I have been getting more and more worried over the last year or so at the direction( or lack of it) in which our country is headed. It is like a runaway plane falling from the skies and we are plummeting past one alarming indicator after another– inflation, economic slowdown, falling rupee, complete break-down of law and order, ever emboldened Naxalites, total internalisation of corruption, an administration that answers to no one, complete lack of governance, cronyism on a scale never seen before, a brazen lack of accountability, public intimidation of constitutional authorities, a judicial system that has all but collapsed,environmental disasters that no one knows how to cope with, complete paraplegia of decision-making at all levels in government,appeasement of “minorities” and other sections that is reaching ridiculous and dangerous levels, dynastic politics at the Centre and the states reminiscent of the Mughal era…….
I could go on and on but after some time the mind becomes numb and registers only one emotion——-IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE.
Another five years of this and we would be well on our way to becoming a failed state and joining the ranks of Pakistan, Haiti and Somalia.
The general elections of 2014 offers us one last chance to redeem ourselves. I have been on this mortal coil for 62 years and have never voted for the BJP but have, after much thought, decided to support MODI in 2014. This is considered a heresy in most neo-liberal circles in India today but we have to go beyond mere labelling and stereo typing to understand my decision.
But before I go on to Mr. Modi himself, let us review the context in which this decision has been taken. The state of the country is self evident in para one above.
The next question then is: What are the alternatives or choices that we as voters have?
The Congress will only perpetuate the present mess-even more worrying and dangerous is the fact that, were the Congress to return to power, it would consider it had a renewed mandate to carry on as before.
In any case, who in the country would lead the Congress- a reluctant dynast, or an ageing economist who has discovered his true skills lie in politics, or a backroom puppeteer? Or, God forbid, all three? (Seriously, this is a possibility- after all not one of these three want to shoulder sole accountability, and they may reason that if a dual power centre can ensure two terms, a triple may be good for even more!) No, to my mind the Congress is not an option.
Who else, then?
Well, if we scrape the bottom of the barrel assiduously we will come up with Mamta Banerjee [ TMC], Mulayam Yadav [SP], Nitish Kumar [JDU], Naveen Patnaik [BJD], Jayalalitha [AIADMK], Sharad Pawar [NCP] and Mayawati (BSP). There is no need to discuss their achievements or ideologies at a national level (incidentally, not even one of them has a remotely national outlook or ideology since they cannot see beyond pandering shamelessly to the vote banks in their respective states) because they are state (not even regional) leaders and none of them can hope to be Prime Minister on the strength of their own parties.
They all realise this, of course, hence the idea which periodically emerges like a skin rash, of a Third or Federal Front. This didn’t work even when a Third Front could agree on a leader (as in the case of I.K. Gujral or Deve Gowda). How on earth will it work when every one of the state leaders mentioned above feels that he or she has been reincarnated precisely to become the Prime Minister of India?
The negotiations for choosing a PM (if the Front comes up with the numbers, that is) will resemble one of those WWF fights where about six hunks are put into the ring to beat the daylights out of each other till one of them is left standing to claim the crown. I cannot see all of them agreeing on even one policy issue, whether it is reservations, industrial stimulus,foreign policy, disinvestment, environmental protection, centre-state relations etc.
If they come to power at the Center, the paraplegia of today will become quadriplegia tomorrow.
Fortunately, in any case, they can never muster the 274 seats required-it will be difficult for them to reach even hundred even if they do very well in their states.
So a Third Front is a non-starter, and voting for any of these parties will only help the Congress by dividing the anti-congress vote. [You will have noticed that I have not mentioned Mr. Karat of the CPM. That’s because he’s become like a flat bottle of Coca-Cola- earlier he was all fizz and no substance: now even the fizz has gone].
That leaves only the BJP, with its historical baggage of the RSS, Hindutva, Ramjanmbhoomi (by the way, this baggage also includes five years of exemplary governance under Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004) -perhaps enough baggage to dissuade me from voting for the party. Except that this time the BJP has an add-on: Narender Modi.
And that, to my mind, adds value to the party and makes the crucial difference.
