To Begin With, BJP Must Make Government Systems Effective and Accountable

It is ironical that before it came to power, the BJP was vociferous in its criticism of the then establishment on issues concerning the country. But no sooner that it has been brought into the saddle it has lost all its bearings. It needs to be reminded what to say and what not to say, what to do and what not to do at every juncture. It seems to have some sense of the big picture when not in power but seems to have lost focus and has no sense of situational awareness when in power. 

In this context, the biggest challenges facing the country today are: Inflation, Unemployment, and a Weak Rupee. The solutions to these problems can be found within and not without. We must look inside and not outside. We must correct ourselves first and not seek to correct others first. We must purify ourselves first and not seek to purify others or find impurity in others. This applies to each one of us. If only we acted on ourselves first and stopped correcting others, our country would be a better place to live in. On a larger scale, this applies to the government also. 

India’s problems are partly because of a inefficient, corrupt and unproductive government system which has been continuing for decades. This said, one cannot and should not at the same time ignore the good also that has been done in all these years. But the problems are aplenty. And these must be addressed on a war footing.

The first and foremost task for the Modi government for the next 5 years is to make the governments at the Centre, State and Municipal levels efficient, effective, transparent, accountable, productive and honest. This means that additional infrastructure is welcome but most importantly the existing infrastructure should be made efficient, transparent, accountable, productive and honest. What are the implications? 

It is that the municipalities and the state governments must function efficiently: sewage, road and neighborhood cleanliness, the government departments, water, sanitation, hygiene, hospitals, the tax departments, the police force, the electricity departments, the roads, the railways, airports and airlines, irrigation, schools, colleges, the public transport system and many dozens of government departments must function efficiently and productively.

It means that the councilors and legislators must work and discharge their duties conscientiously, diligently and honestly. It means that administrators and bureaucrats must be measured by their output and merit and not by sycophancy and toeing the official line. It means that councilors, legislators, parliamentarians, administrators, bureaucrats, and government servants must work in the public interest, must work in the national interest, must utilise the funds allocated to them for a project judiciously, honestly and the money should be well spent. 

This money should not be treated as loot or plunder but should be seen as the hard-earned money of the tax payer. It means the sick industries and companies must be revived and made efficient. It means the Opposition should also discharge its duties responsibly and should function as an alert watchdog. It means departments, ministries and institutions must work efficiently, the funds allocated to them must be used judiciously with proper audit, the government servants must be productive and accountable and keep the public and not themselves first in mind.

Once you ensure the government and government servants are efficient, accountable, productive, responsible, transparent and honest, then you will be able to control all the three demonic challenges: Inflation, Weak Rupee and Unemployment.