After taking charge, in his very first Independence Day address on August 15, 2014, prime minister, Modi declared himself as ‘Pradhan Sewak’ – a colloquial term for principal servant.
Coining yet another term ‘chowkidar’ [security guard], Modi roared that all of country’s resources – physical and monetary – belong to the people and that he was duty bound to protect these resources. In the same breath, he vowed to bring back all the resources that were looted by corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists and re-deploy for welfare of the poor.
A cursory glance at the actions taken by his government during the last 45 months or so, would show that he has walked the talk.
Be it demonetization, Goods and Services Tax [GST], direct benefit transfer [DBT] of subsidies, free gas connections to poor, affordable housing, fast track action on non-performing assets [NPAs] of banks under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code [IBC], neem coating of urea, soil health cards [SHCs], Jan Dhan Yojna [JDY], MUDRA [Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency] Yojna, National Health Protection Scheme [NHPS] et al are all aimed at taking back resources from those who looted and extending help to the poor in an unprecedented measure never seen before.
Some spectacular results are (i) Rs 60,000 crore saving annually by plugging leakages in subsidy payments; (ii) Rs 70,000 crore deposits in over 30 crore JDY accounts; (iii) Rs 400,000 crore loan for self-employment to 10 crore persons under MUDRA Yojna; (iv) interest subsidy of 3-4% to lower/middle class for affordable housing; (v) thousands of crore saving in urea subsidy due to prevention of diversion [due to neem coating]; (vi) tens of thousands crore saving by re-negotiating gas import at lower price; (vii) garnering lakhs of crore vide auction of coal mines and spectrum in a transparent manner; (viii) recovery of bad loans: in one case Bhushan Power and Steel which owes Rs 48,000 crore to banks, nearly 75% of this amount is expected to be recovered.
The government has also carried out policy reforms, cut bureaucratic red-tape, simplified procedures and improved governance to attract investment [besides undertaking massive investment on its own primarily in infrastructure] to boost growth. These steps have led to generation of wealth and employment opportunities, the full impact of which on people welfare is yet to come.
A third phrase that prime minister has repeatedly used is ‘naa khaoonga, naa khane doonga’ [neither I will take bribe, nor let others take]. That he has zero tolerance for corruption would be evident from the fact that till date, not even a single case – not even an allegation of corruption – has come to limelight. Recently however, Modi has come under virulent attack from hawks who were waiting for an opportunity to dent his image on this most crucial count.
On February 14, 2018, Punjab National Bank [PNB] – 2nd largest public sector bank – disclosed that a diamond merchant has duped it by a massive Rs 11,400 crore. The loot which started in 2011 is reported to have continued until early January, 2018. Further, the fraudster [read: Nirav Modi] has fled India on January 1, 2018. This has prompted critics lay the blame squarely on Modi who they opine, ‘has not only allowed corruption but also let looters flee the country’.
Acting in collusion with bank employees, the fraudster managed letters of undertaking [LoU] in his favor starting from 2011 or even earlier. This was a well orchestrated dubious mechanism that involved virtual hijacking of SWIFT [Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication] – a highly guarded messaging system used by banks for international transfer of funds. It is impossible to even imagine that this would have been possible without tacit support of the then political establishment.
The fraudsters ensured that the money transferred did not get reflected in CBS [Core Banking Solution] – a system where all banking transactions get recorded. The LoUs were being rolled over on expiration of the period [one year] which itself was in violation of the norms [90 days] fixed by the Reserve Bank of India [RBI]. With time, the amount reached monumental proportions and continued till January, 2018. Ironically, multiple audits viz. statutory, internal and concurrent [internal and external] could not detect the wrongdoing. The apex bank too failed in its supervisory role.
Yet, the opposition parties are leaving no stone un-turned in holding Modi responsible for the scam. Congress President, Rahul Gandhi has gone a step forward in charging that ‘corruption is not just happening under Modi, the latter is instrumental in promoting it’. This is an unprecedented charge and knocks at the very foundation of this prime minister’s philosophy of delivering corruption-free and clean governance.
Meanwhile, it may be worthwhile to take a look at the trigger for the accusation. First, a number of fraudulent transactions were done even during NDA – dispensation [2014 on-wards]. Second, complaints filed by some franchisees of their being duped by the diamond merchant in the Prime Minister’s Office [PMO] went unattended. Both have to be taken with a pinch of salt.
When, a well orchestrated network was operating with tacit involvement of all who matter – much before Modi took charge – and intended to continue with the loot, it was but natural that the offenders won’t let even an inkling of the wrongdoings be whispered to the new political establishment. All the more when the new regime has zero tolerance for corruption and consequences for them [read: offenders] of letting this be known could be horrendous.
As regards, no action on the complaint by franchisees, in a system wherein bribe and corruption had got institutionalized and a way of life in every department, stray incidents of files getting suppressed or held back is not ruled out. As the adage goes, ‘habits die hard’; 4 years of rule under a strict political authority may not be adequate to kill these habits especially in the lower rungs of the bureaucracy.
Simply because, the scam could not be detected earlier, it would be unconscionable to hold Modi responsible for the lapse and that too when there is not even a shred of evidence linking him or any of his ministers to the sordid saga. That apart, spate of actions to nab the looter and get back the loot speaks volumes about his determination to root out corruption.
With elections just a year away, it is imperative that the public is not swayed by the malicious propaganda. It must ensure that Modi remains at the helm for another term so that the process of cleansing the system gets successfully consummated.