Five things that Rajiv Gandhi would tell Modi

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 17, 2014: In 1984 Rajiv Gandhi scored a landslide electoral victory winning 404 of Lok Sabha seats. It would be three decades before another politician could repeat that feat, Narendra Modi on May 16, 2014 when the BJP won 284 seats. Rajiv Gandhi began on a promising note but by 1987, his government had run out of steam, paralysed by charges of receiving kickbacks in the purchase of Bofors howtizers and a bloody intervention in Sri Lanka, he was voted out of power in 1989, winning only 197 seats.

Leading the campaign was one of his former cabinet colleagues Vishwanath Pratap Singh. What words of advise would Rajiv have for Narendra Modi as he readies to step into 7 Race Course Road? Former union home secretary RD Pradhan who worked closely with the former PM and recently authored ’My Years with Rajiv and Sonia’ tells Sandeep Unnithan 

1. Have a vision for the future. India’s youth are restless. They want modern education, are sick of vote-bank politics. These are concerns that Rajiv Gandhi grappled with as he became India’s youngest Prime Minister. The new PM must focus on improving governance and creating skills.

2. Policy-making in economy and and defence will require deft handling. Rajiv Gandhi could not move as swiftly as he wanted on the economy. He was saddled with corruption charges in the defence ministry. His government was bogged down by a combination of both.

3. Internal dissent within the cabinet must be tackled firmley and ruthlessly. Rajiv Gandhi was soft on VP Singh, he shifted him to the defence ministry from finance. ( VP Singh went on to lead a campaign that eventually brought his government down in 1989)

4. Development of new skills and reshaping managemnt skills of the bureaucracy. Rajiv Gandhi emphasised training of bureaucracy. He ahd training programmes for bureaucrats and politicians. He could not succeed on this.

5. Improve governance at the lower levels: Governance requires restructuring from below. Rajiv was conscious of this and he introduced the Panchayati Raj bill.