New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is gearing up for the 2019 general elections – by making sure that the prime minister gets to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for as many projects as possible before December 31.
According to a report in the Economic Times, the Prime Minister’s Office has asked all ministries to provide state-wise details of all projects that will be ready for either inauguration or laying foundation stones within the next six months. The ministries have been asked to list the name of the project, the funding break up between state and Central governments, and whether all clearances for the project to go ahead have already been taken.
The newspaper reported that infrastructure projects, including those under the ministries of housing and urban affairs, road transport and highways, railways and civil aviation, are being prioritised.
The ministries have also been asked whether Modi will be able to foundation stones, inaugurate the projects or dedicate them “to the nation”, Economic Times reported. An emphasis has been laid on projects the prime minister can lay the foundation stone for, with the directive stating: “It may be ensured that all clearances are available in respect of the projects intimated.”
According to the newspaper, a similar exercise – meant to change public perception on how much work the BJP government has been doing – has also been initiated in Uttar Pradesh, after the state received inputs that the public was unhappy with the lack of change one year into the Adityanath government. As a part of this, Modi is on an inauguration spree in the state, inaugurating five projects within 20 days, starting with the ‘world’s largest mobile phone plant‘ in Noida on July 9.
Just yesterday, Modi inaugurated the Archaeological Survey of India’s new headquarters in New Delhi.
In May, the prime minister held a massive roadshow to ‘dedicate’ the Delhi-Meerut expressway to the nation on the eve of the Kairana by-polls in Uttar Pradesh. As The Wire reported then, nearly 90% of the project was not operational when Modi ‘inaugurated’ the road. To make matters worse, a portion of the road was badly damaged by the first spell of rain after the inauguration.
Before the Gujarat assembly elections last year, Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for a host of projects worth more than Rs 1,600 in a single day.
Several former chief election commissioners have questioned the BJP government for using project inaugurations as a campaign method. They have said that the prime minister is misusing loopholes in the law and violating the model code of conduct in spirit, even if not in letter.