Modi has been reviled ad-nauseam by the “secular” parties and sections of the elite media for many years for the 2002 riots in Gujarat, by the former not because of any love for the Muslims (as I hope to show later) but simply in order to appropriate the Muslim vote, and by the latter because they have to keep whipping somebody in order to get their TRPs – in India only extremes succeed. Modi has been tried and condemned by them not on the basis of facts but by an opportunistic mixture of innuendo, presumption, speculation, half-truths, hear say. Look at the facts.
There was a horrendous orgy of killing of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 where about 2000 of them were massacred. Some of Modi’s ministers and many BJP / VHP workers were involved: quite a few of them have also been convicted, the trials of many still go on.
The Supreme Court set up at least three SITs and is itself monitoring the investigations. Many PILs have been filed in the SC and the High Court accusing Modi of master-minding these massacres. In not a single case has either the Supreme Court, the High Court or the SITs found any evidence of Modi’s personal complicity.
Yes, they have held that he could have controlled the situation better- but nothing beyond that inspite of ten years of frenetic drum beating and sustained vilification.
Now look at the other set of facts. Under Modi’s current watch, perhaps for the first time in India, people have been actually convicted for communal rioting and murder- more than 200 convictions, with about 130 of them sentenced to life imprisonment.
All the communal massacres in India since Independence have not resulted in even one tenth of these convictions.
Modi’s government has to be given some credit for this: yes, the investigations were carried out by the SIT and not by Modi’s police; yet Modi could, if he was so inclined, have interfered covertly in the whole process by asking his officials not to cooperate, by intimidating witnesses, influencing judges, conveying hints to prosecutors- something which, as we all know too well, governments of all political hues in India have mastered.
Modi could have done what the Congress has done so successfully in Delhi in three other high-profile cases being monitored by the Supreme Court- the Commonwealth Games Scam, the 2G case, and Coalgate ( not to mention also the Sikh massacres of 1984): have these cases made any headway? has wrong-doing been proved in a single instance? has anyone been convicted?
No, Sir, these investigations will drag on and on till they are lost in the mists of time.
Supreme Court monitoring cannot ensure justice unless the govt. of the day allows its agencies to function- it is to Modi’s credit that he did so allow them.
Compare this with the manner in which the police in Delhi have been emasculated to protect some senior Congress leaders in the 1984 Sikh carnage- everyone in Delhi knows, even after 27 long years, that their hands are dipped in blood, but the evidence will never reach the courts; the recent acquittal of Sajjan Kumar only confirms this.
The biggest stigmata on Modi is the charge that he is “communal” and not “secular”.
All (non-NDA) political parties never tire of tom-tomming this from the roof-tops and consider this their trump card to ensure that he will never achieve his Grand-slam at the centre. But after eleven years this is beginning to wear thin and people are beginning to question the assumptions behind this charge and even the definition of what constitutes “communal” and “secular.”
Nirad Choudhry had long ago given his opinion that India is the continent of Circe where humans are turned into beasts-it is also the graveyard of the Oxford Dictionary where the meanings of words are turned on their heads to suit political exigencies! So “communal” today means a Hindu who is not ashamed of saying he is a Hindu, and ” secular” means a Hindu who panders to other religions in order to get their votes at the next elections!
By this inverse definition Modi is considered communal- notwithstanding that not a single Hindu- Muslim riot has taken place in Gujarat under his watch since 2002, notwithstanding that the BJP got 17% of the Muslim vote in the Assembly elections in the state earlier this year, notwithstanding that the party won five of the eight seats which had a dominant Muslim voter base, notwithstanding that the average Muslim in Gujarat is much better off economically than his counterpart in Assam, UP or Bihar (headed by ” secular” parties).
Compare this with the record of the Samajwadi party in UP where more than a hundred communal riots have taken place in less than two years, with the Congress in Assam where hundreds of Muslims were butchered last year and at least three hundred thousand of them are still languishing in relief camps with no hope of ever returning to their villages, with the Congress ruled Maharashtra where hundreds of Muslims were killed with the active help of the police after the Bombay blasts. (Needless to say there do not appear to have been any convictions in any of these pogromes). And MODI is communal?
