To mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's one year in power, the NDA government released the slogan "varsh ek kaam anek" (one year achievements many) on May 15. The list of initiatives launched by PM Modi, new or re-packaged, is visibly long.
The inspiration for many came from the deluge of suggestions from the Aam Aadmi posted on portals like "MyGov.in", which the government calls platforms for citizen engagement towards good governance.
Some are the product of brainstorming sessions between the government, the BJP and the RSS. But a closer scrutiny of PM Modi's one year in power shows that he brought more than just a few bags and a handful of Gujarat officials to the his house and office in Delhi.
When the PM launched the "Swachchh Bharat" campaign, the Congress rose in revolt, claiming that the mission was nothing but its "Nirmal Bharat" campaign restructured. But Gujaratis remember their CM Modi launching the Nirmal Gujarat campaign promoting cleanliness,
Even the PM's pet Make in India programme has a hint of Gujarat - Made in Gujarat was coined during one of the Vibrant Gujarat Summits.
Even the style in which he launches initiatives is based on a Gujarat model - mega in scale and dramatic in tone.
His foreign trips and reform agenda as PM have been attacked by opposition which calls his government a "suit boot ki sarkar". But hobnobbing with global leaders and top business honchos is nothing new for Mr Modi he did that regularly in Gujarat during the vibrant Gujarat and other summits that he organised as CM. Then, it helped project Gujarat as an investment destination and him as a leader driving change.
The key officials he brought with him from Gandhinagar to Delhi have helped him implement practices and policies that he had started in Gujarat and are now seamlessly carried on at the national level.
Mr Modi's style of governance too has been a continuation from his "Gujarat Model," says a senior member of the BJP, who requests anonymity. "This was no secret that the government in Gujarat was run by Modi through his bureaucrats, who often bypassed the ministers and reported to him directly and Modi often held direct video conference with them at the district level. He is now doing the same with the Chief Secretaries of the states. He holds regular meets with top secretaries in the government of India," he said.
In Gujarat such manoeuvres had led to an opacity of administration and steady erosion of authority of the politicians. Off late, the opposition has accused him of doing the same at the Centre.
Gujarat also saw Mr Modi positioning political newcomers into powerful posts. Two such examples from Gujarat would be incumbent finance minister Saurabh Patel and MoS home Rajni Patel. While Saurbh Patel, a US educated management graduate had no connection with either the RSS or the BJP until he joined the party, Rajni Patel too had very little to do with the BJP. Neither enjoyed any significant public support or had any constituency of their own.
However, while Saurabh Patel landed the plum portfolio of energy and industry, Rajni Patel was made a MoS Home as a successor to Amit Shah. In the 2012 Assembly election, the politically new Saurabh Patel had to look for a safe seat Akota in Vadodara, escaping definite defeat in Botad where he had first contested from. Rajni Patel lost his seat.
Modi has carried out such experiments in Delhi too; he inducted Smriti Irani, who lost to Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and Piyush Goyal and positioned them in crucial chairs.
Soon after Prime Minister Modi assumed office, a controversy concerning Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his son broke out. The PM stepped in and firmly backed his home minister. But PM Modi's critics say it was a deja vu for many political watchers in Gujarat.
A senior Congressman from Gujarat alleged, " No sooner than the Chief Minister of Gujarat had assumed office for the first time way back in 2001 October, that murmurs began about one of the most senior BJP leaders and cabinet ministers of that time. It was put to rest with a rider that the mantri would deposit the ill-gotten money in the party fund. "
The Gujarat BJP had then given it a political spin - "hum khato nathi khava deto nathi" (I don't make money, don't let others make money).
Also, is it a sheer coincidence that the NDA government has been highlighting "corruption free one year rule" under PM Modi's watch.
A senior BJP minister told me the other day, "what's wrong if he is bringing his Gujarat experience to Delhi? Better than Manmohan Singh's inexperience. His schemes succeeded in Gujarat and expanding them to the national level is a logical thing to do."
Interestingly, those close to him point out that PM Modi has been implementing what he learnt as Gujarat CM. But also trying to unlearn some of it.
A RSS senior says, "it's a difficult exercise. To shed the past when the good lived yesterday. His move to resign from Vadodra and retain the Varanasi seat was perhaps the first step in that direction."
A senior BJP leader said, "a new learning curve is now emerging. After initial Gujarat-like complete control, the PM is adapting to Delhi. Now ministers and ministries are getting authority."
In Delhi PM Modi has changed the government's allocation and transaction of business rules over a dozen times in one year. The initial zeal to ensure that babus and mantris reach office on time is easing.
If the PMO's objection to appointment of ministerial staff in June 2014 had raised eyebrows, now leaders like Rajnath Singh have been given charge of the cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs and committee on accommodation. Initially all sarkari housing decisions needed the PM's approval. Now the PM only needs to be "kept in the loop" by the committee.
There are more signs. Ministries do not need cabinet approval for expenditure below a certain amount. Defence land deals for projects worth less than a fixed amount don't need the nod of the cabinet committee on security or CCS.
A senior minister summed up the Gujarat effect on PM Modi's one year in office with, "we are too accustomed to attributing to a single cause that which is the product of several."
He did not complete Marcus Aurelius' famous quote - "and the majority of our controversies come from that."
(Rahul Shrivastava is Senior Editor, Political Affairs at NDTV)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
The inspiration for many came from the deluge of suggestions from the Aam Aadmi posted on portals like "MyGov.in", which the government calls platforms for citizen engagement towards good governance.
Some are the product of brainstorming sessions between the government, the BJP and the RSS. But a closer scrutiny of PM Modi's one year in power shows that he brought more than just a few bags and a handful of Gujarat officials to the his house and office in Delhi.
