Notes to likely 2024 winner

Narendra Modi is the hands-down favourite of the people and should win the next Lok Sabha elections easily. What would citizens, like this writer, expect of him in the five years from 2024 so that the life of the common man becomes more bearable? Lower prices of essentials and more jobs, of course, but at times the remedy for economic ills may not rest solely in the hands of the rulers.

It warmed the cockles of many hearts to learn that the CBI had opposed the premature release of the Bilkis convicts.

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So let us talk about what is solely in their power to do. Dispensing justice and ensuring that the rule of law prevails uniformly for every citizen is the responsibility of the rulers. There is no worse commentary on the regime’s failure on this front than the recent premature release of the convicts sentenced to jail in the Bilkis Bano case.

Modi had loudly proclaimed to the minorities, mainly the Muslims, that he wanted ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. To it, he later added ‘Sabka Vishwas’ after he sensed that trust in him was slipping. Similarly, he had loudly proclaimed that women were the pride and joy of our existence and that they deserved the highest respect in the conduct of our daily affairs. Alas, in both these promises to the country, Modi has failed.

The 11 convicted in the Bilkis case had each spent over a thousand days on parole before the government of Gujarat, seconded by the Union Home Ministry, decided to remit their sentence and set them free. There was no application of mind by ministry officials before endorsing the release! There were 11 convicts and each convict’s case should have been separately considered and argued. Instead, a blanket permission was given for their release. It is almost as if there was an understanding between the state and the Central governments that the miscreants would be honoured for killing women and children who belonged to the ‘other’ community. All thoughts of ‘Sabka Vishwas’ and women’s special place in our culture were abandoned. Those who took the decisions in the state government and the ministry were sure that their decisions would be welcomed by the citizens of a state where hate for the ‘other’ has eclipsed morality and common decency.

Modi is very conscious of his image in the eyes of the common man. He is always immaculately dressed and groomed and he carries himself with dignity and grace. His rhetoric is programmed to carry listeners away with the power of the spoken word. But despite all these positives in his favour, he should not forget the lessons of history.

As Shakespeare pontificates in Julius Caesar, ‘The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.’ It is not possible in these days of social media to give a contrarian spin to every evil deed conceived and implemented. If this spin is attempted in each and every deliberate piece of wrongdoing, the credibility of the leader is soon shredded. In the eyes of the astute, such shenanigans are exposed sooner than later. The truth is ‘you cannot fool all the people all the time’!

Modi has done a lot of positive things that deserve praise. He began by stopping the attacks on Christian churches in Delhi. In the months after he took over the reins of the government at the Centre, these attacks had become a constant.

His direct transfer of government money to the bank accounts of the poor and needy was a brilliant initiative against corruption. The construction or renovation of houses of the poor in the villages was another. Incidentally, it also won him new supporters for his party, which till then, had only the ‘forward’ castes in its kitty.

There are many innovations that I do not support — the conversion of court procedures into prolonged spells in jail without trials, for instance. The innocent are locked up for years along with the guilty, awaiting trials which never start. This disturbs the just man’s sense of justice. Just like that sense of justice is disturbed when those convicted for mass murder and rapes are treated like heroes!

It warmed the cockles of many hearts to learn that the CBI had opposed the premature release of the Bilkis convicts. That piece of information — obtained by the Supreme Court while hearing a PIL against the release — reinforced my suspicion that the CBI Director is not as eager to enter the proverbial parrot’s cage prepared by the rulers. His tenure as the Police Commissioner of Mumbai and the DGP of Maharashtra was devoid of controversies. It would have been surprising if he had behaved any differently in the office of CBI Director.

The ED has surpassed the CBI in its willingness to play along with the government’s political calculations. Public servants should politely refuse to cooperate in requests that prick their conscience. I have had experiences of such requests during the course of my service. A polite refusal always won the day. The leader involved will extract his revenge at some later date, but that is a small price to pay for the protection of one’s conscience and self-esteem.

This article must end with an example of good governance. Vasant Dada Patil’s son was involved in a show of violent authority when confronting the BEST’s General Manager in the latter’s office over a labour issue. Vasant Dada was the Chief Minister of the state when I occupied the chair of the Police Commissioner of Mumbai City. I phoned the Chief Minister, who was visiting his home district of Sangli, and informed him that I had instructed the inspector in charge of the police station to arrest and charge his son. The CM agreed that the police should be left to do its duty!

Would that be possible today?