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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with Indian industrialists is changing fast and unexpectedly — or that’s what a spate of recent articles in different publications would have one believe. All these articles, however, refer to the striking change in Modi’s relationship to one industrialist — Mukesh Ambani.
On Tuesday, The Economic Times began its series on “Modi Sarkar’s” one year in government (the first anniversary is on May 26) with an article titled “Narendra Modi Resets India Inc Relationship”, analysing this change. The article begins with Modi’s reference to the elder Ambani brother, the chairman of Reliance Industries — India’s largest private company by revenues, at a meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarians on April 19. Speaking on affordable housing and the controversial land Bill, the prime minister reportedly said: “Who is going to stay in them (the houses)? …Will Mukesh Ambani live there?”
The writer, Rohini Singh, then relates it to Modi’s other recent reference to the industrialist, who was once seen to be close to the Prime Minister. In an interview to Hindustan Times, published on April 8, Modi had said: “Red tape nahin hona chahiye. Ab red tape nahi hona chahiye matlab Mukesh Ambani ke liye red tape naa ho aur ek common man ke liye red tape ho, waisa nahi chal sakta (Red tape should not be there; does not mean it shouldn’t be there for Mukesh Ambani but for a common man; that won’t do.)”
The thrust of the analytical piece is that Modi — whether because of pressure from the Opposition or due to a policy decision of his government — has made it evident he will not be led by industrialists. Some industrialists have even complained that Modi has now become less accessible than he was as Gujarat chief minister.
On a similar note, M K Venu’s opinion piece on the NDTV Profit website, titled “What PM’s References to Mukesh Ambani Reveal” and published on May 4, also correlates the two references Modi made to Ambani last month. Claiming that Modi is reeling under pressure from the Opposition to remake a “pro-industry, anti-farmer” image, Venu writes: “Narendra Modi has become so defensive that he proclaimed twice within ten days that his government is not acquiring land or making policies for Mukesh Ambani.”
The two references can surely be a coincidence but the Open magazine, too, relates them in an article, titled “Why a section of India Inc can’t cope with Modi”, published on April 24. The article, written by P R Ramesh, ends focusing on Modi’s two references to Ambani. Dealing at length with how the Modi-led government is moving away from the “crony capitalism” that flourished under the United Progressive Alliance government (UPA), he writes: “During UPA-II regime, for instance, two corporate brothers chose different days of the week to fly regularly to New Delhi and walk the corridor of power. Irrespective of whether or not the Government obliged, the duo used these visits as a show of clout with the ruling establishment.”
Whether or not Modi’s relationship with all of India Inc is experiencing a metamorphosis is yet to be seen but his once closeness with the Ambanis seemes to have definitely cooled off. In October last year, the prime minister had inaugurated the HK Reliance Foundation Hospital in south Mumbai. Now, the prime minister seems to be mentioning Mukesh Ambani only to highlight that he is not close to the industrialist.
