Rise above petty politics to usher in Viksit Bharat

In his 98 minutes long Independence Day address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched upon several topics, right from freedom fighters, corruption, growth of India over years, atrocities against women and the current unrest in Bangladesh. “We are proud that we carry the blood of 40 crore people who had uprooted the colonial rule from India. Today, we are 140 crore people, if we resolve and move together in one direction, then we can become ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 by overcoming all obstacles in the way. Viksit Bharat should not remain a mere slogan,” he said in an impassioned plea to the citizenry of India. True, but then to make it a reality, a major change in the mindset of the political parties is must. There should be less of slugfest between the ruling party and the opposition both at the central and state levels. Not just the governments, even the industry has a major role to play in it. It is not enough for trade organisations to simply appreciate what the PM said and the vision outlined by him to transform India into a global manufacturing hub. It requires action on further improving ease of business and reducing the cost of doing business in the country while adhering to sustainability objectives. All this requires extra firepower to propel the country in its efforts to scale up our position as a global leader across various sectors of the economy.

While the industry should take up innovation and research on mission mode to galvanise the country towards becoming a global leader, the opposition should also rise above petty political considerations, go in for total reinvention by separating politics from issues related to national development. They need to play a more serious role in policy matters. Instead of slamming the government day in and day out, they should participate in discussions related to developmental policies of the government, point the flaws and shortcomings. They should motivate the youth to be proactive and give greater importance for skill development and guide them.

‘Tu Tu Mein Mein,’ on smaller issues can continue, but the focus of opposition should not remain confined only towards such acts or stalling proceedings of the Parliament and wasting public time and money. Flexing biceps will not help. They need to grow. The industry on its part also should not keep on making demands beyond a limit. At least, the top 10% of the industrialists should set an example of adopting some of the bottom 20% people and take up the responsibility of bringing change in their lives. Instead of piecemeal CSR programmes, they can adopt villages or group of families and take up the responsibility of handholding so that change can begin at the grassroots level at various levels including agriculture which is the backbone of the country.

If the government, the industry, the opposition parties at the national and state level do not think on these lines and if they continue to indulge in attacking each other, the danger of Viksit Bharat remaining a mere slogan cannot be ruled out.