Opinion PM frames the deal, corners Congress
Having painted a picture of a more self-assured nation on the move, now being embraced by the world, PM Modi then drew the hard lines.
The PM had his say, but for the Opposition, the last two days in Parliament were a missed opportunity. In his first speech in Parliament after the agreement on the India-US trade deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a panoramic stage. The second quarter of the 21st century will be “nirnayak” or decisive, he said, as “viksit Bharat” takes its place in it. At this “aham padav (important juncture)”, there is no looking back for the country. Because as the world moves towards a new post-Covid global order, it is turning to India — “jhukaav Bharat ki taraf hai”. India will play the role of “vishwabandhu” and “vishwamitra”, the PM said — that formulation, a friendlier version of the earlier title of “vishwaguru”, may signal, in the uncertain times of Donald Trump, a calibrated softening. It was against this backdrop that he positioned the deal, or deals, that India is stitching recently — nine so far, which make it “future-ready”, and which have been accomplished because India conveys, and the world acknowledges, its “sthirta (stability)” and “gati (agility)”. Their biggest benefit will go to the young, for whom the world has opened up its markets and opportunities. “Avsar hi avsar…” said the PM, framing the deal as empowerment for a young country.
Having painted a picture of a more self-assured nation on the move, now being embraced by the world, PM Modi then drew the hard lines. By not letting him speak in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the Opposition, he said, was heaping “apman (insult)” on the President and the Constitution, driven by hate for him. Picking up a crude slogan last heard at a JNU students’ protest against the Supreme Court’s denial of bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi riots case, he said that the Opposition’s agenda was hateful and negative. The PM’s manoeuvre was, of course, political and strategic — giving his political message a strong personal imprimatur comes easily to him and it serves him well, arguably. At a time when his government confronts a range of consequential issues on which it can be asked questions — from the Union Budget’s reluctance to take the big reform leaps to the terms of negotiations with the US that are ongoing — the spotlight on himself is well-timed for him.
But it was Congress that made it easier for him. Calling the PM “compromised”, drawing conspiratorial connections with Jeffrey Epstein, reducing public discussion on big issues to rash and sweeping verdicts on him personally, the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress is abdicating its responsibility. It is handing to the PM, on a platter, his key talking point — that Congress’s strategy is only about “abusing” Modi. It is failing to utilise the space and power that Parliament gives it. The PM had his say, but for the Opposition, the last two days in Parliament were a missed opportunity.
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