The Modi government needs to clarify its position on what it will do next. More than inaction, that the opposition is charging the government with, it is its silence that would prove to be counter-productive

People want to know about Modi government�s stand on corruption and other ills

There is trouble and more trouble brewing for the Narendra Modi government. It started with India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj who backed Lalit Modi’s request to the UK government for urgent travel documents by the UK government.  
Modi is the first commissioner of cricket's Indian Premier League. He is under the scanner for financial irregularities and money laundering. He has been living away from India, fearing arrest were he to set foot here. The Congress, then in Government, was hounding him after he tweeted Shashi Tharoor’s involvement in the Kochi franchise of the cricket league. Following the allegations, Tharoor had to resign.
Swaraj had intervened to help Modi to get travel documents from the UK Government, where Modi has been living.
Sushma was not the only one. Earlier Vasundhra Raje, now Rajasthan Chief Minister, appeared as a witness in favour of Lalit Modi’s immigration case. She reportedly signed an affidavit on the condition that her support should not be disclosed to the Indian authorities.
Hell broke loose and the spotlight shifted from Sushma to Raje with the clamour for resignations growing.
The dust had yet to settle on the Lalit Modi affair, that two other issues surfaced. These also related to women ministers and their wrong doings: Union Minister Smriti Irani making different claims in two different election affidavits and Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde clearing a rupees 206 crore purchase on one single day without inviting tenders.
Add to this two senior leaders, L.K.Advani and Yashwant
Sinha’s comments. Advani in an interview about the Emergency
said that Emergency can happen again in India.
Advani also said that he did not have confidence that Emergency cannot happen again, adding that there aren’t enough safeguards in India in 2015.
Internal  emergency, that lasted 19 months, was imposed on the country by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in June 1975.
Advani’s remarks were seen as an attack on the Modi government, irrespective of whether Advani meant it that way or not.
The Opposition was quick to react and said that Advani’s observations were the first indictment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and that there was need to focus on his worry. “The jury is out” the Congress said adding that the veteran leader was  indeed hinting at "emergency-like" situation  under Modi's rule. Advani the Congress said is “right”.  That Advani’s observations were fodder for the Opposition:  something the BJP could have done without.
An embarrassed BJP was desperate to play down Advani’s remarks by saying that they were not aimed at individuals; or that there was any underlying message in his
remarks to target an individual. Read Modi. The BJP also said that there was no chance of the Emergency being reimposed in the country given that the Indian democracy was too strong.
Advani had said that there aren’t enough safeguards in India in 2015 adding that a commitment to democracy and to all other aspects related to democracy is lacking.
Close on the heels of the Emergency remarks, came another salvo fired by another leader Yashwant Sinha.
Earlier this week, Yashwant Sinha, 82, former Finance Minister and a senior leader in the BJP had said that all leaders above the age of 75 were declared brain dead on May 26, 2014, when the Modi government was sworn in, adding, "I am among those brain dead.” Ironically Sinha’s son, Jayant is the country’s state finance minister, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s deputy in Modi’s Cabinet.
Sinha took another potshot at the  government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ campaign.  Sinha had said that unless you make India, Make in
India cannot happen.” Our energy should be first focused on making the country a better place and all
the other things will fall in place, he had said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP’s arch rival, fanned the controversy by saying that the Modi government must learn from leaders like LK Advani and Yashwant Sinha. Kumar was referring to Advani’s resignation years ago when his name had figured in the Jain Hawala scandal.
