(In)Competent Modi
By abhay mokashi
Once again, the incompetency and the lopsided priorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues, have been exposed with the way the Modi-led government has (mis)handled the situation arising out of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Just as in the case of its action on the COVID 19 pandemic, the government woke up late to the situation in Ukraine. When it came to handling the situation arising due to the COVID 19 pandemic, Modi was busy dancing to the tunes of the then American President Donald Trump and to dholak, in Gujarat, and enjoying dhokla. After having taken care of his ‘great friend’, whose name Modi could not pronounce, Modi decided to take action to curb the spread of the corona V2 virus, having bade a farewell to Trump. As in many cases, his was a knee jerk reaction and announced a national lock down, giving hardly any time for people to prepare for it.
During the second wave of the COVID 19 pandemic, Modi was busy campaigning for the legislative assembly elections in Gujarat. Again, by the time he took action, the damage was done, with lakhs succumbing to the dreaded disease.
Yet again, he is now busy with the elections in five states in the country, not able to hear the cries for help and helplessness of the Indian students stuck in Ukraine and their parents.
Several countries had issued advisories in January, to its citizens in Ukraine to leave the country. The Indian government, its Prime Minister and the External Affairs Ministry were caught napping, as there was no action on their part till February 15, when the first advisory was released, asking Indian students in Ukraine to leave the country by flights of some of the airlines operating in the country or by any other means. Air India was not named in the list, as it was not operating in Ukraine at that time. Sensible people in India will now realise the folly of Modi and the Union Government in selling of Air India.
A responsible head of government would have sent aircraft of its national airlines to evacuate the students and its other citizens in Ukraine, before the start of the war. We do not have a national carrier now. Modi is neither a responsible leader nor does he take responsibility for his failures. All his failures are due to Congress, Jawaharlal Nehru and other opposition parties. So, not much can be expected from him.
Modi has been portrayed as a Vishwaguru and a powerful world leader. His repeated failures internationally, show that he is neither powerful nor a world leader. At the international level, his power is limited to hugging leaders of various countries and getting himself photographed with them. If at all he is a powerful world leader, it is in the world of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and that of his blind followers, all of whom are like frogs in the well.
If Modi is a powerful leader, he should have been in a position to tell Russia and Ukraine that he will get every Indian out of Ukraine at any cost. A man, who has been blowing his trumpets over the ‘surgical strike’ over Pakistan, could not use his power to get the Indian students out of Ukraine before the start of the war.
The Russian aggression in Ukraine has already taken the life of an Indian student and thousands are living in the fear of death. They are starving, there is not enough water and there is no proper dwelling for them, as they are cramped up in underground shelters.
India’s External Affairs Ministry is headed by a former Foreign Secretary and given his background, better performance was expected from the ministry. Students are complaining that when they were asked to reach the Ukraine-Poland border, there were no officials of the Indian Embassy to help them. To added to it, some of the students were beaten up by Ukraine’s police. The External Affairs Ministry has also been issuing contradictory advisories, once telling the students to leave and on another occasion advising them not to venture out.
The event lover Modi, sent his ministers on board the aircraft that reached Delhi and Mumbai, to welcome the students and to sing his laurels, which the ministers, did well. Anyway, most of them spend their time doing that, rather than concentrate on the needs of the people at large.
Modi has also sent his four Cabinet colleagues to countries around Ukraine, another foolish act, as the ministers will be able to do nothing sitting in neighbouring countries. This is another way of trying to impress his blind supporters.
Modi is lucky that as a nation we are by and large non-violent, though there are many in the country who use violence in the name of religion and caste. In many other countries, people would have turned violent seeing the inaction of the government in rescuing its citizens stranded somewhere. Neither the media supporting Modi nor his other supporters seemed to be moved or concerned about the situation of the Indian students or the death of Navin Shekharappa.
In their effort to divert the public attention from the failure of Modi, they are now blaming the students and their parents for going to Ukraine to study, while Modi is busy campaigning.