Modi government completes four years in office: A look at who said what

Amit Shah says that the agenda in 2019 Lok Sabha elections would be 'BJP's corruption Hatao versus Opposition's Modi Hatao'

Comments, analysis and criticisms poured in from all corners of the political landscape as the BJP-led NDA government completed its four-years in office on Saturday.

While the Opposition parties slammed the government for unemployment, farmers' issues and slow economic growth, the government countered saying that the last four years have seen overall development which had become a "vibrant mass movement" in the last four years.

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will review the performance of the Modi government in the last four years from May 28-31. RSS leaders Dattatreya Hosabale and Krishna Gopal will attend the meeting. BJP chief Amit Shah and leader Ram Lal will participate in the meeting on behalf of the BJP.

According to RSS, the government is still failing on several fronts.

A look at who said what:

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that development had become a "vibrant mass movement" over the last four years. "On this day in 2014, we began our journey of working towards India's transformation," he tweeted.

"Over the last four years, development had become a vibrant mass movement, with every citizen feeling involved in India's growth trajectory. 125 crore Indians are taking India to great heights," he added.

He also posted various charts, graphics and videos with the hashtag "saaf niyat, sahi vikas" to underline the achievements of his government.

He also said that his government had achieved more in 48 months than what all the governments put together could not since independence.
 

2. Amit Shah: BJP president Amit Shah said that the agenda in 2019 Lok Sabha elections would be 'BJP's corruption Hatao versus Opposition's Modi Hatao'. He said that BJP's return to power is "not a challenge but a certainty".

While addressing a press conference on Saturday, Amit Shah talked about the "successes" of the NDA government at the Centre and said that the BJP had no challenge from Rahul Gandhi-led Congress.

Shah said that the government has "done a lot to fulfil its promises in four years and one year is still left, on being asked about the 'achhe din' (good days) promised by the BJP-led ruling alliance when it came to power.

3. Rahul Gandhi and Congress: Congress on Saturday alleged that people have now come to know that Modi-led Central government is "harmful" for the country while describing the four-years of BJP rule as full of “treachery, trickery, revenge and lies”. The Congress launched a booklet named "India Betrayed" on the four-years of Modi government.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and gave grades to the BJP-led NDA government in a mock report card of the Modi government. He gave an 'F' to Modi government in agriculture, foreign policy and job creation with remarks calling Narendra Modi a "master communicator" who struggled with complex issues and had a short attention span.

4. Nitish Kumar: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the completion of four years of his government at the Centre and expressed confidence that the Modi-led government would live up to the expectations of the people of the country.

"Congratulations to honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the completion of four years of his government. I believe the government will come up to the expectations of the people," Nitish Kumar tweeted in Hindi. 

5. Mayawati: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday called the four years of Modi government "disappointing". She said that the count-down of the Central government has begun as some of its NDA partners are leaving it.

"NDA alliance partners are parting ways one by one and this proves that the four years of the BJP-led government have been most unsuccessful and disappointing at all levels," Mayawati said.

"This kind of exploitation of the poor, labourers, common people and women under the central government has never been seen before...their 'chori aur seena jori' has also been unheard of in the past," she added.

6. NITI Aayog: The vice chairman of NITI aayog Rajiv Kumar on Saturday, termed the four years of Modi government as 'miraculaous'. He said that the country has shown improvement on all macroeconomic parameters such as growth, inflation and fiscal deficit under the current government.

"In 2014, the economy was on the decline, non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks had risen already. Plus there was a complete policy paralysis, the government was on standstill. With that kind of legacy, it is quite miraculous that we have come to where we are at this moment in terms of macroeconomics," Kumar told PTI in an interview.

7. Arun Jaitley: Arun Jaitley on Saturday slammed the coming together of ideologically different non-BJP parties and said that the political agenda for the debate in the last of NDA government would be "Modi versus an anarchist combination".

“A group of disparate political parties are promising to come together. Some of their leaders are temperamental while others occasionally change ideological positions. With many of them, such as TMC, DMK, TDP, BSP and the JD(S), the BJP has had an opportunity to share power. They frequently change political positions," he said.

He said that the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a 'scam-free' government and will focus on consolidation of policies and programmes.

8. Swaraj India: Swaraj India on Saturday went all-out against the Modi government saying that it has failed to perform on the ground.

"The Modi government only made an onslaught on the Constitution and democracy and saw jobless growth, increasing communal tension, rural distress and overarching insecurity among Dalits, minorities and women in the country. All the key promises of the BJP government have turned out to be hollow. Prime Minister Modi had promised to deliver one crore jobs every year but the number of jobs has decreased in reality," said Swaraj India national spokesperson Anupam.

"The country is unsafe because, despite the claims of surgical strike, incidents of encroachment and terror attack from Pakistan have increased. Relations with neighbouring countries and even old friends are seeing a challenging phase and China's movements have become more aggressive," Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav said.

8. Anna Hazare: The government had assured that it would set up a high-level expert committee to look into farmers demands including granting autonomy to Commission for Agriculture Costs & Prices (CACP) after his hunger strike at Ramlila Maidan in March. However, nothing had been done in the matter, including determining the minimum support price to farmers, fixation of a 50 percent higher remuneration price, insurance cover for farmers above the age of 60, etc., veteran social activist Anna Hazare said in a detailed letter to the PM.

"In fact, during your election campaigns, you had made various assurances, including setting up a committee on the recommendations of M.S. Swaminathan Commission and also given it to me in writing, but it has not been implemented yet. There is no information whether the committee has been formed or not," Hazare said.

10. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP): As the Narendra Modi-led government completed four years in office on Saturday, AAP leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh said that only a specific class of people have benefitted from the government's policies.

"It is not that all sections of society are dissatisfied. There is a class of people who have benefitted disproportionately. Large corporations and businessmen have been allowed to loot public banks and flee the country," he said.

"The Prime Minister promised 1.5 times cost of production to farmers, but today farmers are being forced to dump their stock for negligible rates. When a farmer demands his fair price, he gets a bullet in return," he added.

11. Tejashwi Yadav: Leader of Opposition in Bihar Tejashwi Yadav said that the four years of Modi government were more about propaganda rather than development.

"Chaar Saal Modi Sarkaar, Sasta Vikaas Mahangaa Prachaar," read the first two lines of a verse posted by Tejashwi on his twitter handle. He accused the Central government of atrocities against women and Dalits, unemployment and being dictatorial. With agency inputs