Challenges for new govt

ONCE the euphoria over the NDA’s thumping victory subsides, the new government faces the onerous task of dealing with several burning issues, primarily farm distress, unemployment, economic slowdown and religious intolerance. The BJP and its allies had found themselves on shaky ground over these issues till about three months ago — before the Pulwama terror attack turned the spotlight on national security. The consequent Balakot airstrike enabled Modi to project himself as an all-powerful leader, even as the problems of the farming community, the jobless youth and other aggrieved sections got sidelined. However, the NDA can no longer afford to put these matters on the back-burner.

The forecast of a delayed, below-normal monsoon this year and the spectre of drought threaten to make things worse on the agrarian front, unless immediate steps are taken to tackle the situation. Significant progress has to be made towards fulfilling the grand goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, which figured in the BJP’s manifestos of 2014 as well as 2019. The saffron party’s triumph in the Hindi heartland indicates that it has managed to win back the key vote bank, which had gone the Congress way last year in the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh — thanks to the promise of farm loan waiver. Creating jobs, boosting private investment and reinvigorating economic growth are among the other major challenges.

In the political arena, the BJP needs to crack the whip on hate-mongers such as Pragya Singh Thakur, who made it to Parliament with a huge victory margin. The Malegaon blasts accused has been merely issued a showcause notice by the party for calling Godse a deshbhakt. Expelling her can undo the damage caused by her outrageous remark and send out a clear signal to the rabble-rousers, but it remains to be seen if Modi-Shah will take such a drastic step. The national leadership also needs to shed its ‘divisive’ tag and work towards nurturing a progressive, pluralistic society. If we are indeed witnessing the dawn of a new India, there should be no place here for bloodthirsty mobs and minority-baiters.