Kahan gaye woh achche din?

[Guynextdoor2]

@ranjeet remember I said once, whenever the right wing comes to power, it's just a waiting game before they start bungling up. As for other Bhakts, I'm sure the slew of articles coming out now will be called 'paid media'. Modi thought becoming PM was about cooking one biiiig jelebi and feeding it via TV and Su Su Swami to Bhakt Jan like Prasad.

Kahan gaye woh achche din? - Rediff.com India News


The Modi government is just continuing old ideas with a new twist -- of interference in matters where the State should not venture, says Mango Indian.
Recently, a Reuters article quoting unnamed government sources said India had slashed its already meagre health budget by 20 percent. It created a flutter -- even The New York Times picked up on it in a strongly worded editorial -- and on social media defenders of the government as well as health beat reporters were at pains to point out that the story was not true.
These were mid-year revised spending estimates that had been slashed, they said. And not only health, many ministries had not been able to spend the funds allocated to them. It was related to fund absorption. And this was not the first time it had happened.
Lost in the jargon over revised estimates and plan outlay is the fact that this government is no different from previous governments in underutilising already paltry monies in key social sectors.
If the health ministry does not know where to spend money on, maybe we can pitch in with ideas? Because I am sure everyone above a certain age has at least one hospital horror story to narrate.
Despite the Swatchh Bharat hullaballoo, the water and sanitation ministry spent just 29 per cent of what it was given for the first six months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi got a historic mandate, on that there is no doubt. But as a new year dawns on India, not much has changed except for the loony fringe having a field day.
Filmmakers say the government is interfering in films.
Scientists say the government is interfering in science.
Historians say the government is distorting history.
Educationists say the government is interfering in education.
The Supreme Court says the government is not earnest enough in cleaning up the Ganga.
The Reserve Bank of India governor says the government has got its priorities wrong (and for that Make for India remark, many believe the expert economist’s job is on the line, even though inflation is one of the few things the government has been able to control).
After opposing the Goods and Services Tax tooth and nail in the Opposition, this government now touts it as the biggest economic reform since 1947.
After taking the United Progressive Alliance government to task for ordinances, the government issues ordinance after ordinance.
After opposing Section 66A of the Information Technology Act -- the law that enables arrest over Facebook posts and suchlike -- as unconstitutional and opposed to freedom of speech as Opposition, this government now says the law is well meant.
After Modi declaring in campaign speeches that he will bring back black money and every poor person will get Rs 15 lakh from that, his lieutenant the newly-exonerated Amit Shah says it was just a way of saying things.
So, Prime Minister Modi, where is your promised ‘development’, and 'achche din’?
Was it meant only for Maya Kodnani, your former Gujarat minister convicted of mass murder and yet out on bail for months?
Was it meant only for Amit Shah, your able lieutenant against whom the Central Bureau of Investigation has dropped its own case?
Was it meant only for your friend Gautam Adani, who is bagging contracts in the countries you travel to?
Was it only meant for your party colleagues and past ideologues, who are being given government honours by the kilo?
Was it only meant for a murderer named Nathuram Godse?
Did your promise of ‘minimum government’ mean only hands off continuation of old policies like Aadhaar? Have you ever tried e-mailing the Aadhaar authorities and getting a reply?
Did your promise of ‘maximum governance’ only mean telling the people what films they should not see, what art they cannot exhibit, what books they cannot read, what religions they cannot follow, what food they cannot eat, and drumming in the real and downright-loony-bin-imaginary accomplishments of ancient India?

 

[Guynextdoor2]

ex Bhakt who worked closely with him now finds modi is a hot air balloon...he thinks modi is like Musharraf

Will the real Narendra Modi please stand up?

Those who meet the Prime Minister are struck by his warmth, his physicality (he likes holding hands in the manner of Indian men), and his folksy humour. He is, or at least he was before taking on the burden of running this chaotic nation, fun to be with.

And yet he also sulks, recedes into a shell and refuses to engage over those items on which he distrusts his companion's motives. One night I read out to Narendra Modi the heartbreakingly beautiful verse, in which he relentlessly praises the beauty of Gujarat and Gujaratis, of Urdu's first poet, Wali Muhammad Wali. His little grave from 1707, just outside the Ahmedabad police commissioner's office, was torn up and paved over by Gujaratis on March 1, 2002.

