Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a strong PM and aping his predecessor Jawaharlal Nehru in aspects like foreign policy, but he requires to work harder in the country, felt Sanjaya Baru from New Delhi in a panel discussion on Indian Prime Ministers at the Hyderabad Literary Fest here on Sunday afternoon.
Many in the audience asked questions about former Prime Ministers and Baru, who served as media adviser to former PM Manmohan Singh, said by way of a reply that former Prime Minister P.V. Narsimha Rao didn’t get his due credit in history. “He was the PM who led the nation at a time when it was at a very critical stage. His work was tremendous. He brought about economic growth as also provided political stability. On the other hand, we had former PM Rajiv Gandhi who was strong but by the end of the term, the deliverance was below expectations,” he said.
Elaborating further, Baru said, “Similarly, while PM Modi is strong, it is important for him to be delivering on the economic and home fronts and managing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. We have strong Chief Ministers in states where they are leading mass-based regional parties. It becomes very important for Modi as PM to ensure that he worked hand-in-hand with the CMs.”
He said that while state minister KT Rama Rao was targeting PM Modi in the GHMC elections, it showed the strength of regional politics and it would continue to be so.
“Every Chief Minister is now ‘dreaming’ of becoming the Prime Minister, just as Modi rode to national scene from Gujarat,” Baru said.