I am a Hindu but I stopped going into any temple twenty years ago because I was sickened by the rapacious behaviour of their pundits.
I am no longer a practicing Hindu in a public, ritualistic sense and frankly I don’t know how many of the religious beliefs I retain, but I still consider myself a Hindu because Hinduism is more than just a religion- it is a culture, a civilisation, a way of life.
But in the Kafkaesque India of today if you were to proclaim that you are a Hindu (even though you have equal respect and regard for all other religions) you would be branded “communal”- this is what political discourse has been reduced to by our politicians.
And being “secular” no longer means treating all religions equally: it means splintering society into a myriad “minorities” (another perversion of the Oxford Dictionary) and then pandering to such of them as suit you in your naked pursuit of power.
In the process India has been converted into a complex jigsaw of minorities, castes, tribes, classes, sections and what have you.
The British could have learnt plenty from us about Divide and Rule!
But more and more right thinking people are beginning to question this recipe for disaster, and I am one of them.
India is 80% Hindu- why should one then have to be apologetic about proclaiming that one is a Hindu ? We have been ruled and exploited and vandalised for eight hundred years by Muslims and for another two hundred years by Christians, and yet we have accorded these two religions a special status as “minorities” with privileges that the Hindus don’t have.
Has any other country in the world ever displayed such a spirit of accommodation and egalitarianism?
Is there a more secular civilisation in the world?
And yet, a Hindu who says he is a Hindu is considered communal!
Does a Hindu have to prove his secular credentials time and again by greater levels (or depths) of appeasement of other religions simply so that they can continue to be vote bank fodder for political parties?
Modi has had the courage to raise these questions and is therefore being reviled by those political parties whose apple carts he is threatening to upset. But people are beginning to pay attention. Modi is not considered secular because he is proud to be a Hindu and refuses to give doles or concessions to any religious group (including Hindus, but that is conveniently glossed over) beyond what is provided in the constitution and the laws of the land. He believes this weakens the social fabric of the country and that even handed development is the best guarantee for equitable prosperity for all. He is not considered secular (and instead is branded as communal) because he says publicly that he is proud to be a Hindu. And has he done anything blatantly or provocatively pro-Hindu in the last ten years?
There is not a single instance of this and yet he is vilified as communal and anti-minorities by the same party that presided over more than two hundred anti-Muslim riots in the seventies and eighties in Gujarat, that massacred 6000 Sikhs in 1984, that lit the fuse in Ayodhya by installing an icon of Ram in the mosque there, that failed to take any action when the Babri masjid was being razed to the ground! Modi has carefully distanced himself from any public support of Hindutva, has kept the VHP and the Bajrang Dal on a tight leash in Gujarat ever since he came to power there, and has even incurred the wrath of the RSS for not toeing the line on their purely religious agenda. It takes time, and some mistakes, to attain maturity; the Modi of today is not the Modi of 2002: then he was still in the pracharak mould of the RSS, inexperienced in the exercise of power, lacking administrative experience. He has now developed into a politician with a vision, an administrator who has delivered to his people and caught the fancy of the entire corporate world in India and abroad. Rahul Gandhi has been around in politics for almost the same length of time but has still not progressed beyond his epiphanic perception that India is a bee-hive.
Pause a while to honestly compare Modi’s qualities with his peers in the political firmament. His integrity is impeccable, both personal and vicarious. Even Mr. Manish Tewari has not been able to charge him on this score, and that’s saying something! I am not aware of a single major scam unearthed during his term( compare this with the Congress either in Maharashtra or at the Centre: the Congress has more skeletons in its cupboard than a graveyard does).
Modi has no family to promote or to insure against inflation for the next hundred years (compare this with any other party leader, all of whom have given an entirely new meaning to the term “joint family”- brothers, uncles, wives, sons, sons-in-law, nephews-all happily and jointly looting the nation’s resources).
Modi has a vision and a road map for the future and he has demonstrated in Gujarat that he can implement his vision.
