Dinesh Kamath's Editorial ''India first' policy is the need of the hour' that was published in Newsband

'India first' policy is the need of the hour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declared that the trust of all — sabka vishwas — will be a dimension of governance in his second term. He said the BJP needed to win the trust particularly of the minorities. He rightly identified the trust deficit the BJP faces among religious and linguistic minorities and stressed the need to overcome it. He put the blame on his political opponents who, he alleged, had created an ‘imaginary fear’ among the minorities.

The Prime Minister’s statement about winning the trust of the minorities and accommodating regional aspirations while pursuing national aspirations must be backed with action. It is possible that the wider Sangh Parivar will not take kindly to suggestions of parity between Hindus and non-Hindus,

 The ‘Modi wave’ is not the first in Indian democracy. Nehru/Congress wave dominated the first two general elections. Later, the Indira wave swept in 1971 and Rajiv sympathy wave was visible in 1984. In the recent elections, the BJP projected Modi as the sole prime-ministerial candidate

People vote for a strong leader, an icon for unity and security of the country. Only Modi fulfilled these requirements in people’s perception. In hindsight, the Congress failed to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of poverty alleviation, removal of caste system and promoting cleanliness. It only crafted slogans on social evils to win elections.

The victory of Modi and his party has shown that the people of India recognize him as their savior who will bring development and progress to India. The media need not advise him about appeasing the religious minorities with disregard to the majority Hindus. He will ensure equal opportunities for all Indian citizens.

The Regional parties under the Mahagathbandhan banner played on caste and religious divisions to win votes. This has to be condemned. The BJP transcended caste and religious divides. The media should be more supportive of the current Government instead of always playing the 'Minority' card. The Minorities must also fully join the mainstream and teach inclusivity and modernisation. 'India first' policy is the need of the hour.

Modi had won the trust of all people as the results had showed, he will continue to win the trust of all sections of the society. But it is the media that magnifies negatively the isolated incidents to portray that he is not concerned with minorities. In fact during the past decade or so lot of majority Hindus were neglected because of appeasement of minorities which media had failed to report.

Modi’s advise to his party members to address the “imaginary fear” created by opponents among minorities has two possible interpretations: (a) outreach to the minorities that the fear-mongering is not true; (b) tacit acceptance of fear created by BJP and address it.

Modi has won the elections by majority.  Allow him to rule the nation.  Do not disturb him by slogans like intolerance, visiting foreign nation and all.  Opposition termed demontisation a wrong move. So too GST. Opposition should not stall the proceedings of the Parliament often. It is not good for a healthy democracy.  People have voted Modi as PM.  Let him rule and any shortcomings can be pinpointed and not all his actions criticized. He has become a popular leader among the masses.  Now he is acclaimed as a world leader. Pseudo secularists, urban naxals and social activities, award wapsi gang should keep their mouths shut. 

The media must raise up to help Modi and the Government at the Centre & States by learning to report positive news first and seed the thoughts of positiveness among people, especially educated illiterate. These steps will helps Government and BJP in their efforts. Media should not function in isolation by only highlighting the negative and thereby spoiling the efforts of the administration.

Can we overlook certain ground realities? Muslim fundamentalists in many democracies have challenged civil societies; their appeal is basically to reject democratic values. Saner, educated individuals in many Muslim communities the world over are scared of the fundamentalists. In fact the saner elements are silenced by aggressive extremists in Muslim communities the world over. The educated Muslims in countries like ours have to show courage and fight Islamic fundamentalists; in India PM Narendra Modi needs their full support.