From land bill to porn ban: Is the Modi government facing a communication breakdown?

Politics is a fickle business. Perhaps its greatest idiosyncrasy is how fast roles can be reversed and how some who were once damned go on to become a messiah of the masses and vice-versa. Some part of this can be attributed to the often impractical expectations that we as voters have on people in power, which are in turn cultivated by the same set when they are out of a position of dominance. But a lot also has to do with a flawed communication system and the pre-ordained belief that those in governance must necessarily set the agenda rather than respond to what is the prevailing topic of the day.

The course charted by the NDA government so far has been littered with several communication missteps. Too cautious to micro-manage the media discourse, the PM has often decided to give out his views on issues based on when he finds it convenient to do so. While that is his personal prerogative, very often it seems to be costing the government in terms of the battle of perception.

In the current Parliament imbroglio, Congress has repeatedly referred to BJP’s rowdiness in the past to justify their actions. Now while many believe that this is a false equivalence, social media is awash with the argument as to why Lalitgate cannot be equated to Coalgate or the 2G scam. While this might be the case, has the government effectively tried to call Congress’ ‘bluff' on the matter? So far, PM Modi as the face of the government hasn’t made any comment on the issue. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi is going to town attacking the government left, right and centre. The more the matter festers, public opinion is only likely to further harden against the government.

The example of the land ordinance is particularly striking in this regard. Several Congress-ruled states had raised a red flag about UPA’s Land Acquisition Bill, calling it restrictive and inimical to the industry. But the NDA, by trying to push forward the bill through an ordinance before creating a suitable climate, probably over estimated their Parliamentary majority. From day one, the opposition managed to paint the bill as villainous and ‘anti-farmer’. With the NDA constituents and Sangh outfits too vehemently opposing the proposal, the government was forced to a corner. The bill which will emerge from the JPC is reportedly a significantly watered down version where the government’s six key amendments have been struck down. The land acquisition amendment was introduced in the last week of December 2014, and PM Modi addressed the issue on his 'Mann ki Baat' program on March 22 -  almost three months later. By then, the government was catching up to the opposition’s projection of the bill, and the damage was already done.

One can’t help but wonder if the present imbroglio will also result in the government falling on its face. NDA is heavily banking on the Bihar elections. It believes that a decisive mandate there will break the opposition’s back, especially regarding forging ‘secular alliances’ in other states by emulating the Bihar model. But as a recent Nielson poll has shown, as of now, the NDA is trailing more than 10% points in Bihar. What if it fails to change the course of the tide in the next two months? The opposition will get even more bolstered. Will similar scenes play out again in the Winter Session too or will the government be forced to make a tactical climbdown at that juncture?

Communication, by its definition, cannot be a monologue or a one-way process. The government needs to address the concerns of all stake holders in a democracy. In the age of social media, outrage about an issue often spreads like an exponential wildfire. The list of issues where the government has landed itself in a similar precarious situation for the lack of proper explanation is pretty long. The furore over One Rank One Pension (OROP) and the Porn Ban are only two such recent instances.

The government can effectively settle the issue of OROP by giving a definite timeline or at least a roadmap about how they plan to implement it. The fact that no one was sure about what was happening with regard to inaccessible pornographic websites for a good 48 hours, again points at an appalling communication strategy.

According to Union Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, only child pornography will be banned and the blanket ban is temporary. But if that explanation was given in advance without sweeping down on 857 websites, it would have perhaps given the ruling regime some brownie points rather than the charges of moral policing and 'Talibinisation' of Indian polity.

Thus, when Sonia Gandhi accuses Narendra Modi of only being a sharp headline hunter, of retreating into maun-vrat, the charges find some amount of resonance. As UPA found out in 2009, a position of strength may soon become irrelevant if you bungle up in your communication strategy. Congress in 2015, is trying to be assertive, picking cues from BJP in the past. The worrying thing for BJP is that it seems to be complacent enough to mirror UPA governments of the past, at least in the fast changing public perception. As of now, many of government’s communications seem to well-coordinated and show managed. But the ‘connect’, which is a necessary factor in any political dialogue, is missing.

PM Modi is a master orator, something Manmohan Singh was never gifted with. Maybe very soon, he will take on the opposition head on and lift the pall of doubt lingering on several issues. Till then, NDA-2 runs the risk of becoming UPA-3.