In the game of verbal one-upmanship, Congress has been targeting Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi,
who at the moment is BJP's most popular leader. Modi too scored brownie
points by targeting the 'Nehru-Gandhi dynasty' and praising
'non-dynasty' Congress leaders such as Lal Bahadur Shastri and President Pranab Mukherjee.
"He is certainly making efforts to rip into Congress through such targeted attacks," said sociologist Shiv Visvanathan. But that may not be enough for Modi to position himself strongly as a national leader, he added. Nonetheless, Modi seems to have managed senior Congress leaders to veer towards a face-off on economy and governance-related issues. Earlier, the barbs directed at Modi were about his alleged complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
With Modi pitching himself as a 'governance evangelist' — and thanks to compliments from the likes of renowned economists Jagdish Bhagwati for his emphasis on growth — he is now being targeted over 'neutral economy turf '.
During his budget speech, finance minister P Chidambaram took a jibe at the Gujarat chief minister saying, "we have examples of states growing at a fast rate, but leaving behind women, the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the minorities and some Backward Classes." He said that the UPA did not accept this model.
"The UPA government believes in inclusive development, with emphasis on improving human development indicators," he said.
Thanks to his PR machinery and fulsome praise from corporate leaders, including the Ambani brothers, Modi is acquiring a halo of being a no-nonsense administrator out to perform a shock therapy on a state that has always had low human development indicators.
Economists, too, have lauded his policies. Bhagwati went to the extent of co-authoring a book in praise of the Gujarat model of development. Titled 'India's Tryst with Destiny: Debunking Myths that Undermine Progress and Addressing New Challenges', the book dwells at length on the advances Gujarat has made over the years to put itself on the 'fast track of growth.'
Modi has fashioned himself as a doer and has attacked the finance minister, saying the budget was 'destined to "disappoint'. Much to Modi's comfort, the ruling coalition also retorted in equal terms, justifying its economic policies. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself stepped in to take on the BJP offensive.
Singh told Parliament, "Jo garajte hain, woh baraste nahin (Thunderous clouds do not bring showers)." Singh said even the Bimaru states had done much better during the UPA regime than the previous phase when BJP was in power.
He attributed the slowdown in economic growth to "a difficult global situation", apparently ignoring his claim a few years ago that the Indian economy was growing at 8% when the rest of the world was buffeted by a slowdown. Analysts say Modi seems to have played his cards well to confront his rivals over nonideology-related issues. His colleagues in the party too have been playing a good supporting role. In his reply to the President's address, BJP leader Arun Jaitley, too, focused on a 'neutral economic turf '.
"Someone whose name was until a few years ago associated with ideological rigidity, antiminority rhetoric and dark sarcasm, Modi seems to have achieved a makeover of sorts, with his emphatic win for the third consecutive time in Gujarat polls... But whether he will be able to sustain that is the question," said Visvanathan.
"He is certainly making efforts to rip into Congress through such targeted attacks," said sociologist Shiv Visvanathan. But that may not be enough for Modi to position himself strongly as a national leader, he added. Nonetheless, Modi seems to have managed senior Congress leaders to veer towards a face-off on economy and governance-related issues. Earlier, the barbs directed at Modi were about his alleged complicity in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
With Modi pitching himself as a 'governance evangelist' — and thanks to compliments from the likes of renowned economists Jagdish Bhagwati for his emphasis on growth — he is now being targeted over 'neutral economy turf '.
During his budget speech, finance minister P Chidambaram took a jibe at the Gujarat chief minister saying, "we have examples of states growing at a fast rate, but leaving behind women, the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the minorities and some Backward Classes." He said that the UPA did not accept this model.
"The UPA government believes in inclusive development, with emphasis on improving human development indicators," he said.
Thanks to his PR machinery and fulsome praise from corporate leaders, including the Ambani brothers, Modi is acquiring a halo of being a no-nonsense administrator out to perform a shock therapy on a state that has always had low human development indicators.
Economists, too, have lauded his policies. Bhagwati went to the extent of co-authoring a book in praise of the Gujarat model of development. Titled 'India's Tryst with Destiny: Debunking Myths that Undermine Progress and Addressing New Challenges', the book dwells at length on the advances Gujarat has made over the years to put itself on the 'fast track of growth.'
Modi has fashioned himself as a doer and has attacked the finance minister, saying the budget was 'destined to "disappoint'. Much to Modi's comfort, the ruling coalition also retorted in equal terms, justifying its economic policies. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself stepped in to take on the BJP offensive.
Singh told Parliament, "Jo garajte hain, woh baraste nahin (Thunderous clouds do not bring showers)." Singh said even the Bimaru states had done much better during the UPA regime than the previous phase when BJP was in power.
He attributed the slowdown in economic growth to "a difficult global situation", apparently ignoring his claim a few years ago that the Indian economy was growing at 8% when the rest of the world was buffeted by a slowdown. Analysts say Modi seems to have played his cards well to confront his rivals over nonideology-related issues. His colleagues in the party too have been playing a good supporting role. In his reply to the President's address, BJP leader Arun Jaitley, too, focused on a 'neutral economic turf '.
"Someone whose name was until a few years ago associated with ideological rigidity, antiminority rhetoric and dark sarcasm, Modi seems to have achieved a makeover of sorts, with his emphatic win for the third consecutive time in Gujarat polls... But whether he will be able to sustain that is the question," said Visvanathan.
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