A special programme was organised for senior journalist Sheela Bhatt, who recently visited London on an invitation by CB Patel, Editor and Publisher of ABPL Group. During the programme, Sheela spoke about the leadership quality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Talking about Sheela's journalism, CB Patel said, “She is well known for her unique style of speaking. Even in her absence, people never tire of praising her. Once, Narendra Modi told me that she is a passionate reporter and speaker who do not have double standards.”
I started life very early
“The personality of Narendra Modi is quite powerful. He is capable of defending himself and doesn't require anyone else's help. You already know who and what Narendra Modi is like as the current prime minister of India, but allow me to provide a few additional details. You might not be aware of his life journey, which I will describe.
“I began reporting on Gujarat politics from Mumbai in 1979. Gujarat was founded in 1960, despite the fact that in 1979–1980 it was viewed as a more advanced state than Bihar, UP, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh due to our propensity for business and our inherent sense of adventure. In the year 1979, I began covering Gujarati politics which I continue to do today.
“I can say that I started life very early. My parents disapproved of my marriage because my husband was 28 years older than me. I got along well with my mother, but I couldn't go home, so I was really lonely. In 1980, Hindu- Muslim riots broke out in Gujarat and Brahmins, Vanias, Patels and Dalits were worried about the communal tension. As part of my job as a reporter, I went to Ahmedabad to interview Prof Praveen Seth, an expert on the riots. During the interview his wife Surbhibehan was present. They came to know that I ran away from home and married to a man of my choice and was not on good terms with my father. After hearing my story, they both adopted me as their daughter and invited me to stay with them. Nevertheless, I used to visit them every Saturday and Sunday. One day Prof Sheth told me not to go to work as he wanted to introduce me to one of his brightest students and that was Narendra Modi.
India split into pro and anti-Modi
“India has divided into two parts - pro and anti-Modi. Congress and Arvind Kejriwal believe that this man is not educated, but that is not true. I have not come to give Modi's facts or to defend him. It's not my job, but it's the truth. One day Narendrabhai came to visit Prof Sheth's home. He had dark hair and seemed to have paid much attention to his dressing style. He was a man to be remembered from the first meeting; he even put his shoes in alignment. He came inside and took out some books and said, 'Sir, I have read this, now give me some new books. He was active in the RSS and lived in Maninagar, near the RSS headquarters in Ahmedabad.
“Prof Seth was the Head of Department at Gujarat University, where Modi was studying Political Science but used to remain absent quite often. Due to his absence, the teachers decided to make him an external student. Later, Prof Seth asked him to visit his home and make him study from there. So I got to meet him often. This is how I met Narendrabhai 42 years ago in 1981.
“Overall, he reads a lot. If you ask him a question on any subject, he will have an answer. His power of observation was as good as those of psychologists, police officers, detectives, scriptwriters, and novelists. He has a good understanding of the Gujarati language and dialect. He could understand anyone's language, as well as their identity, character, and background, whether they were Lohana, Patel or Darbar. From 1981 to 1997, I saw that the quality of leadership was so strong that the leadership in the BJP has taken note of it. BJP was not in a strong position in Gujarat at that time. Congress and Janata Party were dominating in Gujarat politics. Getting 10 seats out of 182 seats in the assembly election was a strong proposition for BJP then.
Modi's first political test
“In 1991, Hiren Pandya said that Modi might become prime minister one day. The BJP won the Ahmedabad municipal election in 1987, which was a first for the party. Modi would not have been the prime minister today if the BJP had lost that election, as he single-handedly oversaw the entire process and won the election. Modi thus passed his first political test. Anyone who wants to criticise and oppose Modi must read this Modi@20 book. In has in-depth descriptions of the incident are provided in two articles by Prateek Gupta on Modi and Amit Shah. Modi and Shah used to hang out and talk a lot on politics in Chandravilas restaurant on Gandhi Road in old Ahmedabad. Modi and Shah were the rising stars of BJP. In 1987, L K Advani and Atal Behari Vajpayee were two giant leaders. At that time, Vajpayee's stature was very large, and there was a big difference between the BJP and the RSS. The RSS clearly believed that India's cultural heritage was dominated by and deeply rooted in Hinduism. Vajpayee and Advani were not able to win big victories for the party. However, Modi and Shah thought that once the era of these two leaders ended there would be no other leader to take their position. At this time in 1987 they both started visiting the entire country. Everything changed after BJP won the Ahmedabad municipal corporation election in 1987 because it demonstrated that Hinduism or a Hindu subject in this country could seize control of a municipality.
“The key distinction between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi is that Modi values public input more than expert opinion. Gandhi is helpless to combat this without advice. Their respective styles of leadership diverge significantly. He has built his leadership without any support system or resources. In 2014, Narendra Modi arrived in Delhi from a different state. He had a wealth of strong leadership skills and was also highly autocratic. Modi, however, began developing his leadership in 2009.
Modi's challenging leadership
“Whatever Modi did, it was challenging. When he visited one of the most isolated villages in the nation, he discussed building toilets in a dignified manner. It's a significant revolution, in my opinion. We female journalists avoided the areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar because people used to urinate in public there. Modi had allocated a budget of £12 billion to build toilets. Jandhan accounts were opened for almost 250 million low-income families. Due to the elimination of middlemen, the beneficiary received the funds directly into their bank account. Direct payments totaling £20 billion were made when Modi took office. He issued Aadhaar cards which were very useful for every citizen.
India is going digital in a big way. In India, where 260 million individuals use UPI, 30 billion UPI transactions are made every month. Today, 30.7 million companies in the country are registered under the GST. From 1979 to 2014 only 5 per cent of the rich people paid taxes. Today, all the registered companies have started paying tax.
Problems galore
“A country with a vast population, difficulties are unavoidable and this is a fact that Indian democracy cannot afford to ignore. The political party is the strongest if it is backed by people. So the ruling party has to keep that in mind while formulating policies. Modi was able to introduce many unique initiatives in the country like the vaccination drive during Covid. Among the unique initiatives in India were the GST, economic changes and a rise in domestic travel. Promoted religious tourism over the course of nine years that greatly improved accessibility and accommodations at religious places.
“When the Babri Masjid was demolished, all of us journalists were extremely distressed. Modi has now given land for Babri Masjid to build while Ram Mandir is being built, something we never imagined would happen. After 1947, not a single politician thought that Article 370 could be abrogated, yet Modi and Shah have succeeded in doing so. Drones and CCTV cameras were put in all police stations in Jammu and Kashmir six months prior to the repeal of Article 370 and everything was planned well in advance before going to the parliament to get Article 370 abolished. I think the nation should unify its civil code, but by consent. Numerous policy changes have been made by Modi, including the repeal of 700–800 laws. Credit is given to Team Modi rather than any specific members of the Union Cabinet. Although Congress is a very mature party with an incredible institutional history and is not an irrational party, Team Modi is not a concept that exists within Congress. Despite the fact that the BJP has been around for nine years, Team Modi is the reason why internal conflict has not surfaced.”