Kumar  ended a 17-year partnership with the BJP after Modi was projected the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate some two years ago.
While Advani and Yashwant Sinha are a mirror to the present state of affairs, the government is on a back foot with one scandal after another haunting it. There is a demand that the Modi government should act and show the door to its errant ministers be it Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhra Raje, Smriti Irani or Pankaja Munde. All four are well known.
Sushma Swaraj, currently India’s Foreign Minister, is a former Chief Minister. She was  Leader of Opposition in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament. She has been in the forefront of taking on the then government  given that she is among the vocal leaders of the BJP. Had it not been for Lalit Modi’s scandal, Swaraj could be counted among those for a major leadership role in the BJP’s scheme of things.
Vasundhra Raje is also among BJP’s senior leaders and has led from the front. She is among the few women Chief Ministers of a state. A second time Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Raje first ruled between 2003 and 2009 that is when Lalit Modi, her erstwhile associate, had a free run in Rajasthan. Raje belongs to the royal family of Gwalior. She is Vijayraje Scindia’s daughter and Madhavrao Scindia’s sister. While Vijayraje was in the BJP, Madhavrao was a former Congress minister and a close associate of the Gandhis.  
Smriti Irani is a familiar name in Indian households: less as a politician and more as a  small screen star. She was the chief protagonist of a very successful teleserial, till she plunged headlong into politics. Even here she made headlines when she took on Congress scion Rahul Gandhi in his home constituency Amethi. Later when she was inducted in Modi’s Cabinet in the first round, tongues started wagging.
Comparatively junior for the  coveted Human Resource Development ministry, Irani’s influence over Modi has remained a topic of discussion ever since. The affidavit controversy is not new. In fact her submitting two different affidavits had hit headlines soon after her induction but it got buried in the hullabaloo surrounding Modi’s taking over as India’s Prime Minister.
Irani had in the first affidavit said she was a graduate but in the second she downgraded her educational status: in the later affidavits that she filed she said that she had only done the first year of her B Com course. When a furore was raised, the Modi government looked the other way. Now the courts have stepped in and agreed to hear the complaint filed against Irani.
Pankaja Munde is a new entrant in politics. She was centre-stage after her father Gopinath Munde’s untimely death. Munde was a Union minister in Modi’s government and a strongman in Maharashtra politics. He died in a road accident after which Pankaja was handpicked to be a state minister in Maharashtra. She had earlier been elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2009.
It is, for the Modi government, a Catch 22 situation: damn if you do and damn if you don’t. Were Modi to oust these ministers then every scandal that hits the government would mean a resignation. If he continues to retain them then there is a question mark on his claim of clean governance. These ministers may not be criminally tainted but there is a cloud on their integrity.
It is not so much about action  that Modi is taking or not taking. It is more about the confusion  about the Government’s stand. There is no reason for the Government to kowtow to the Opposition’s  demand of forcing resignation from ministers. That is a call it needs to take within.  
In any case this is not about the Opposition alone. It is about the people of India who had voted the Modi government for development, corruption free government and transparency. It is they who are seeking answers. It is they who
want to know the stand of the
government when issues like this surface. It is to them that the Modi government is accountable: it is for them that it needs to clarify its position on what it will do next. More than inaction, that the Opposition is charging the government with, it is its silence that would prove to be counter-productive.

