Herald view: Modi stakes claims to other’s achievements again, this time of DRDO scientists

The theatre, which unfolded on Indian TV channels following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet on March 27 on him addressing the nation to make an important announcement, was absurd. In the hour-long performance, TV anchors let their imagination run wild. Another Balakot-style surgical strike might have taken place, said one. Full-blown war with Pakistan could be in the offing, claimed another. Have Indian Armed Forces entered Pakistan, screamed yet another. And at the end of it, the Prime Minister delivered an anti-climax by stating something which made news back in 2012 and should have been limited to a press release from DRDO.

The entire country was held in suspended silence for an hour for such an announcement which protocol-wise should have been made by the DRDO chief. But then, staking claim to other’s achievements, in this case DRDO scientists, comes naturally to this government. As Modi claimed credit for a capability India achieved in 2012 under a programme that was started during Dr Manmohan Singh’s prime ministerial tenure, the social media expectedly started making fun of the PM’s behaviour. But that cannot hide this fact that this is a gross violation of the Election Commission of India’s Moral Code of Conduct.

Narendra Modi, his Cabinet colleagues and fellow partymen frequently say that the Congress has done nothing for 70 years. It is ironical that he is trying to win an election on the achievements of the very DRDO that was founded by Jawaharlal Nehru way back in 1958. And the Modi government has cut funds to DRDO too. Anti-satellite capability was not developed overnight. It is an extension of the expertise that Indian scientific organisations like DRDO and ISRO have built up over a long period of time.

The country’s founding fathers had a vision for India although the country was grappling with acute poverty, following Independence. That is why scientific research was encouraged in defence and space. Sadly, the present government lacks any such vision. It has failed the people of India in delivering a robust economy. It has failed to create jobs. It has cut funding in education. It has affected communal harmony and the secular fabric of the nation by its polarisation game. It has hurt millions of poor people in the unorganised sector by announcing draconian measures like Demonetisation which has helped the rich turn their ill-gotten wealth into white money.

The number of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir has gone up manifold, killing the highest number of soldiers in more than a decade. Homegrown militancy which was a thing of the past in 2014 is back and how. It has compromised on national security not just by cutting the number of warplanes from 126 to 36 but also by hiding the price of the Rafale aircraft. This government has lost the moral right to govern. Indians must realise that when they start casting their ballots in a week and a half.