Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ability to talk about technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship in a language that resonated with the generation of the 80s and 90s and that set him apart from other leaders when the world was witnessing complex issues, according to Shashi Shekhar Vempati, an author and former CEO of Prasar Bharati.
Vempati highlighted the distinctiveness of PM Modi’s communication style, in an exclusive interview with ANI, “What was so different about Mr Modi was that he spoke a different language. A language that you didn’t hear from Arun Jaitley or Sushma Swaraj or anyone talks and a language that was appealing to my generation.” Referring to the period of the 1980s when events such as unstable coalition governments, Rupee devaluation, and the Gulf War of 1990 happened, he said, “If you recall my generation came out… was the product of the 80s and 90s we came out of that uncertainty of the Mandal period the Ram Janamabhumi agitation, Coalition governments which were unstable the Rupee got devalued you know Gulf War so much of uncertainty, then when we came out of college and entered the job market that is when things started changing the whole IT boom.”
According to Vempati, PM Modi’s discussions on minimum government, getting the government out of business, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship struck a chord with his generation.
Recalling PM Modi’s China visit when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shekhar said, “When he had gone to China as a chief minister and when he came back there was a speech in an Indian publication and that was the first time I heard an Indian politician talking about minimum government maximum governance and that is something that then you see you know makes its appearance in his speeches quite consistently.”
“In the 2012 Gujarat elections, there were multiple phases of voting and I think in between one of those phases he wrote a blog which appeared in different publications where again he talked about the whole philosophy of minimum government so you see entrepreneurship as a limited role for government was new rhetoric that was unheard of anywhere in the political landscape and it appealed to this generation hence this generation got involved you know in the digital campaigning of 2013-2014,” he added.
Regarding PM Modi’s rise as a prime ministerial candidate, Vempati said, “Mr Modi well I don’t think it was that certain in fact let me rewind a little back further because I recall writing about this in my blog as well in 2006 I recall when Pramod Mahajan unfortunately you know everyone thought he was the natural leader at that time and then, unfortunately, this incident happens and he passes away and I remember writing in my blog that this just you know opens an Avenue for Narendra Modi.”
