Narendra Modi's words can only do so much; results of demonetisation need to start soon

Till the time concrete results of demonetisation are known, and more importantly, felt, the only defence for Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be his oratorical skill. And it could be a long wait for him before the results start speaking for themselves.

In Moradabad on Saturday, however, he was filling that large vacant gap between action and result with words. Expect this to be the pattern in all his upcoming speeches in the next few months.

At BJP’s Parivartan Rally, he called himself a fakir (hermit), spoke about his fight against corruption and said the rich are uncomfortable with his anti-black money crusade. He said the queues people had to face would be the last such queue in their lives; he promised them that their hard work and sacrifice won’t go in vain. There was also a push for more cashless transactions. It is difficult to assess from a distance whether the gathering was impressed, but from Modi’s perspective, he was making the most of the only option available to him at the moment: Words.

We don’t know if the prime minister anticipated demonetisation to be as cumbersome as it has turned out after three weeks. People are still short of money to manage their everyday needs, banks do not have sufficient cash, small businesses are in a quandary, weddings are hit, and no one really knows what to do with the Rs 2,000 notes they carry.

The initial enthusiasm for the move has given way to frustration. As a seasoned politician, he would be aware that if such a situation is allowed to linger, results could politically be disastrous.

However, now that the decision has been taken and rolled out, his options are limited. The Opposition can still be handled in Parliament. In any case, as long as they keep their anger within the House and don’t reach out to the people, it is hardly a matter of worry for his government; it’s also far less damaging than the growing disappointment among ordinary people with demonetisation. So he has to reach out and be sympathetic to them besides promising them something significant in return for their sacrifice. And it can only be words and more nice words.

It’s possible that after the end of this month, the government would provide a fancy figure, in lakhs of crores, as black money purged from the system. Big numbers have a way of influencing minds, but they have been used far too often, beginning from the Rs 1.76 lakh crore 2G scam. People need a something more real than just a number, or just information that black money hoarders have been dealt a nasty blow, or the fact that they all have active bank accounts.

People must feel the demonetisation exercise has actually impacted their lives. Without tangible change — no, media propaganda won’t work — these words would sound increasingly hollow with every speech.

With election to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly not too far away, Modi has to start talking about concrete results at some point. He cannot keep repeating what he said in Moradabad. For now, however, everyone will be in the wait and watch mode.