New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personality and style of functioning as a strong leader is often compared in the political circles with former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi but functionaries of the grand old party said on Friday that the two can’t really be compared.
Modi became PM in 2014, led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to victory in 2019 and will face the 2024 national elections in a few months from now. The contrast between him and Indira Gandhi has been there since 2014 but has come into sharper focus recently as India prepares to host the G20 Summit.
Over the past weeks, the Congress has pointed out that the G20 presidency was coming to India as per the rotational system in the world body but the Centre was creating hype around the event to project PM Modi as a ‘global leader’. The Congress has cited the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit that was held in New Delhi in 1983 under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to target PM Modi.
According to the Congress, in 1983 Indira Gandhi hosted delegations from around 140 countries for the NAM summit and the event was the least controversial and most constructive, India emerged as the leading voice of the developed world and the conclave elevated India’s status on the global stage.
In comparison, the Congress said that ahead of the G20 Summit, the Narendra Modi government was busy running its election campaign, and the PM was using the event campaign to hide the Bharatiya Janata Party’s failures. It added that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were skipping the conclave and crores were being spent on promotion and advertisements.
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According to former Delhi MP JP Agarwal, the two Prime Ministers were totally different people and leaders. “Indiraji was strong in taking decisions in favour of the people. She banned the privy purses of the princes, nationalised the banks, and opened the banks for people. She was called an iron lady after she created Bangladesh in 1971,” Agarwal told ETV Bharat.
“During her time, the ministers had a role in governance. Now everything is decided by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). She never interfered in the judiciary or else she would not have not lost her election petition. Plus, she was a master in speaking at international fora,” he said.
Comparing the politicians Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi, All India Congress Committee (AICC) functionary Abhishek Dutt said, “I don’t think there is any way in which we can compare the two leaders. Indiraji always did 'Jan ki Baat', while Modiji did only ‘Mann ki Baat’. She used to regularly address the media and take questions but Modiji avoids such interactions. You could agree to disagree with Indiraji but not with Modiji. During Indiraji’s time, people were part of the system and could criticise the opinion of the leaders but not so now.”
Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh pointed out that PM Modi had attended his very first G20 Summit in November 2014 at Brisbane where he promised to take action against black money hoarders through greater cooperation with other economies but charged that the premier did little on that count. The Congress leader also pointed out that the PM had convened a special session of Parliament without even consulting the Opposition and charged that the premier had scant regard for parliamentary norms.