No other major leader of the parties that are vilifying him comes even close to comparing with him in this respect- Manmohan Singh once had a vision but his unique concept of “coalition dharma” has ensured that he now cannot see, or hear, or talk; Rahul Gandhi cannot see beyond bee-hives and boats that rise with the tide, Sharad Pawar cannot see the woods for the sugar-cane stalks, Mulayam Singh has been fixated on the Prime Minister’s chair for so long that he has now started hallucinating; Nitish Kumar’s vision is a peculiar bi-focal which enables him to see only Muslims and OBCs; Navin Patnaik, being erudite and sophisticated must be having a vision but he has not deigned to share it with anyone yet; Mayawati cannot see beyond statues of herself and of elephants; and as for Mamta Banerjee, she is colour blind-she can only see red. Modi’s track record as an administrator inspires confidence in his ability to play a role at the national level.
He sets specific goals, provides the resources and then gives his bureaucrats a free hand to operate.
He has ensured water availability to towns and to greater number of farmers, Gujarat now has 24X7 power and has even offered to sell power to other states.
Modi has realised long before his peers that future growth can only come from the manufacturing sector since the past stimulus provided by the service sector is now bottoming out, and has prepared his state to attract capital: perennial roadblocks which have bedevilled other states- land acquisition, labour issues, law and order, lack of decision making, cronyism- have all been sorted out. It is no surprise then that Gujarat has been receiving the second highest amount of investment funds after Maharashtra.
His opponents, looking for anything to denigrate his achievements, cavil that Gujarat has always been a progressive state and no credit goes to Modi for all this. True, Gujarat (and Gujaratis) have always been entrepreneurial and progressive, but any economist can tell them that the higher you are on the performance scale, the more difficult it is to make incremental gains- and these gains Modi has been making year after year.
Gujarat has consistently been among the top five states in just about all economic, social and human development indicators, and far above the national figures.
Here are some figures I picked up in the Hindustan Times of June 12, 2013:
Modi is no paragon of virtue. He is arrogant, does not allow a second rung of leadership to emerge, brooks no opposition, is impatient and authoritative, is not a consensus builder. But then we are not seeking to canonise a saint but looking for a political leader who can get this country out of the morass that its present stock of politicians has got us into. We are looking for someone who can be decisive rather than justify inaction under the garb of seeking an elusive “consensus”. We are looking for someone who has the courage to have a vision and the skills to translate it into reality. We are looking for someone who will work for the country and not for his ” joint family”.
We are looking for someone who can restore our identities as INDIANS and not merely as Brahmins or Scheduled castes or Muslims or Backward castes.
We are looking for someone who will not pander to religions and be truly secular.
And we are looking for someone who will not be ashamed to say that he is a Hindu in the land that gave birth to the most tolerant and enlightened religion this world has seen.
Modi may fail- in fact, there are good chances that he will. But he at least promises change, whereas the others promise only more of the same. He offers us Hope. Shouldn’t he be given a chance?
| The author retired from the IAS in December 2010. A keen environmentalist and trekker he has published a book on high altitude trekking in the Himachal Himalayas: THE TRAILS LESS TRAVELLED.
His second book- SPECTRE OF CHOOR DHAR is a collection of short stories based in Himachal and was published in July 2019. His third book was released in August 2020: POLYTICKS, DEMOCKRAZY AND MUMBO JUMBO is a compilation of satirical and humorous articles on the state of our nation. His fourth book was published on 6th July 2021. Titled INDIA: THE WASTED YEARS , the book is a chronicle of missed opportunities in the last nine years. Shukla’s fifth book – THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER’S DOG AND OTHER COLLEAGUES- was released on 12th September 2023. It portrays the lighter side of life in the IAS and in Himachal. He writes for various publications and websites on the environment, governance and social issues. He divides his time between Delhi and his cottage in a small village above Shimla. He blogs at http://avayshukla.blogspot.in/ |
Very strong and true writing by a excellent person I salute him for giving the right picture
with his pen. Even I support Modi.
vow this was excellent article. Surprised that this does not have any comments yet.
I totally agree with your assessments and views
Very well written…
it is really very patriatic message with warning to the futurre of india to see nava bharath nirman.enough is enough thie people decided to change this corrupt congress to change with namo mantra for vibrant indis like gujsrat.vandemataram.
