Do the so called secular and national political leadership, that often indulge in shouting from the roof top against Narendra Modi has any acceptance to the views of an independent, neutral writer of Nikkei (Japan), Satoshi Iwaki , who has sincerely argued, "India's Modi ready to take centre stage, but is India ready for Modi?"
He forecasted that the next prime minister of India could very likely be Narendra Modi. For more than 12 years he has been the chief minister of the state of Gujarat, where he is credited with making significant improvements in infrastructure, gaining control of the bureaucracy and improving the area's economy. But could he do this on a national level? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been in power for almost a decade, and the 81-year-old has indicated he will step down as the Indian National Congress' leader regardless of the election results. But his party has yet to decide on a successor.
He studied critically Narendra Modi for long and observed, "As the head of Gujarat, Modi has been credited for helping accelerate the western Indian state's economic development with the help of his hands-on management style. Modi has strengthened the state's electricity supply, creating a blackout-free zone. This has been credited with helping to convince Ford Motor, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki India to set up factories in the state. His vision is to replicate this success on the national level by bolstering the nation's power grids while also building up roads, ports and other infrastructure. In an interview with The Nikkei late last year, Modi said that as prime minister he would also focus on increasing the brand power of Indian products."
He praised Modi's precise efficiency and disciplined work culture very much similar to what seen in his own country Japan ,when he said, "He has been the chief minister of Gujarat since 2001. During his time as the head of the state, he has built a reputation for knowing how to handle bureaucrats. This so-called Modi-style of personnel management includes the systematic stamping out of corruption. Modi has often pointed out that "anyone who looks the other way about a colleague's corruption is equally guilty," a state government official said. This so-called mutual surveillance program has brought results. Today, government-level corruption in Gujarat is said to be extremely low compared with other states."
Without hesitation he admired Modi's motivating governance qualities in explaining , "Modi also has a unique way of motivating his subordinates. He is a top-down manager. He does not just give orders directly to his ministers, but also to lower-ranking officials, such as project managers. Because Modi often personally calls these officials to ask about their projects, their superiors often feel the need to be more proactively involved than they would otherwise. The issue for the future is whether this kind of management style will work for the central government, which is under the thumb of the powerful IAS bureaucrats,an elite, colonised British era outcome."
INDIA HONEST whole heartily agrees with this neutral and knowledgeable observer,and finds that at the very outset, when Modi or any one occupies the coveted seat of India's PM seat in June 2014, will have his/her prime work cut out precisely. An urgent task for India's political leaders is to assert control over the nation's powerful (now confused and demoralised) public servants as the bureaucracy is seen as a major obstacle to achieving sorely needed structural reforms.
Foreign businesses often cite the confusing and time-consuming administrative processes as a major reason for not setting up operations in India. Yet, not much has been done by India's leaders to remedy this situation in the past whole decade.
2014 may just see the greatest test,hopefully in the form of an incoming Modi , with his hard, unique but result oriented way of doing business, in solving some of the most lingering problems that affect India's economic development.
IH wishes there are many in the multi polar party system of our parliament, who understand the "practical" necessity of a tough but intelligent practitioner, who opts to solve the chronic problem, that has been thrust on India, by the misdeeds of this Congress led UPA2. Here we must justify if we are ready and willing to the task , "helping Modi to take centre stage", only for the sake of national interest of India .