All laughter and jokes till that point, Modi stiffened when he was told who the poet was and mumbled he would do something about Wali (he didn't). It is not easy to know the real Modi, even from meeting and conversing with him, in my experience. This is why he was seen, authentically, as both a hero of Hindutva and an icon of development.

Now comes another moment when we look for the real Modi.

Columnist Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes that Modi has "refreshingly grand ambitions for India, and still strikes enchantingly nice notes. But the government is floundering. The gap between what he proposes and what the government disposes is growing wide".

Other sharp commentators also feel this way, but is this a problem about execution or is it about Modi? The view that Modi has ideas which escaped Manmohan Singh and those who came before him is strongly held by many Indians. Most leaders have grand ambitions. What separates Modi is the fact that the electorate is behind him and in election after election, his party is winning because of his appeal as a giant of competence and delivery. Is he that? He may well turn out to be, but I fear we are seeing in him what we want to rather than what he really is.

When I began translating his writing a few years ago, Modi struck me as someone who had read little. The only literary reference I can remember in all of his books is Shakespeare's line about a rose by any other name smelling as sweet. There is no other indication he has read anything, and his view of the world is not marked by its complexity. I was not surprised by his recent conflation of mythology and medical science. If he believes such things we can safely rule out Modi as a philosopher king of the sort favoured by Plato.

So then what is he and what does he represent? Is there a compass in this long march he is leading us on? What unites Make in India and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and the crusade to bring back black money (to name the three things Modi has spent most energy on)?

Are the first two fully thought through? Or, like the black money issue, are they throbbing with intent but accompanied by an embarrassing lack of knowledge, strategy and preparation?

On makeinindia.com, a website with pretty logos and little text, the first sector, automobiles, links out to the department of heavy industries.

This in turn on its home page announces that it "strives to bolster profit making Public Sector Enterprises as well as restructure and revive sick and loss making Public Sector Enterprises under its administrative control. The Department of Heavy Industry seeks to achieve its vision of global automotive excellence through creation of state-of-the-art Research and Testing infrastructure through the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP). The Department of Heavy Industry seeks to achieve... (and so on)."

What does this have to do with someone seeking to make automobiles in India? The 'contact us' section offers a "list of nodal officers in DHI", which is blank.

This may be expected with all things associated with government, but why rush to announce something which is just a new logo on the old systems?

Perhaps it will all fall into place later, but my fear is: what if this is all there is? Scattered statements and tall ambitions with no coherent narrative and no real plan.

We have seen in our parts someone quite similar. Disliked at first by the Indian media for his actions, feted in rock star manner around the world as some sort of saviour of his people, keeping the company of world leaders convinced that his message of economic development over all was authentic and deliverable, and then having India's editors rave about him as a straight-talking and well-meaning leader. But Pervez Musharraf failed and faded.

One hopes, for those who are leaning on Modi as the deliverer, that the real Modi turns out to be more substantial than the narrow man revealed in his writing.

 

[Judge]

Go through this article before replying. It is a list of steps taken by the Government in 2014.

2014 has been the year of challenges and reforms for India: Arun Jaitley - The Economic Times

 

[gslv]

