Two weeks as PM: Narendra Modi comes across as a decisive leader who means business

By Neerja Chowdhury

Normally the President's address to the joint session of Parliament does not excite too much interest. It is usually a list of the Government's intentions, often a boring litany of broad intentions, a cut and paste job done unimaginatively by `babus'. But the Monday address of President Pranab Mukherji to members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha-the address is a government speech, the President is not allowed to add or subtract one word-had generated a lot of curiosity about what new note the Government would strike. Ever since it took over two weeks ago, people have got so used to something new coming on a daily basis from the Narendra Modi "sarkar".

The President's speech 2014, however, was nothing more than a combination of the BJP manifesto, and promises made by Modi during his election speeches and the various interviews he had given during the course of the campaign-but laced with a promise of "hope".

Though Pranab Mukherji delivered the speech, it carried the Modi stamp, replete with the familiar "Modisms"-a commitment to revive "Brand India" with focus on the 5 Ts, "Tradition, Talent, Tourism, Trade and Technology". Or the three "Ds" that are on India's side-"Democracy, Demography and Demand". Or the idea of "Rurban", to provide urban amenities to rural areas. Or the need for states and the Centre to work together as "Team India" for what is described as "Cooperative federalism". Ever since he took over, the new Prime Minister has emphasized the need to work with the states, and urged his ministerial colleagues to listen to-and pay heed to-- the states. He needs state governments to get crucial bills-like GST-passed in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP does not enjoy a majority.
The most fascinating aspect about the first two weeks of Narendra Modi's PMship however is the ease with which he has slipped into the prime ministerial mode. It is as if he had been Prime Minister for five years and not one learning on the job. For someone who has been considered as one of the most divisive and polarizing figures in recent times, and coming from the Hindu Right, he has, till now, not struck a false note. Instead he has tried to give suitable signals even to those who have voted against him that he wants "sabka saath, sabka vikas".

After the false start made by the Mos PMO about scrapping Article 370 which generated huge controversy in J&K, the President's Address stayed scrupulously clear of the "emotional" issues that the BJP espoused in the past. The PM has emphasized only governance and development.

Knowing the expectations he has aroused, which have gone through the roof, Modi went about setting a crack pace, leaving Ministers, bureaucrats and media panting. Asking Ministers to come to office by 9, directing them not to employ family members as their aides, urging MPs to stop touching his feet, cracking the whip on cleanliness and feverish activity can be seen in government offices to clean stinking toilets and remove the paan stains from the walls---all this has gone down well with ordinary folk closely following every move he is making. The ten point programme given to the ministers, which was nothing more than general exhortations, or the 100 day work deadline, also resorted to by the UPA government, was simply a device to keep up the pressure on his ministers. You can agree with him or not, but Modi is coming across as a decisive leader who means business. He displayed an out of box thinking on the foreign policy front, with his overtures to the SAARC heads even before he had taken over, the decision not to allow the Hurriyat leaders to meet Pak premier Nawaz Sharif in Delhi, to go to Bhutan in what is going to be his first foreign visit, yet again underscoring the primacy he gives the region, and to Asia-as opposed to the West centric and Pakistan focused policy we have pursued in the past--given his impending visit to Japan in July and the Chinese Foreign Minister's presence in Delhi. Normally, a bilateral meeting with the President of the US does not take place around the time of the UNGA, when leaders meet on the sidelines. But the Modi-Obama summit is scheduled around that time.

It is a given that Modi's PMO is going to be a powerful one. After 20 years, the head of RAW has started to brief the PM again. Modi took the unusual step of calling secretaries to the Government of India, so as to break the "policy paralysis" which had characterized UPA II. There is now talk of decisions going through only four layers of scrutiny. He urged bureaucrats to come to him directly if they ran into problems.

There is however a flip side to this story. Such an approach can reduce the Ministers into mere show pieces, and weaken the political direction they are called to provide in our parliamentary system. It is early days yet, but the direction of the Modi model of governance, if the last two weeks are anything to go by, is of a strong Prime Minister's Office, an "empowered" bureaucracy working closely with the PMO, and state governments implementing many of the schemes and programmes of the Government.

Though the Government has promised that containing inflation is going to be its priority, and this is going to pose challenge number one, it is not clear how it plans to go about it. The Union Budget, under Arun Jaitley's stewardship, is expected to unravel the Modi vision. Beating inflation-this inflicted the grievous body blow to the UPA-- is easier said than done. An expression of intentions-as contained in the President's Address--sounds impressive. But the devil lies in the detail-on how they will be implemented. The picture will start to unfold only in 3-4 months.

Though he rode the crest of the hopes he aroused, this may turn out to be his biggest headache .One of the challenges confronting him now is how to bring them to more realistic levels. But this is like dismounting a tiger after mounting it. He has demonstrated that he is not given to complacency, but he will have to "keep winning" to stay on top of the situation.

(The writer is a senior political journalist)