Wordsmiths & Newsplumbers

BY RK MISRA Offices of power are often breeding grounds of indestructible myths. And if the flavor of the current Indian season is Gujarat, focus turns to this ‘model’ laboratory where Prime Minister Narendra Modi perfected the alchemy of success. Like the legendary King Midas whose touch turned everything into gold, Modi  possesses the uncanny ability of turning anything he propounds into a national crusade whether it is Sardar Patel’s statue or the nation’s state of  sanitation. With the Gujarat model elevated to the status of  a ‘Bible’ for administrators after BJP came to power in the country, the performance audit carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on implementation of the sanitation campaign in Gujarat during  the period 2008-13 (Modi rule) provides proof of how reality is clouded to forge myths and then build castles on it. The CAG report was tabled during a truncated two day session of the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha last week on November 11 th

BY RK MISRA Pious platitudes and phony posers are pack pacifiers but poor substitute for pure performance. If the proof of the pudding lies in the eating so must deeds justify words. Do they? Not so, if the 13-year-long record of Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat and his continuation in the Prime Ministerial incarnation is anything to go by. Last week, he urged the country’s bureaucracy (over 80 secretaries over high tea) to act fearlessly and shift from output to outcome, assuring to protect them. Ask Dr. SK Nanda, the additional chief secretary (Home), an endearing and efficient officer who was seniormost in line to be the Gujarat chief secretary but was superseded last month at the list minute after a phone call from Dehli. He was succeeded by his rank junior DJ Pandian. Happy for the out-of-turn favour, the grateful officer was in Delhi within hours to seek the ‘blessings’ of Prime Minister Modi. Also, ask two senior IPS officers of the Gujarat cadre what it mea

BY RK MISRA A good diplomat is one who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip!. The same thing can be said for a potentate of a  politician like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His high-profile celebration of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first home minister stands  out as a case in point. The Sardar, it is widely felt in Gujarat, did not get his due for the critical role that he played, both in uniting India and running the country after Independence as it’s second most powerful leader. The ostensible aim in restoring his standing is  laudable, but the objective in doing so could be far removed from truth. The quest for ‘appropriation’ of freedom struggle icons apart, the way  Modi went about the plan makes it clear that he was using  the Sardar to efface the  memory of  late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. What came in handy was that  her death anniversary falls on the same day. By doing so, Modi might als