The Modi government is just continuing old ideas with a new twist -- of interference in matters where the State should not venture, says Mango Indian.
Recently, a Reuters article quoting unnamed government sources said India had slashed its already meagre health budget by 20 percent. It created a flutter -- even The New York Times picked up on it in a strongly worded editorial -- and on social media defenders of the government as well as health beat reporters were at pains to point out that the story was not true.
These were mid-year revised spending estimates that had been slashed, they said. And not only health, many ministries had not been able to spend the funds allocated to them. It was related to fund absorption. And this was not the first time it had happened.
Lost in the jargon over revised estimates and plan outlay is the fact that this government is no different from previous governments in underutilising already paltry monies in key social sectors.
If the health ministry does not know where to spend money on, maybe we can pitch in with ideas? Because I am sure everyone above a certain age has at least one hospital horror story to narrate.
Despite the Swatchh Bharat hullaballoo, the water and sanitation ministry spent just 29 per cent of what it was given for the first six months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi got a historic mandate, on that there is no doubt. But as a new year dawns on India, not much has changed except for the loony fringe having a field day.
Filmmakers say the government is interfering in films.
Scientists say the government is interfering in science.
Historians say the government is distorting history.
Educationists say the government is interfering in education.
The Supreme Court says the government is not earnest enough in cleaning up the Ganga.
The Reserve Bank of India governor says the government has got its priorities wrong (and for that Make for India remark, many believe the expert economist’s job is on the line, even though inflation is one of the few things the government has been able to control).
After opposing the Goods and Services Tax tooth and nail in the Opposition, this government now touts it as the biggest economic reform since 1947.
After taking the United Progressive Alliance government to task for ordinances, the government issues ordinance after ordinance.
After opposing Section 66A of the Information Technology Act -- the law that enables arrest over Facebook posts and suchlike -- as unconstitutional and opposed to freedom of speech as Opposition, this government now says the law is well meant.
After Modi declaring in campaign speeches that he will bring back black money and every poor person will get Rs 15 lakh from that, his lieutenant the newly-exonerated Amit Shah says it was just a way of saying things.
So, Prime Minister Modi, where is your promised ‘development’, and 'achche din’?
Was it meant only for Maya Kodnani, your former Gujarat minister convicted of mass murder and yet out on bail for months?
Was it meant only for Amit Shah, your able lieutenant against whom the Central Bureau of Investigation has dropped its own case?
Was it meant only for your friend Gautam Adani, who is bagging contracts in the countries you travel to?
Was it only meant for your party colleagues and past ideologues, who are being given government honours by the kilo?
Was it only meant for a murderer named Nathuram Godse?
Did your promise of ‘minimum government’ mean only hands off continuation of old policies like Aadhaar? Have you ever tried e-mailing the Aadhaar authorities and getting a reply?
Did your promise of ‘maximum governance’ only mean telling the people what films they should not see, what art they cannot exhibit, what books they cannot read, what religions they cannot follow, what food they cannot eat, and drumming in the real and downright-loony-bin-imaginary accomplishments of ancient India?

Will the real Narendra Modi please stand up?

Those who meet the Prime Minister are struck by his warmth, his physicality (he likes holding hands in the manner of Indian men), and his folksy humour. He is, or at least he was before taking on the burden of running this chaotic nation, fun to be with.

And yet he also sulks, recedes into a shell and refuses to engage over those items on which he distrusts his companion's motives. One night I read out to Narendra Modi the heartbreakingly beautiful verse, in which he relentlessly praises the beauty of Gujarat and Gujaratis, of Urdu's first poet, Wali Muhammad Wali. His little grave from 1707, just outside the Ahmedabad police commissioner's office, was torn up and paved over by Gujaratis on March 1, 2002.

All laughter and jokes till that point, Modi stiffened when he was told who the poet was and mumbled he would do something about Wali (he didn't). It is not easy to know the real Modi, even from meeting and conversing with him, in my experience. This is why he was seen, authentically, as both a hero of Hindutva and an icon of development.

Now comes another moment when we look for the real Modi.

Columnist Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes that Modi has "refreshingly grand ambitions for India, and still strikes enchantingly nice notes. But the government is floundering. The gap between what he proposes and what the government disposes is growing wide".

Other sharp commentators also feel this way, but is this a problem about execution or is it about Modi? The view that Modi has ideas which escaped Manmohan Singh and those who came before him is strongly held by many Indians. Most leaders have grand ambitions. What separates Modi is the fact that the electorate is behind him and in election after election, his party is winning because of his appeal as a giant of competence and delivery. Is he that? He may well turn out to be, but I fear we are seeing in him what we want to rather than what he really is.

When I began translating his writing a few years ago, Modi struck me as someone who had read little. The only literary reference I can remember in all of his books is Shakespeare's line about a rose by any other name smelling as sweet. There is no other indication he has read anything, and his view of the world is not marked by its complexity. I was not surprised by his recent conflation of mythology and medical science. If he believes such things we can safely rule out Modi as a philosopher king of the sort favoured by Plato.

So then what is he and what does he represent? Is there a compass in this long march he is leading us on? What unites Make in India and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and the crusade to bring back black money (to name the three things Modi has spent most energy on)?

Are the first two fully thought through? Or, like the black money issue, are they throbbing with intent but accompanied by an embarrassing lack of knowledge, strategy and preparation?

On makeinindia.com, a website with pretty logos and little text, the first sector, automobiles, links out to the department of heavy industries.

