In an unprecedented gesture of goodwill and co-operation, Mr Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, voluntarily took upon himself the task of re-writing the Congress’s manifesto and to incorporate his inner-most thoughts and ideas that will, he believes, enrich the political discourse. That is the most charitable explanation I can give of the week that has gone by.
There is an intriguing story behind this development. Since April 14, when the BJP’s manifesto was released, it was evident to close political observers that Mr Modi was not happy with the document produced for the BJP by a committee headed by the innocent Mr Rajnath Singh. The committee quietly acknowledged that it was not a manifesto of a political party but a tribute to the genius of one man who formed the ‘core of the party’. The committee paid due obeisance by calling the document Modi ki Guarantee. However, as Mr Modi guessed correctly, Modi ki Guarantee vanished without a trace within a few hours of its release. No one talks about the BJP’s Manifesto today, not even Mr Modi. Modi ki Guarantee rests in peace.
Commentary on original
Mr Modi could not trash Modi ki Guarantee nor could he attribute incompetence or dark motives to the drafting committee. Boxed in, Mr Modi decided to take the Congress’s manifesto and enhance its visibility and readership with his commentary on the document. This was in line with the great traditions of Indian literature where commentaries became more important than the original works.
Mr Modi’s embellishment of the Congress’s manifesto contained the following gems:
- Congress will distribute the people’s land, gold and other valuables among Muslims.
- Congress will conduct a survey to value the property of individuals, gold held by women and silver owned by tribal families, and snatch them.
- Land and cash belonging to government employees will be seized and distributed by Congress.
- Dr Manmohan Singh had said that Muslims had the first claim on the nation’s resources, and I was present (as chief minister of Gujarat) when Dr Singh said that.
- Congress will take away your mangalsutra and streedhan and give it to people who have more children.
- If you have a house in the village and if you buy a small flat in the town, Congress will take away one of the houses and give it to someone else.
Competition among colleagues
Mr Modi’s trusted lieutenant and adviser, Mr Amit Shah, added: Congress will seize temple properties and distribute them. Mr Rajnath Singh contributed his bit by saying that Congress will grab the assets of the people and re-distribute them to infiltrators. Next day, Mr Singh chipped in with another gem: Congress planned to introduce religion-based quotas in the armed forces.
As the commentators multiplied and outdid each other, Mr Modi discovered that Congress was planning to introduce an ‘inheritance tax’ and railed against the tax. Ms Nirmala Seetharaman jumped in and contributed her wisdom to the idea of an inheritance tax. She may be forgiven for not knowing that estate duty (a kind of inheritance tax) was abolished by a Congress government in 1985 and that wealth tax was abolished by a BJP government in 2015.
It is not difficult to see why and when the coordinated attack on the Congress’s manifesto started. After the first round of polling on April 19, panic seems to have gripped the PMO and the BJP. Mr Modi launched the attack on April 21 at Jalore and Banswara in Rajasthan, and has not stopped. His list of imaginary targets was bizarre. His ministerial colleagues also fired random shots. The media had a duty to call for a stop to this madness. Instead, the newspapers ‘explained’ the controversial subjects and wrote learned editorials. TV channels aired interviews with pundits and held ‘panel discussions’. The fake war started by Mr Modi was amplified many times over.
What can be expected
Between April 5 and 19, the Congress’s manifesto had become the most talked about subject throughout India. The promises had left a deep impression on the minds of the people, especially
- the socio-economic and caste survey;
- the lifting of the 50% cap on reservations;
- the Rs 400 daily wage for MGNREGA workers;
- the Mahalakshmi scheme for the poorest families;
- the legal guarantee of MSP for agricultural produce;
- the appointment of a commission to advise on waiver of agricultural loans;
- the Right to Apprenticeship for youth;
- the abolition of the Agniveer scheme;
- the waiver of defaulted education loans; and
- the promise to fill the 30-lakh vacancies in the central government in one year.
Mr M K Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, hit the bull’s eye when he described the Congress’s manifesto as the ‘hero of the LS election’. This must have offended Mr Modi who decided to portray the document as a villain. To his misfortune, no part of the Congress’s manifesto could be faulted. Hence, Mr Modi decided to imagine a manifesto written by a ghost and trash it. That, in my view, is the ultimate tribute that a BJP prime minister could pay to the Congress’s real manifesto!
The Congress should say ‘thank you, prime minister’ for letting the people know what kind of distortions, falsehoods and abuses can be expected if the BJP (with Mr Modi at the helm) won a third term. Graduating summa cum laude in re-writing manifestos, Mr Narendra Modi may re-write the Constitution of India.
