Homage to Vajpayee :: Good Governance Day is a good way to remember the former Prime Minister

Many years ago, Atal Bihari Vajpayee penned a few lines giving an insight to his mind: 

"Chhalna bhare vishwa mein...kewal sapna hi sach hota hae....

Mein bhi rota Aas Paas Jab Koi nahi hota hae (In this deceptive world, only dreams are your own; I do shed tears at times when I am alone, in isolation)". 

** Vajpayee’s illustrious verse  

Kab tak Jammu ko Yun-hi

Jalne denge

Kab tak julfo ki madira Dhalne denge

Maa beheno ka apman sahenge kab tak

Bhole pandav chup chaap rahenge kab tak …..

(Uptill when will u let Jammu Burn, Till when this addiction of lust
continue....Uptill when will the sisters and mothers be raped...
Till when the stake holders (UN/International community) will remain silent)

-         (Bhole pandav (Innocent UN; world community)….

-         And see how things have turned out to be across the globe!!

March 1999, Bharat Ratna Vajpayee and some of us

Born on the Christmas Day, 1924, at Gwalior to a school teacher Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, his baptism into politics had come as a student when he came in contact with the RSS founder Keshavrao Hedgewar and later became a RSS 'swayemsevak'.

First sworn in as Prime Minister on May 16, 1996, Vajpayee had to resign only after 13 days. But as promised by him in Lok Sabha on May 27, 1996 debate, Vajpayee returned to the coveted office on March 19, 1998 and continued there till May 2004 when incidentally, the country voted out his government in what was described by poll pundits as a most shocking election results.

Celebrated for his pan-India acceptability and a leader with an unblemished image, Atal Behari Vajpayee would be always credited with giving a moderate veneer to BJP's hardline pro-Hindutva image.

His acceptability across the political spectrum and among the minorities always came in good stead for the BJP, he had co-founded with L K Advani, whom critics and opponents often call 'communal and reactionary'.

Advani, Jaswant Singh, Atalji

The founding president of BJP, when it was launched in 1980 after split from the united Janata Party of Seventies, Vajpayee was a perfect foil to his longtime compatriot L K Advani. While Advani has been a forceful speaker with cold logic and argument, Vajpayee, a genius orator was a poetic and persuasive with his characteristic humourous style.

"One big difference between Vajpayee and me was his sense of humour. It always gave me complex....Unke samne mein ek rukha-sukha admi raha (Contrast to his humour, I was always dry)," BJP patriarch L K Advani told me only on December 16, 2014. 

Good Governance and the spirit of the celebration:

People often say that the Modi government is anti-minorities and especially

against Muslims. 

Statistics say something else.

Till 2021-22, data says out of the 2.31 crore houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, 31 per cent were allocated in "25 minority-dominated areas". There were other yardsticks too.

As many as 33 per cent beneficiary of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (for farmers) were minorities and out

 of the 9 crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a staggeringly high 37 per cent were from the minority communities.

This is in the context that minority percentage in India is much smaller. An estimated 14.2 percent of population is Muslims and only 2.3 percent Christians while 1.7 are Sikhs. 

What has 'Good Governance' under Modi govt achieved ?? 

Leading international agencies have noted that under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India has been eliminating poverty at record pace. This is attributed to a series of pro-poor decisions taken by the Central Government.

Today, India is home to the world’s largest healthcare programme, Ayushman Bharat. Covering over 50 crore Indians, Ayushman Bharat provides top quality and affordable healthcare to the poor and neo-middle class.

The Lancet, considered among the most prestigious health journals in the world has lauded Ayushman Bharat, stating that this scheme attends to the larger discontent about the health sector in India. The journal also noted PM Modi’s efforts to prioritise universal health coverage.

Understanding that financial exclusion was a bane for the poor, the Prime Minister launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, that aimed at opening bank accounts for every Indian. Now, over 35 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened. These accounts have not only banked the unbanked but also opened the doors for other avenues of empowerment.

Going a step ahead of Jan Dhan, Shri Modi emphasised on Jan Suraksha, by giving insurance and pension cover to the most vulnerable sections of society. The JAM trinity (Jan Dhan- Aadhaar- Mobile) has led to elimination of middle men and ensured transparency and speed, powered by technology.

In a first, over 42 crore people associated with the unorganised sector now have pension coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Man Dhan Yojana. During the very first Cabinet Meeting after the 2019 election results, a similar pension scheme for traders was announced as well.

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in 2016 provides free cooking gas connections to the poor. It has proven to be a major game-changer in providing smoke-free kitchens to over 7 crore beneficiaries, most of whom are women.

At least 18,000 villages that were without electricity even after 70 long years of Independence have been electrified.