Undoubtedly one of the finest and elaborate article I have gone through in internet and also about Modi. Specially the way you have compared Manish Tiwari’s politics (family corruption etc.) and Modi’s politics is remarkable. Hope BJP will come to power in 2014 and Modi will lead us with a bright future for all from 6 to sixty.
I do not know whether Modi or Tom, Dick or Harry will make a good PM, but time for change has definitely come. The Congress under MMS and Sonia Gandhi has become too smug and contented for its own good or for the good of this country and its people. The leaders feel they cannot be hauled up for any wrong they do, and they have been getting away with murder (literally).
This country needs change, and a strong leader who can bring it about fast. If it is Modi and the BJP – so be it! I am prepared to change my political loyalty.
Zabardast.. my vote for modi this time
I highly appreciate this article.It has to reach to everybody those who are in fool’s paradise (pseudo secularism)
lovely,,,,,,,,,well written
In 2014 we for one last time have the authority to bring about change. It will be time for us to cast votes (sans political loyalties) for welfare of the nation and not for mere caste, color or creed. MODI is the only right direction I see because his administration and no bullshit leadership does inspires confidence to make a difference at the national level.
Very well presented. The role of leaders like Karat and Sita [the CPM duo] needs elaboration: Karat is not cola without fizz; Karat and Sita have twisted the Left movement to serve the American Neo-conservatives, hence CPM should be renamed Marxist neo-conservatives. Nitish’s mischiefs are already tumbling out; for starters, giving away Waqf land to land sharks and builder mafia and a GDP growth without substance. Mulayam, Navin, Didi: these are Diwali sparklers.
Well said Avay Shukla.
This is indeed a meticulously written eye-opener and something that every Indian should read before he goes to vote in 2014. And makes even more sense when it comes from such a high ranked officer, having mentioned that he has never been a pro-BJP bureaucrat and has never voted for it.
I highly appreciate the depth in this piece. But I still feel that we should hold our opinion about the All God Modi and think beyond him. He is just a swan among the ducks. We go crazy for Modi because we see in him something what we haven’t seen in last 10 years. But we ignore his part which is still the same as every other politician.
First, the mess he created at the time of appointment of Gujarat Lokayukta last year, does it convey that he wanted to appoint a Lokayukta of his choice? Like Congress does at centre? What would he seek in return? Favors?
Second, the web of filthy rich businessmen that he has woven around him, most importantly NRIs, should we ignore that he might help them loot national resources like Ambani’s oil loot, that ousted Jaipal Reddy? Given the huge money that he would need in 2014 elections would come from these big houses.
I wish you had mentioned atleast in a single sentence about Aam Aadmi Party. I know we have no one to fill the void at centre, but at the same time we ignore the smallest sincere effort which seeks our attention.
Modi might not be the change that we need, and are looking for. It has to come from outside the political circles, it has to be somebody from among us. Like Arvind Kejriwal says “We are not Politicians, we do not know Politics. We are a fed up citizen.”
I appreciate your comments Mr. Kalia. I have already admitted in my piece that Modi is not a paragon of virtue-after all, he is an Indian politician, and as they say: ” if you lie down with dogs you will get up with fleas!” The question is:what are the alternatives? The Lokayukta imbroglio was not so much about a man of his choice as about Modi being offended by the Governor by-passing him.About NRI investments, there will always be questions raised when industry is invited into a state. But in order to attract investments any state govt. has to offer incentives in the form of land, tax breaks etc.and these are legitimate parts of any state’s industrial policy.Where vigilance is needed is to ensure that no undue benefits are conferred at the cost of the state exchequer; so far I have not come across any instance where Modi has been accused of conferring such benefits on anyone. Gas pricing and allotments( your ref. to Ambani) is the sole domain of the Centre and there is little Modi can do here. I nfact it is the Centre which raised gas prices yesterday!Sometimes you have to reflect market realities in order to attract investments and I see nothing wrong in the Centre’s decision even. As For AAP, I am an admirer of Kejriwal but am of the view that he should limit himself to Delhi in these elsctions: he can certainly make a difference here, and should not stretch his resources too thin. He cannot afford to fail, and we don’t want him to!