The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])

The Modi government needs to clarify its position on what it will do next. More than inaction, that the opposition is charging the government with, it is its silence that would prove to be counter-productive

People want to know about Modi government�s stand on corruption and other ills

There is trouble and more trouble brewing for the Narendra Modi government. It started with Indias Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj who backed Lalit Modis request to the UK government for urgent travel documents by the UK government. Modi is the first commissioner of crickets Indian Premier League. He is under the scanner for financial irregularities and money laundering. He has been living away from India, fearing arrest were he to set foot here. The Congress, then in Government, was hounding him after he tweeted Shashi Tharoors involvement in the Kochi franchise of the cricket league. Following the allegations, Tharoor had to resign. Swaraj had intervened to help Modi to get travel documents from the UK Government, where Modi has been living. Sushma was not the only one. Earlier Vasundhra Raje, now Rajasthan Chief Minister, appeared as a witness in favour of Lalit Modis immigration case. She reportedly signed an affidavit on the condition that her support should not be disclosed to the Indian authorities. Hell broke loose and the spotlight shifted from Sushma to Raje with the clamour for resignations growing. The dust had yet to settle on the Lalit Modi affair, that two other issues surfaced. These also related to women ministers and their wrong doings: Union Minister Smriti Irani making different claims in two different election affidavits and Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde clearing a rupees 206 crore purchase on one single day without inviting tenders. Add to this two senior leaders, L.K.Advani and Yashwant Sinhas comments. Advani in an interview about the Emergency said that Emergency can happen again in India. Advani also said that he did not have confidence that Emergency cannot happen again, adding that there arent enough safeguards in India in 2015. Internal emergency, that lasted 19 months, was imposed on the country by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in June 1975. Advanis remarks were seen as an attack on the Modi government, irrespective of whether Advani meant it that way or not. The Opposition was quick to react and said that Advanis observations were the first indictment of Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership and that there was need to focus on his worry. The jury is out the Congress said adding that the veteran leader was indeed hinting at emergency-like situation under Modis rule. Advani the Congress said is right. That Advanis observations were fodder for the Opposition: something the BJP could have done without. An embarrassed BJP was desperate to play down Advanis remarks by saying that they were not aimed at individuals; or that there was any underlying message in his remarks to target an individual. Read Modi. The BJP also said that there was no chance of the Emergency being reimposed in the country given that the Indian democracy was too strong. Advani had said that there arent enough safeguards in India in 2015 adding that a commitment to democracy and to all other aspects related to democracy is lacking. Close on the heels of the Emergency remarks, came another salvo fired by another leader Yashwant Sinha. Earlier this week, Yashwant Sinha, 82, former Finance Minister and a senior leader in the BJP had said that all leaders above the age of 75 were declared brain dead on May 26, 2014, when the Modi government was sworn in, adding, I am among those brain dead. Ironically Sinhas son, Jayant is the countrys state finance minister, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys deputy in Modis Cabinet. Sinha took another potshot at the governments flagship Make in India campaign. Sinha had said that unless you make India, Make in India cannot happen. Our energy should be first focused on making the country a better place and all the other things will fall in place, he had said. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJPs arch rival, fanned the controversy by saying that the Modi government must learn from leaders like LK Advani and Yashwant Sinha. Kumar was referring to Advanis resignation years ago when his name had figured in the Jain Hawala scandal. Kumar ended a 17-year partnership with the BJP after Modi was projected the BJPs prime ministerial candidate some two years ago. While Advani and Yashwant Sinha are a mirror to the present state of affairs, the government is on a back foot with one scandal after another haunting it. There is a demand that the Modi government should act and show the door to its errant ministers be it Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhra Raje, Smriti Irani or Pankaja Munde. All four are well known. Sushma Swaraj, currently Indias Foreign Minister, is a former Chief Minister. She was Leader of Opposition in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament. She has been in the forefront of taking on the then government given that she is among the vocal leaders of the BJP. Had it not been for Lalit Modis scandal, Swaraj could be counted among those for a major leadership role in the BJPs scheme of things. Vasundhra Raje is also among BJPs senior leaders and has led from the front. She is among the few women Chief Ministers of a state. A second time Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Raje first ruled between 2003 and 2009 that is when Lalit Modi, her erstwhile associate, had a free run in Rajasthan. Raje belongs to the royal family of Gwalior. She is Vijayraje Scindias daughter and Madhavrao Scindias sister. While Vijayraje was in the BJP, Madhavrao was a former Congress minister and a close associate of the Gandhis. Smriti Irani is a familiar name in Indian households: less as a politician and more as a small screen star. She was the chief protagonist of a very successful teleserial, till she plunged headlong into politics. Even here she made headlines when she took on Congress scion Rahul Gandhi in his home constituency Amethi. Later when she was inducted in Modis Cabinet in the first round, tongues started wagging. Comparatively junior for the coveted Human Resource Development ministry, Iranis influence over Modi has remained a topic of discussion ever since. The affidavit controversy is not new. In fact her submitting two different affidavits had hit headlines soon after her induction but it got buried in the hullabaloo surrounding Modis taking over as Indias Prime Minister. Irani had in the first affidavit said she was a graduate but in the second she downgraded her educational status: in the later affidavits that she filed she said that she had only done the first year of her B Com course. When a furore was raised, the Modi government looked the other way. Now the courts have stepped in and agreed to hear the complaint filed against Irani. Pankaja Munde is a new entrant in politics. She was centre-stage after her father Gopinath Mundes untimely death. Munde was a Union minister in Modis government and a strongman in Maharashtra politics. He died in a road accident after which Pankaja was handpicked to be a state minister in Maharashtra. She had earlier been elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2009. It is, for the Modi government, a Catch 22 situation: damn if you do and damn if you dont. Were Modi to oust these ministers then every scandal that hits the government would mean a resignation. If he continues to retain them then there is a question mark on his claim of clean governance. These ministers may not be criminally tainted but there is a cloud on their integrity. It is not so much about action that Modi is taking or not taking. It is more about the confusion about the Governments stand. There is no reason for the Government to kowtow to the Oppositions demand of forcing resignation from ministers. That is a call it needs to take within. In any case this is not about the Opposition alone. It is about the people of India who had voted the Modi government for development, corruption free government and transparency. It is they who are seeking answers. It is they who want to know the stand of the government when issues like this surface. It is to them that the Modi government is accountable: it is for them that it needs to clarify its position on what it will do next. More than inaction, that the Opposition is charging the government with, it is its silence that would prove to be counter-productive. The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])