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The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is set to take tough economic decisions.
In this context, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA plans to appeal to people that they should continue to have trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sources in the Cabinet promise a more robust inter-ministerial consultations as well as better communication with mainstream media to explain the government’s stand on such issues as price rise. But according to one highly placed source, the annual budget, slated to be tabled in the Lok Sabha in the second week of July, was unlikely to be a harbinger of bad news. “The budget would keep up the positive sentiment generated after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s electoral victory,” a highly placed source said, indicating that it was likely that the government might take most of the tougher decisions in a piecemeal manner outside the budget.
Another BJP leader said, “We promised acche din (better days), not saste din (cheaper days). Children know their mother may feed them a bitter medicine but it is for their good. Similarly, we are confident that people would understand what the Modi-led government is attempting to do.”
The BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) plan to take this message to the people. Modi on Saturday and BJP’s
L K Advani on Sunday asked party's members of Parliament during their two-day training workshop to convince people of the need for tough economic decisions.
In recent days Modi has stressed that every decision “has been guided solely by national interest”. On the completion of his government’s one month on Thursday, he did just that. Earlier this month Modi had explained to party workers in Goa on the need for bitter medicine.
Similarly, the RSS will hold its month-long varshik utsav (annual festival) across India from mid-July. During this, it plans to communicate to its volunteers and larger support base of the urgency for the government to take difficult economic measures.
An activist said, “Our election campaign had focused on how the economy was in intensive care because of 10 years of poor governance and it would take time to bring it back to health.”
The BJP plans to use the social media. Yuva, its internet television initiative, led by Arvind Gupta, in the last week brought out video reports to defend the rail passenger and freight fare rises. One report interviewed people in the street who defended the rises.
However, the assessment within the government is that Railways Minister Sadanand Gowda should have been more aggressive in explaining the passenger and freight hike, as decisions of the UPA government. The strengthened inter-ministerial consultations are aimed at filling some of these gaps.
On Saturday, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told a gathering of businessmen that people needed to be a bit more patient with the government. “Many ask me acche din aane wale the, aa gaye kya? (you promised better days, have those arrived?) I say aaye nahin aa rahe hain (better days are on their way.”
Sources said Modi’s image as a man of action, of somebody who according to a recent blog posted on his website narendramodi.in, “wakes up with the first rays of the sun and works till late into the night,” has helped build trust and tolerance among people for this government and its tough economic decisions.