Sir, thanks for your inputs again. I am convinced with your views on Lokayukta Issue and AAP’s limited resources to face the general elections. It would be heartening to see AAP perform upto our expectations, anywhere. But that too seems like a distant dream as I have recently read that Sheila has policies lined up to appease, read buyout, slums which are a huge vote bank to be decisive enough in a small state like Delhi.
Regarding Oil, I think I was not clear enough to put my point. I never meant that Modi could do something and he did not. Like you, I am sceptical that he might favor business tycoons at exchequer’s cost. But I do not agree with you about policy decision revising oil prices. If ia m not wrong, CAG had also pointed out that policy decisions are being made to favor Reliance. Had it been purely a strategic or economic decision I would have appreciated it. Well that is beyond our point of discussion.
I also feel that we need somebody like Modi, to improve national situation as well as international relations at a time when India has lost its spine to stand aggressively against other nations, be it Maldives or USA.
Can you explain what does Arvind Kejriwal meant by this “We are not Politicians, we do not know Politics. We are a fed up citizen”.Isn’t he a politician?
What is the stand of AAP on UCC(Uniform Civil Code).If I’m not wrong AAP supports 11% job reservation to Muslims.I want to know why.They already come under BC category.Isn’t this job reservation supported by AAP based on religious basis.Isn’t this communal.
One would rather go with the swan amongst the ducks. I was on a 14 day holiday in Gujrat this January and was really impressed by the development there. There were examples of best case study evreywhere …be it with the Gujrat Tourism Marketing, Setting up of Industries, GPS mapping of entire state , its alternative energy initatives , Gir National Park and what have you. Of late it was his micro managment of crisis to rescue thousands of Gujratis from Utterakhand with a small team of effective officers. Its high time to replicate the success story of Gujrat and i am impressed with the facts presented in the article by none other than Mr. Avay Shukla an officer par excellence , a person who would never. advocate any political person without a thorough introspection of conduct. Born and bred in a nation which idealizes Hinduism as a way of life, i would say Mr. Modi is in a pivitol position in the Geometry of political relationships challanging India,s growth and we should go for him in the 2014 elections.
^ with due respect, the AAP will only eat into anti congress (read BJP) votes. Arvind bhai is too smart not to realise it. If AAP really, really wants a change they would support the anti Congress effort, not create confusion in the minds of well meaning citizens and divide the anti congress votes.
the only entity whose life is made easier by AAP is Congress, food for thought?
Sir,
You will loose your pension for writing what you did.
Very well written. Dirty politics within the BJP and NDA is causing hurdles to Modi. Advani and other NDA members are still not able to sense the mood of this country and the people. They need to push their politics to the back burner and whole-heartedly support Modi for 2014 to give a tough competition to Congress instead of breaking the vote bank by forming a third front.
The article has been written to Glori-fy Modi though it doesn’t claim to be so & in the process it tries to distory facts to suit itself. I am not a Congress supporter but one example of how you tend to change things to suit yourself is the Babjri Masjid Claim! Everyone knows BJP was the mastermind of Babri Masjid & its biggest mistake & the author smartly turns it into a Congress fault by saying that they failed to contain them?? Please show an unbiased picture sir!
Babri Masjid problem is the contribution of the entire political class of this country, and is typical of the tu-tu mai-mai that it has degenerated to.Rajiv Gandhi, Narsimha Rao, LK Advani are all directly implicated: the first was instrumental in getting Lord Ram’s statue installed there to appease the Hindus who resented his setting aside of the Shah Bano judgement of the SC, Advani was the catalyst for the demolition of the mosque, and Narsimha Rao did not move a finger to prevent its destruction. Modi, however, was not involved, though the BJP was.He has shown no interest in revisiting this issue. The whole point of my article is that though Modi is BJP, yet he is something more than the BJP, something different. He cannot openly say so for fear of losing his Hindu voters( he is afterall in the business of politics and not that of being Mother Teresa!)but he is not espousing or pressing the agenda of the VHP or Bajrang Dal. And that is what gives me hope. Let us judge him by his actions on the ground, and not on the basis of stereotypes we may have formed.
