Why India needs Narendra Modi?
By Suhel Seth, The Financial Express
Let me begin with a set of disclosures: I have perhaps written more articles
against Modi and his handling of the post-Godhra scenario than most people
have; I have called him a modern-day Hitler and have always said that Godhra
shall remain an enduring blemish not just on him but on India’s political class.
I still believe that what happened in Gujarat during the Godhra riots is
something we as a nation will pay a heavy price for. But the fact is that time
has moved on. As has Narendra Modi. And so have the Muslims of Gujarat, who
today have the highest income compared to Muslims any other state in India.
Narendra Modei is not the only politician in India who has been accused of
communalism. It is strange that the whole country venerates the Congress Party
as the secular messiah but it was that party that presided over the riots in
1984 in which over 3,500 Sikhs died: thrice the number killed in Gujarat.
The fact of the matter is that there is no better performer than Narendra Modi
in India’s political structure. Three weeks ago, I had gone to Ahmedabad to
address the YPO and I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up with
Modi. I called him the evening before and I was given an appointment for the
very day I was getting into Ahmedabad. And it was not some official meeting but
instead one at his house. As frugal as the man Modi is.
And this is something that the Gandhis and Mayawatis need to learn from Modi.
There were no fawning staff members; no secretaries running around; no hangers
on…just the two of us with one servant who was there serving tea.
What was most impressive was the passion which Modi exuded. The passion for
development; the passion for an invigorated Gujarat; the passion for the
uplifting the living standards of the people in his state and the joy with
which he recounted simple yet memorable data-points. For instance, almost all
of the milk consumed in Singapore is supplied by Gujarat; or for that matter
all the tomatoes that are eaten in Afghanistan are produced in Gujarat or the
potatoes that Canadians gorge on are all farmed in Gujarat. But it was industry
that was equally close to his heart.
It was almost like a child, that he rushed and got a coffee table book on GIFT:
the proposed Gujarat Industrial City that will come up on the banks of the
Sabarmarti: something that will put the Dubais and the Hong Kongs of this world
to shame. And while on the Sabarmati, it is Modi who has created the
inter-linking of rivers so that now the Sabarmati is no longer dry.
He then spoke about how he was very keen that Ratan Tata sets up the Nano plant
in Gujarat: he told me how he had related the story of the Parsi Navsari
priests to Ratan and how touched Ratan was: the story is, when the Navsari
priests, (the first Parsis) landed in Gujarat, the ruler of Gujarat sent them a
glass of milk, full to the brim and said, there was no place for them: the
priests added some sugar to the milk and sent it back saying that they would
integrate beautifully with the locals and would only add value to the state.
Narendra Modi is clearly a man in a hurry and he has every reason to be. There
is no question in any one’s mind that he is the trump card for the BJP after
Advani and Modi realises that. People like Rajnath Singh are simply weak
irritants I would imagine. He also believes that the country has no apolitical
strategy to counter terrorism and in fact he told me how he had alerted the
Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the NSA about the impending bomb blasts
in Delhi and they did not take him seriously. And then the September 13 blasts
happened! It was this resolve of Modi’s that I found very admirable. There is a
clear intolerance of terrorism and terrorists which is evident in the way the
man functions; now there are many cynics who call it minority-bashing but the
truth of the matter is that Modi genuinely means business as far as law and
order is concerned.
I left Modi’s house deeply impressed with the man as Chief Minister: he was
clearly passionate and what’s more deeply committed. When I sat in the car, I
asked my driver what he thought of Modi and his simple reply was Modi is God.
Before him, there was nothing. No roads, no power, no infrastructure. Today,
Gujarat is a power surplus state. Today, Gujarat attracts more industry than
all the states put together. Today, Gujarat is the preferred investment
destination for almost every multi-national and what’s more, there is an
integrity that is missing in other states.
After I finished talking to the YPO (Young President’s Organisation) members, I
asked some of them very casually, what they thought of Modi. Strangely, this
was one area there was no class differential on. They too said he was God.
But what they also added very quickly was if India has just five Narendra
Modis, we would be a great country. I don’t know if this was typical Gujarati
exaggeration or a reflection of the kind of leadership India now needs! There
is however, no question in my mind, that his flaws apart, Narendra Modi today,
is truly a transformational leader! And we need many more like him!
The writer is Managing Partner, Counselage.
