Inexperience shows

A month after Narendra Modi boasted of one year of scam-free governance, controversies buffeted the BJP governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra apart from Sushma Swaraj amid studied silence of a voluble Prime Minister. When Devendra Fadnavis (44) was chosen Maharashtra Chief Minister by sidelining senior claimants, the selection was meant to cheer the party’s young supporters. However, inexperience, once a virtue, is turning into a liability. In just eight months the BJP government is not only adrift but is also faced with corruption charges, belying the Modi-Amit Shah promise of providing good governance. 

Two young ministers in the Fadnavis government are in trouble. Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde (a beneficiary of dynasty) has been accused of clearing the purchase of chikki (a sweet made of groundnuts and jaggery), mats and books for Rs 206 crore without floating tenders — mandatory for any purchase above Rs 3 lakh. The dealer who got the order is not on the government list of contractors. Education Minister Vinod Tawde awarded Rs 191-crore contracts for the supply of fire extinguishers for schools, again without inviting tenders and without seeking the Finance Department's approval even though the Education Department had just Rs 19 crore in budgeted funds for the purchase of “miscellaneous items”. 

It is disturbing that the Chief Minister has given a clean chit to both, provoking opposition protests and media criticism. Regardless, he has left for the US on a five-day visit along with three Cabinet members and more than a dozen bureaucrats. His Principal Secretary delayed the flight as he forgot his passport home. Since assuming office in October Fadnavis has pursued the Sangh Parivar agenda more enthusiastically than any development project. The ban on beef was a retrograde step which alienated Muslims. The mandatory screening of Marathi films in multiplexes at prime time evoked a backlash. People wondered why the young CM was dissipating his energies on secondary issues when the state was witnessing an alarming number of farmer suicides. Fadnavis still has a long road ahead and can regain public confidence if he can keep in mind that he has been elected not to keep the RSS in good humour but to serve the people of Maharashtra.