I sure don’t know who will help the country develop fast. But we all know who can help the country divide fast.
Over the past 5 years, with how things panned out in the Modi government regime, BJP's all promises for the General Election 2019 sound nothing but shallow. (For that matter, there's a good chance that you didn’t hear a lot of talks on development from the parties this election vs. the previous one in 2014.)
(Courtesy: DNA India)
In this span of five years, 90 percent of the mainstream mediabecame a tool of propaganda. So, all the critical information about the government's work that was supposed to reach the voters with no political prejudice got blocked and manipulated. The country didn’t get anything else but the rhetoric, opinions, and jumlas. Scheme launches were telecasted live. What impact those schemes had was never discussed. Every day and every night, the viewers and readers were served the Hindu-Muslim and nationalist propaganda.
You didn’t hear that the Modi government spent over Rs 5,2000 crore in ads since 2014-15, did you?
You heard that PM Modi launched the grand Ayushman Bharat Yojna that provides Rs 5 lakh health cover to the beneficiaries. BUT did you hear about the problems patients have to face when claiming benefits? Did you know the scheme was only allotted Rs 2000 crore when its projected total cost was expected to be around Rs 10,000-12,000 crore?
(Courtesy: The Indian Express)
Turning opinions into facts, making fake news a new norm, selective dripping of real numbers in the public and spending extravagantly in the advertisement of the government's work -- all these have prevented the reality to reach the public.
BJP government failed to deliver on its 2014 promises. It failed miserably. In addition, the government stooped to new lows in bringing divisive politics in the mainstream, which is the complete opposite of not just the general idea of prosperity but also its own slogan "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas".
So, this election, believing all that the BJP has promised would be no less than absurd. When it had 5 years, it failed. To think PM Modi can help India develop fast is now only a part of fiction that should go as one of the stories in "Bal Narendra" comics.
Coming to Congress, it's no good either. See-through promises of Rahul Gandhi, dual stance on all major issues, un-clarity in its propositions, the party is just as bad, if not worse. However, at least it's the party that has been incredibly vocal against the right-wing hooliganism and the jingoist culture that's taking over the country.
(Courtesy: Catch News)
So, of the two parties, Congress definitely looks less bad.
To that, Rahul Gandhi remains an untested leader. Although he reeks of Congress's hypocrisy and incompetence, given his recent improvements, giving him a shot for the tenure isn’t such a bad idea.
Coming directly to your question…
No one person can help the entire country develop fast. Not Narendra Modi. Not Rahul Gandhi. And not anyone else. It's the ministers who work collectively that would do the task. It's the parliamentarians that we vote for who can bring about that change. This why when voting, should you always remember, you're NOT voting for a Prime Minister. You're voting to choose an MLA.
If India wants to develop fast, everyone must work together, in coordination, with structural and integrated planning. And as I see it right now, we're far from the right direction. General Election 2019 wouldn’t change much about the country's growth and development.
