By Prof. I.S.Saluja
It has been a glorious journey for BJP from 2 seats in Parliament in 1984 to 304, May 23, 2019, as I am writing this comment. Mr. Narendra Modi, the man who made it possible with the magic wand in his hand, recalled the tough journey in his address to the party workers at BJP Headquarters in New Delhi on May 23. And he proudly announced that during the long and tough struggle “we never felt tired, nor stopped, nor submitted”. It is the determination to go forward even in the face of the worst circumstances which finally embraces success. Mr. Modi and BJP must be congratulated for the historic victory.
The election is over. And now is the time to fulfill promises made to people. It was all good to have made all kinds of tall claims of achievements to win votes. But now is the time to devote all energies to do the right service to “New India”.
Mr. Modi will need to extend himself to achieve the goals he has spoken of in the past. He has admitted there is poverty and it needs to be eradicated. There is unemployment- record highest in 45 years. Mr. Modi has to create jobs for billions of unemployed youth.
It is an achievement for Mr. Modi that rampant corruption seen a few years before is no more visible. But mere absence of corruption is no guarantee for a state of health for the nation and the people. They need jobs, bread and butter, education, healthcare, and above all, security, which unfortunately, is still elusive.
The most important thing that Mr. Modi needs to do is to curb the feudal mindset. And the cleansing of the Augean stables has to begin from his tribe- the politicians. Not going into details in my comment, I will urge Mr. Modi to take a cue from the US and Canada with regard to the wages and the privileges of lawmakers.
The whole nation is expecting Mr. Modi to bring about a qualitative and substantive change in the country. The world is looking at the largest democracy in the world to see if the minorities will be able to live in dignity under the BJP rule. Mr. Modi will have to take care to protect the interests of all Indians, whatever their color or creed.
We wish Mr. Modi all the best as he prepares to begin his second five-year term as the Prime Minister of India.
Jai Hind!