This in turn on its home page announces that it "strives to bolster profit making Public Sector Enterprises as well as restructure and revive sick and loss making Public Sector Enterprises under its administrative control. The Department of Heavy Industry seeks to achieve its vision of global automotive excellence through creation of state-of-the-art Research and Testing infrastructure through the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP). The Department of Heavy Industry seeks to achieve... (and so on)."

What does this have to do with someone seeking to make automobiles in India? The 'contact us' section offers a "list of nodal officers in DHI", which is blank.

This may be expected with all things associated with government, but why rush to announce something which is just a new logo on the old systems?

Perhaps it will all fall into place later, but my fear is: what if this is all there is? Scattered statements and tall ambitions with no coherent narrative and no real plan.

We have seen in our parts someone quite similar. Disliked at first by the Indian media for his actions, feted in rock star manner around the world as some sort of saviour of his people, keeping the company of world leaders convinced that his message of economic development over all was authentic and deliverable, and then having India's editors rave about him as a straight-talking and well-meaning leader. But Pervez Musharraf failed and faded.

One hopes, for those who are leaning on Modi as the deliverer, that the real Modi turns out to be more substantial than the narrow man revealed in his writing.

Shooooooooooo.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Go through this article before replying. It is a list of steps taken by the Government in 2014.

2014 has been the year of challenges and reforms for India: Arun Jaitley - The Economic Times

Have you even read the article? arun jaitley giving self praise for his own project- Swach Bharat- some PR campaign that is damp squib, e-visa so difficult and great an achievement, raised income tax limit- almost all govts do it during budget days. Looks like Bhakt jan are happy with commonplace stuff only.

 

[Judge]

Have you even read the article? arun jaitley giving self praise for his own project- Swach Bharat- some PR campaign that is damp squib, e-visa so difficult and great an achievement, raised income tax limit- almost all govts do it during budget days. Looks like Bhakt jan are happy with commonplace stuff only.

Cant compare pathological hatred mate.

It has been more than clear to me and most others that this Government has done more in half a year what Congress did in the entire 5 year period from 2009 to 2014.

 

[Lord ZeN]

Have you even read the article? arun jaitley giving self praise for his own project- Swach Bharat- some PR campaign that is damp squib, e-visa so difficult and great an achievement, raised income tax limit- almost all govts do it during budget days. Looks like Bhakt jan are happy with commonplace stuff only.

@Guynextdoor2 How much do you get paid by Congress dynasty & it's chamchas for making these moronic posts with full fledged hatred ? Are your so called "Sickular" brain dead leaders from AAP, TMC & Congress even fit to be called Indians.

 

[kaykay]

Still these 6 months fell lots better than last 5 years!! Seriously!! Though still this govt have got lots to do and control some fringe elements. rest are okay!!

 

[Lord ZeN]

Shooooooooooo.

A fantastic response to him mate. He deserves nothing else

 

[asquare]

Your being way too hasty in you're judgement. The government is doing a lot of good. Not just in terms of legislation, which includes- FDI in insurance, FDI in medical equipment, amendment to land acquisition, the amendments to the environment laws are ready (if you think they're hurting the environment, we can have a detailed debate on that), amendments to the companies act, agreement with the states on GST etc.

There is a huge change in the day to day functioning of the government and, finally, they are scared of the consequences if they don't perform. For instance, the Ministry of Skill Development (which Modi is personally pushing) has already pressured the states to begin skills training and many of the states including Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have signed contracts for more than 2 lakh trainees a year. The first lot of training (a small lot, about 2000 trainees) is already complete. The people providing this training (which is mostly basic IT so far) are not ineffective government organisations, but are the top IT training firms. There's going to be a lot more than IT training to come, for instance Tata Institute of Social Sciences is going to run massive administration programs for local body/village administrators. Again the MoUs have already been signed. I've interacted with the IT trainees, all of them can now perform basic office tasks on computers, and none of them had used a computer before. There are many more examples of how things are finally moving.

Some people argue that the government's foreign policy initiatives are just noise over substance. Take the example of Nepal, I go there every other month. The change in the way the people of Nepal perceive India is massive. Think of how support from the Nepalese public (and the direction that it gives Nepal's politicians) can transform our relationship with Nepal, a relationship that is immensely important. What if they manage to successfully conclude the nuclear deal when Obama's here (with India providing some sort of risk pooling mechanism)? Will you still consider the government ineffective on foreign policy?

