

The Prime Minister has maintained an extraordinarily tight control on public communication. He has displayed a pronounced bias in favour of social media in conveying what he wishes to convey. His chief ministerial tenure had been marked by a conspicuous absence of occasions on which he could be questioned and this tradition of a monologue has continued. There is also a sense that this is not a government which thinks through and explains to its countrywomen and men what is wrong with the architecture of governance. Instead, it announces a decision like abolishing the Planning Commission and then institutes a ritualistic dialogue about what should be its replacement.

The process of thinking and rethinking, taking advice and offering views in a spirit of humility, which is at the core of democracy, is simply missing in this government.

The Prime Minister’s invitation to his counterparts in the Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries for his swearing-in ceremony on 26 May was a dramatic gesture which even his political adversaries could not fault. His visits to Nepal and Bhutan can only bode well for our bilateral relations. However, his policy on Pakistan and his abrupt cancellation of the “talks on talks" at the level of foreign secretaries has puzzled many. His position on the World Trade Organization’s trade facilitation agreement has drawn both praise and criticism. What this means for India’s position in climate change negotiations, where it has once again assumed the role of being an obstructionist naysayer, remains to be seen. But clearly, he has no qualms of seeing India as the last man standing.

Given the high-voltage, high-decibel election campaign he single-handedly ran, it would not be out of place to judge the Prime Minister in relation to the expectations he aroused. By this yardstick, the first 100 days have been a sedate start. Prime ministers must undoubtedly establish their authority. But the challenge is to do so without giving the impression that they revel in being authoritarian. By this token, Mr. Modi’s first 100 days raise more disturbing questions than provide comforting answers. Meanwhile, the hagiolatry continues unabated.

The author is a Rajya Sabha MP and a former Union minister.

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Published: 31 Aug 2014, 06:02 PM IST
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