His IPS force is more inside prisons and less outside. The DG is being treated as a proclaimed offender. So many IGs, DGs, Directors could not have been doing these killings merely to improve their shooting standards. Very unlikely. It all points to Modi.
And if this is so, I am not risking the life of my son, just so that the Mr Visionary get to pull India out of the dungeon.
Before you endorse him, have a (last) look at your son/daughter.
I may be a bad and unpatriotic Indian but am a good father.
The same oldies like you will pull this country down with your cowardly attitudes towards revolution or change. The same govt. office going people like you will take bribe or give favours for your promotion. So don’t give holier than thou attitude I know clerks like you. That is the reason I left my plum govt. job so that I can escape thick moustache oldies like you who suck up to their bosses and can go to lowest rung of bootlicking. Want safety? Go to Norway. India is pretty unsafe on roads too.
Hats off Mr Avay Shukla.
I too have never been able to like Narender Modi for years for apparent acts of commission and ommission which were too serious to be forgotten. Here I disagree with you on courts not finding him guilty.
However the fact is that he has proven to be different over time. He undoubtedly is our best choice. Rather THE ONLY HOPE in this hopeless situation. CHANGE yes not only of government but THE THOUGHT PROCESS.
a Movement should be built and I am willing to work.
sincere regards
Incidentally are you ex Himachal?
Alok Sharma
A well argued write-up on a topic currently occupying the centrestage in the run upto 2014( or may be later 2013). At the point of analysing the available options for we voters, you have noted ‘backroom puppeteer’- apart from reluctant dynast and an ageing economist – apparently loaded against Congress. Quite right. But then, are you sure that ‘backroom puppeteers’ of BJP’s stock aren’t calling the shots in Modi’s case or for that matter they are unlikely to do so should Modi get the coveted post?…Come on, have a dispassionate analysis of the whole issue.
If India has to survive & progress for the welfare of all its citizens, then fundamental changes in the method of governing the nation are required to be put in place.This can be done only by replacing UPA by a coliation front headed by Narendra Modi.India deserves better governance.Let us give a fair chance to Narendra Modi.
Well Said sir…:)
Dear Mr. Shukla.. Kudos! Epic Views!
Don’t have words to praise the way you have brought out the facts.
Even I don’t back a party, be it Congress of BJP, but have been gravitating towards Modi for many reasons. Now I just know for sure, why he is, My Prime Minister-designate.
Only one place where I disagree with you.. that is about his victory prospects. He IS gonna win!! 🙂
Thanks.. And do write more.
A well written article which covers a wide spectrum of topics on why one should vote Modi. As usual we can see firm resistance from some readers which is only expected from the status quoists and the cheese and wine sipping left whose plush carpet is being yanked from under their feet. For too long they have had a ball peddling lies and distrust
Mr Ajay Sir,
Is is no doubtedly one of the best article I hv ever read about Modi. I am a resident of Godhra and very much aware abt the ground reality of my place and the problems godhra has. I would also like to bring to your notice that there was Mr. Kalota – He was head in Municipal corporation of Godhra from congress. He was the mastermind of Godhra train burning but with the understanding of all muslims his name had not been raised. He had very carefully crafted the conspiracy and was leading the mob at the time of train burning. But time has come not to play congress – BJP game now and vote for the best suitable candidate who at least has best of the potential. I even liked the way u hv replied to the queries raised by people in the forum.
Great article. Hope this guides at least few people to right direction.
I have tears in my eyes and goosebumps….may God bless you sir
He is the only choice to lead this great nation of ours. He has shown consistent growth in the state of Gujarat and any day a better alternative to all the others present in the political arena. Hope he gets elected and turns the present India into a Technological Giant with deep rooted successful agricultural base.
Very nice article !!
To add to your first para: This government has also been successful in downgrading education by reservations, creating more IITs/IIMs and by meddling with the admission criteria of IITs.
“…the Congress has more skeletons in its cupboard than a graveyard…”
Excellent, worth quoting. (I do hope i have your kind permission).