If you want to see more concrete results, you'll have to wait. But, surely, if you're an intelligent observer of politics and governance you didn't expect more in 8 months. From an outside observer, who has to interact with the government daily, the change in attitude, at least, is dramatic.

 

[Armstrong]

Kahan gaye woh achche din - I ask myself the same question in life !

 

[gau8av]

no complaints so far, but some sanghis need to have their mouth taped shut.

 

[kaykay]

no complaints so far, but some sanghis need to have their mouth taped shut.

Thats the only complaints I have for this govt. Anyway one good news from today
India’s manufacturing PMI at 2-year high as orders surge - Livemint

7 महीने में 650 प्रोजेक्ट्स को मंजूरी : जावड़ेकर - NDTV

 

[vsdave2302]

@ranjeet remember I said once, whenever the right wing comes to power, it's just a waiting game before they start bungling up. As for other Bhakts, I'm sure the slew of articles coming out now will be called 'paid media'. Modi thought becoming PM was about cooking one biiiig jelebi and feeding it via TV and Su Su Swami to Bhakt Jan like Prasad.

Kahan gaye woh achche din? - Rediff.com India News


The Modi government is just continuing old ideas with a new twist -- of interference in matters where the State should not venture, says Mango Indian.
Recently, a Reuters article quoting unnamed government sources said India had slashed its already meagre health budget by 20 percent. It created a flutter -- even The New York Times picked up on it in a strongly worded editorial -- and on social media defenders of the government as well as health beat reporters were at pains to point out that the story was not true.
These were mid-year revised spending estimates that had been slashed, they said. And not only health, many ministries had not been able to spend the funds allocated to them. It was related to fund absorption. And this was not the first time it had happened.
Lost in the jargon over revised estimates and plan outlay is the fact that this government is no different from previous governments in underutilising already paltry monies in key social sectors.
If the health ministry does not know where to spend money on, maybe we can pitch in with ideas? Because I am sure everyone above a certain age has at least one hospital horror story to narrate.
Despite the Swatchh Bharat hullaballoo, the water and sanitation ministry spent just 29 per cent of what it was given for the first six months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi got a historic mandate, on that there is no doubt. But as a new year dawns on India, not much has changed except for the loony fringe having a field day.
Filmmakers say the government is interfering in films.
Scientists say the government is interfering in science.
Historians say the government is distorting history.
Educationists say the government is interfering in education.
The Supreme Court says the government is not earnest enough in cleaning up the Ganga.
The Reserve Bank of India governor says the government has got its priorities wrong (and for that Make for India remark, many believe the expert economist’s job is on the line, even though inflation is one of the few things the government has been able to control).
After opposing the Goods and Services Tax tooth and nail in the Opposition, this government now touts it as the biggest economic reform since 1947.
After taking the United Progressive Alliance government to task for ordinances, the government issues ordinance after ordinance.
After opposing Section 66A of the Information Technology Act -- the law that enables arrest over Facebook posts and suchlike -- as unconstitutional and opposed to freedom of speech as Opposition, this government now says the law is well meant.
After Modi declaring in campaign speeches that he will bring back black money and every poor person will get Rs 15 lakh from that, his lieutenant the newly-exonerated Amit Shah says it was just a way of saying things.
So, Prime Minister Modi, where is your promised ‘development’, and 'achche din’?
Was it meant only for Maya Kodnani, your former Gujarat minister convicted of mass murder and yet out on bail for months?
Was it meant only for Amit Shah, your able lieutenant against whom the Central Bureau of Investigation has dropped its own case?
Was it meant only for your friend Gautam Adani, who is bagging contracts in the countries you travel to?
Was it only meant for your party colleagues and past ideologues, who are being given government honours by the kilo?
Was it only meant for a murderer named Nathuram Godse?
Did your promise of ‘minimum government’ mean only hands off continuation of old policies like Aadhaar? Have you ever tried e-mailing the Aadhaar authorities and getting a reply?
Did your promise of ‘maximum governance’ only mean telling the people what films they should not see, what art they cannot exhibit, what books they cannot read, what religions they cannot follow, what food they cannot eat, and drumming in the real and downright-loony-bin-imaginary accomplishments of ancient India?

A congress spokesman at his all time low.

 

[Parul]

no complaints so far, but some sanghis need to have their mouth taped shut.

These Sanghis nullify the Good Work Modi Sarkar is doing. They should be