On May 16th when the results of the Lok Sabha elections were announced, a section of the country rejoiced. For the first time since independence, a single party other than the Indian National Congress came to power with absolute majority promising change and development. Many in the country who'd voted for the NDA thought that the much awaited and promised Acche Din has come. Three months down the line, we're still waiting for the good days to come as promised by our honourable Prime Minister during the polls. Hundred days have already gone by but the Modi government which was considered strong and decisive still doesn't seem to have come out their honeymoon period in office pushing the country into further disillusionment.
Almost immediately after Narendra Modi took oath as India's Prime Minister with all the fanfare, hundreds of construction workers of Indian origin were kidnapped by Islamist militants in Iraq. But the inept handling of the crisis by his government was much criticised both at home and abroad. What is rather interesting is how he has gone silent ever since he assumed office. During his poll campaign, Mr. Modi virtually spoke on every issue possible on Facebook, Twitter, through interviews but now we hardly get to hear his opinion on crucial issues some times for weeks. Whether it's about the killing of a young techie in Pune by a Hindu mob over a Facebook post or the outrages comments made by the leaders of the RSS and the VHP, he has maintained his silence over all these issues. What he perhaps fails to understand is that as the head of country and given his past affiliations, his silence is well taken as his endorsement and that is very dangerous for the country.
Among Modi's many promises during the polls, one the central themes were that of security of women and that of price rise. Inflation is higher than ever, prices of vegetables are sky high but the government is yet to put it in place. Over the past few months a spate of incidents of rape have been reported across the country including the shameful and horrific Badaun rape case but we didn't hear a single word coming from the Prime Minister. Not only that, a series of incidents of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh and poll bound states of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir has now become a regular phenomenon. What is the government doing to curb such incidents? The last I heard was the Home Ministry's decision to give the Muzzaffarnagar riots accused BJP MLA Sangeet Som Z security. Yes that talks a lot about the priorities that the current government seems to have.
The maiden budget of the Modi government was also far from being impressive. Many economists who were even until recently were batting for Mr. Modi's as being a visionary were seen disillusioned. Interestingly, Arvind Subramania who is all set to become India's next Chief Economic Advisor, also has some serious reservations about the budget and considers it to be really lacking in reforms. What can we expect from a government which commissions Rs. 200 crores for a statue in their budget and allots a token amount of only Rs. 100 crores for the safety of women. Again, priorities you see! Industrial productivity has reduced from 5.2% to 3% last month. Rupee is yet to see any recovery and neither there is any good news as far as the country's economic condition is concerned.
What is going horribly wrong for the Modi government is the tall promises that they'd made during the elections and are now struggling to keep them. It's a classic case of falling into one's own trap and then not knowing how to come out of it. They have been following the exact footsteps of the UPA government, continuing the same policies, pushing for the same set of bills which as Opposition they never allowed to get passed and the number of U-turns that they've taken is beyond my count. Someone also needs to remind them about their promise of bringing back black money stashed in foreign banks within 100 days of coming to power. Probably because of the workload they've forgotten about it and as responsible citizens it is our responsibility to remind them about their promises. So what if they can't fulfil them.
It has been just been hundred days of them coming to power and the country is busy talking about things like Love Jehad, Meerut riots, construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and how everyone living in India is a Hindu. All this under a government which came to power in the name of development. When at the Maharashtra Sadan, irresponsible Shiv Sena MPs forcibly tried to feed an innocent Muslim worker while he was fasting, I expected if not Narendra Modi then atleast the Prime Minister of this country to speak but it didn't happen. When BJP leader K Laxman opposed the appointment of Sania Mirza as Telangana's Brand Ambassador saying she is a daughter-in-law of Pakistan, I expected the Prime Minister to speak. These and in so many more occasions I wanted the Prime Minister of this country to speak but I guess that was expecting a little too much.
After 1972, Pakistan has violated ceasefire for the highest number of times in the last few months but what is our government doing? Isn't it the same government which criticised the UPA all throughout for being incompetent and weak in handling Pakistan? So what is now stopping them to act against them? Incompetency? After all we don't even have a full time Defence Minister as Arun Jaitely himself has termed it a temporary responsibility when he assumed office. While the Prime Minister has also abolished the Planning Commission and replaced it a 8 member think tank, experts say that it is old wine in a new bottle and is unlikely to bring in much change.
There are so many things to point out that has either gone wrong or hasn't changed despite this massive win and hardly anything good to talk about. I know by the time this piece will get published, the online brigade will start trolling me and my timeline will be filled with abuses and name calling but the truth cannot be buried for a long time. People have already started getting disillusioned and if the results of the latest by polls are anything to go by, the Narendra Modi government has a lot of reasons for introspection. They need to understand that no victory is a victory big enough to take the voters for granted. It is time they realise it and try to bring about real change, roll out reforms and ensure development of the country. Hundred days are probably a short span of time to expect so much but it is long enough to get an indication of what the future has in it's store. It is high time that the government realises that!
