'మోడీ లాంటి మొనగాడు ఈనాడు దేశానికి అవసరం' - అని ఉద్బోధిస్తూ
ఈ వ్యాసం రాసింది సుహేల్ సేత్ అనే
పెద్దమనిషి. గతంలో మోడీకి వ్యతిరేకంగా పుంఖానుపుంఖాలుగా రాసిన ఘన కీర్తి తనదే అని
చెప్పుకుంటూ ఈ వ్యాసం ప్రారంభించిన సేహెల్ సేత్ గురించి గూగుల్ లో వెతికితే ఇంగ్లీష్ లో కనిపించిన విశేషణాలు ఇలా వున్నాయి.
Suhel Seth, adman, actor, lobbyist, news TV
pundit and god knows what else (the Facebook page for his book describes him as
that know-all of our age, “marketing guru”)
కాబట్టి
ఈ వ్యాసాన్ని ‘సొంత పూచీపై’
చదువుకోవాల్సిందిగా చదువరులకు విజ్ఞప్తి. అనువాదం చేసి లేనిపోని తలనొప్పులు
తెచ్చుకోకూడదన్న ఉద్దేశ్యంతో సుహేల్ సేత్ ఇంగ్లీష్ వ్యాసాన్ని యధాతధంగా ఇక్కడ
పొందుపరుస్తున్నాను. అభినందలయినా, అభిశంసనలయినా అన్నీ ఆయన ఖాతాలోకే – భండారు శ్రీనివాసరావు
Why India Needs Narendra Modi?
By Suhel Seth
Let me begin with a set of disclosures: I
have perhaps written more articles against Modi and his handling of the
post-Godhra scenario than most people have; I have called him a modern-day
Hitler and have always said that Godhra shall remain an enduring blemish not
just on him but on India’s political class. I still believe that what
happened in Gujarat during the Godhra riots is something we as a nation
will pay a heavy price for. But the fact is that time has moved on.
As has Narendra Modi. He is not the only
politician in India who has been accused of communalism. It is strange
that the whole country venerates the Congress Party as the secular
messiah but it was that party that presided over the riots in 1984 in
which over 3,500 Sikhs died: thrice the number killed in Gujarat.
The fact of the matter is that there is no better performer than Narendra
Modi in India’s political structure. Three weeks ago, I had gone to
Ahmedabad to address the YPO and I thought it would be a good opportunity
to catch up with Modi. I called him the evening before and I was given an
appointment for the very day I was getting into Ahmedabad. And it was not
some official meeting but instead one at his house. As frugal as the man
Modi is. And this is something that the Gandhis and Mayawatis need to learn
from Modi.
There were no fawning staff members; no secretaries
running around; no hangers on…just the two of us with one servant who was
there serving tea. And what was most impressive was the passion which
Modi exuded. The passion for development; the passion for an invigorated
Gujarat; the passion for the uplifting the living standards of the people
in his state and the joy with which he recounted simple yet memorable
data-points.
For instance, almost all of the milk consumed
in Singapore is supplied by Gujarat; or for that matter all the tomatoes
that are eaten in Afghanistan are produced in Gujarat or the potatoes
that Canadians gorge on are all farmed in Gujarat. But it was industry that
was equally close to his heart.
It was almost like a child, that he rushed and got a coffee table book
on GIFT: the proposed Gujarat Industrial City that will come up on the
banks of the Sabarmarti: something that will put the Dubais and the Hong
Kongs of this world to shame. And while on the
Sabarmati, it is Modi who has created the inter-linking of rivers so that
now the Sabarmati is no longer dry.
He then spoke about how he was very keen that
Ratan Tata sets up the Nano plant in Gujarat: he told me how he had related the
story of the Parsi Navsari priests to Ratan and how touched Ratan was:
the story is, when the Navsari priests, (the first Parsis) landed in
Gujarat, the ruler of Gujarat sent them a glass of milk, full to the brim
and said, there was no place for them: the priests added some sugar to
the milk and sent it back saying that they would integrate beautifully
with the locals and would only add value to the state. Narendra Modi is clearly
a man in a hurry and he has every reason to be. There is no question in
any one’s mind that he is the trump card for the BJP after Advani and
Modi realises that. People like Rajnath Singh are simply weak irritants I
would imagine. He also believes that the country has no apolitical
strategy to counter terrorism and in fact he told me how he had alerted
the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the NSA about the impending
bomb blasts in Delhi and they did not take him seriously.
And then the September 13 blasts happened! It was
this resolve of Modi’s that I found very admirable. There is a clear
intolerance of terrorism and terrorists which is evident in the way the
man functions; now there are many cynics who call it minority-bashing but
the truth of the matter is that Modi genuinely means business as far as
law and order is concerned.
I left Modi’s house deeply impressed with the man as Chief Minister: he
was clearly passionate and what’s more deeply committed. When I sat in
the car, I asked my driver what he thought of Modi and his simple reply
was Modi is God. Before him, there was nothing. No roads, no power, no
infrastructure. Today, Gujarat is a power surplus state. Today, Gujarat
attracts more industry than all the states put together.
Today, Gujarat is the preferred investment
destination for almost every multi-national and what’s more, there is an
integrity that is missing in other states.
After I finished talking to the YPO (Young President’s Organisation)
members, I asked some of them very casually, what they thought of Modi.
Strangely, this was one area there was no class differential on. They too
said he was God. But what they also added very quickly was if India
has just five Narendra Modis, we would be a great country.
I don’t know if this was
typical Gujarati exaggeration or a reflection of the kind of leadership
India now needs! There is however, no question in my mind, that his flaws
apart, Narendra Modi today, is truly a transformational leader! And we
need many more like him!