When the PM launched the "Swachchh Bharat" campaign, the Congress rose in revolt, claiming that the mission was nothing but its "Nirmal Bharat" campaign restructured. But Gujaratis remember their CM Modi launching the Nirmal Gujarat campaign promoting cleanliness,
Advertisement
Even the PM's pet Make in India programme has a hint of Gujarat - Made in Gujarat was coined during one of the Vibrant Gujarat Summits.
Advertisement
Even the style in which he launches initiatives is based on a Gujarat model - mega in scale and dramatic in tone.
Advertisement
His foreign trips and reform agenda as PM have been attacked by opposition which calls his government a "suit boot ki sarkar". But hobnobbing with global leaders and top business honchos is nothing new for Mr Modi he did that regularly in Gujarat during the vibrant Gujarat and other summits that he organised as CM. Then, it helped project Gujarat as an investment destination and him as a leader driving change.
Advertisement
The key officials he brought with him from Gandhinagar to Delhi have helped him implement practices and policies that he had started in Gujarat and are now seamlessly carried on at the national level.
Advertisement
Mr Modi's style of governance too has been a continuation from his "Gujarat Model," says a senior member of the BJP, who requests anonymity. "This was no secret that the government in Gujarat was run by Modi through his bureaucrats, who often bypassed the ministers and reported to him directly and Modi often held direct video conference with them at the district level. He is now doing the same with the Chief Secretaries of the states. He holds regular meets with top secretaries in the government of India," he said.
In Gujarat such manoeuvres had led to an opacity of administration and steady erosion of authority of the politicians. Off late, the opposition has accused him of doing the same at the Centre.
Gujarat also saw Mr Modi positioning political newcomers into powerful posts. Two such examples from Gujarat would be incumbent finance minister Saurabh Patel and MoS home Rajni Patel. While Saurbh Patel, a US educated management graduate had no connection with either the RSS or the BJP until he joined the party, Rajni Patel too had very little to do with the BJP. Neither enjoyed any significant public support or had any constituency of their own.
However, while Saurabh Patel landed the plum portfolio of energy and industry, Rajni Patel was made a MoS Home as a successor to Amit Shah. In the 2012 Assembly election, the politically new Saurabh Patel had to look for a safe seat Akota in Vadodara, escaping definite defeat in Botad where he had first contested from. Rajni Patel lost his seat.
Modi has carried out such experiments in Delhi too; he inducted Smriti Irani, who lost to Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and Piyush Goyal and positioned them in crucial chairs.
Soon after Prime Minister Modi assumed office, a controversy concerning Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his son broke out. The PM stepped in and firmly backed his home minister. But PM Modi's critics say it was a deja vu for many political watchers in Gujarat.
A senior Congressman from Gujarat alleged, " No sooner than the Chief Minister of Gujarat had assumed office for the first time way back in 2001 October, that murmurs began about one of the most senior BJP leaders and cabinet ministers of that time. It was put to rest with a rider that the mantri would deposit the ill-gotten money in the party fund. "
The Gujarat BJP had then given it a political spin - "hum khato nathi khava deto nathi" (I don't make money, don't let others make money).
Also, is it a sheer coincidence that the NDA government has been highlighting "corruption free one year rule" under PM Modi's watch.
A senior BJP minister told me the other day, "what's wrong if he is bringing his Gujarat experience to Delhi? Better than Manmohan Singh's inexperience. His schemes succeeded in Gujarat and expanding them to the national level is a logical thing to do."
Interestingly, those close to him point out that PM Modi has been implementing what he learnt as Gujarat CM. But also trying to unlearn some of it.
A RSS senior says, "it's a difficult exercise. To shed the past when the good lived yesterday. His move to resign from Vadodra and retain the Varanasi seat was perhaps the first step in that direction."
A senior BJP leader said, "a new learning curve is now emerging. After initial Gujarat-like complete control, the PM is adapting to Delhi. Now ministers and ministries are getting authority."
In Delhi PM Modi has changed the government's allocation and transaction of business rules over a dozen times in one year. The initial zeal to ensure that babus and mantris reach office on time is easing.
If the PMO's objection to appointment of ministerial staff in June 2014 had raised eyebrows, now leaders like Rajnath Singh have been given charge of the cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs and committee on accommodation. Initially all sarkari housing decisions needed the PM's approval. Now the PM only needs to be "kept in the loop" by the committee.
There are more signs. Ministries do not need cabinet approval for expenditure below a certain amount. Defence land deals for projects worth less than a fixed amount don't need the nod of the cabinet committee on security or CCS.
A senior minister summed up the Gujarat effect on PM Modi's one year in office with, "we are too accustomed to attributing to a single cause that which is the product of several."
He did not complete Marcus Aurelius' famous quote - "and the majority of our controversies come from that."
(Rahul Shrivastava is Senior Editor, Political Affairs at NDTV)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
X User Asks PM Modi To Meet Her 101-Year-Old Grandfather In Kuwait, He Responds "We Are Not Just Strong Trade, Energy Partners...": PM Modi On Kuwait Visit PM Modi's Visit To Kuwait Today, First By An Indian Prime Minister In 43 Years Parents On Mumbai Ferry Wanted To Toss Children In Sea. Rescuers Stopped Them Robin Uthappa Faces Arrest Warrant For Alleged Provident Fund Fraud 2 Dead As Saudi Doctor Drives BMW Into Crowded Christmas Market In Germany CAT 2024 Toppers: 14 Candidates Get Perfect Score, Check List Here On Camera, Car Flips 8 Times, But No One Hurt. They Then Ask For 'Tea' Watch: UK Man Leaves Haircut To Help Policeman Under Attack, Internet Reacts Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.