Narendra Modi is used to making long, interesting speeches. And, he revels in delivering them in style to large audiences. On a pleasant Friday evening in March, however, he made a big speech to a comparatively small audience—there were less than five hundred people. It was a candid talk, and there was no telecast and no media. The audience were some of the most powerful men and women in the country—Modi’s ministers and all BJP members of Parliament. They gathered at the party headquarters in Delhi. For many of them, it was a first visit to the new swanky building.
Illustration: Bhaskaran
Some of them were straining at the leash to talk on issues like governance, voter alienation, and the dilution of the law against atrocities against the scheduled castes and tribes. But, the party managers said no. Against the backdrop of the disrupted Parliament session, Modi spoke about the triumphs of the past four years and how India had become a powerful nation on many counts. He narrated the many initiatives that had been taken, and how he was pained by the negativity and cynicism against the government. He said the party was becoming a victim of false propaganda, and asked the MPs to girdle themselves to enlighten the people in their constituencies. Unmindful of the controversy over the data breach on Facebook, he told them to go aggressively for social media and ensure each of them had at least three lakh followers on Facebook.
Modi narrated an anecdote about one of his predecessors to define his own determination to serve as a leader for long and the vision that inspired him. Chandra Shekhar, who was one of the short-tenure prime ministers of a minority government in 1990-91, was asked in an interview how he felt on reaching the top. Chandra Shekhar replied that once you had reached on top of Mount Everest, you only think of going down. Modi, however, said he had reached the peak not to come down immediately, but to stay there for long, and work hard to make India the most powerful nation in the world. The MPs applauded this determination.
The top of the mountain is a lonely place and can give a breathtaking view of the land below. But, there is also the need to be in touch with the ground realities. It seems the mountaineer was exhorting the team to get ready for making a second successful ascent to the political summit in 2019.
sachi@theweek.in