In his first visit to the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi sounded the right notes. After his election as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) parliamentary party, his address was mature and balanced as he praised the governments that came before him, saying they had in their own manner sought to take the country forward. This was a graceful move by Mr Modi, who on the campaign trail had repeatedly suggested that India had not progressed much in the more than six decades since independence. In his rich tribute to Parliament as a "temple of democracy" and his dramatic obeisance as he entered, Mr Modi through word and action showed his respect for the institution. Amid the boorish antics and slanging matches of the past few years in Parliament, including by members of his party, decorum and respect for the institution have been all too easy to ignore. It was also reassuring that Mr Modi declared his loyalty to the Constitution of India and paid tribute to the sacrifices of those who struggled for the country's independence.
If the words showed Mr Modi more kind and mature than the country has been hitherto accustomed to, his choking up mid-speech was a show-stopping moment. Mr Modi has always appeared to be sure of himself. But when he said that he should not be thanked for the "favour" of leading the BJP because the party and indeed India were like his mother, he appeared momentarily overawed by the responsibility placed upon him.
Nevertheless, it must be pointed out that the speech was too long and the rush to dub it statesman-like arguably premature. It had no inkling of his strategic vision with regard to India's relations with the neighbouring countries or with the world in general. But Mr Modi has made a magnanimous start. Even if the emotional drama in Parliament grabbed the headlines, more promising has been the feelers he has already put out to the senior civil service. The Cabinet secretary has asked the secretaries in a wide swathe of ministries to identify the hurdles that are slowing approvals of new projects and outline what they would do if they were given a free hand for an upcoming presentation to Mr Modi. This corporate-style goal setting augurs well for the civil service and is a departure from the earlier tendency to set up committees to resolve problems.
Mr Modi is also reported to be leaning towards having fewer ministers in his Cabinet. This would be a major step forward. Quite apart from achieving better inter-ministerial co-ordination and coherent policymaking, this would reduce the number of turf wars as well. Mr Modi's desire to get things done quickly and his ability to come thoroughly briefed to meetings - with, for instance, the home secretary on Tuesday - despite the pressures of Cabinet formation are admirable. Just as he seems to have struck a chord with civil servants with his focused approach to work, he would do well now to reach out to those who did not vote for him.
