By Sushil Kutty
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is back to doing what he loves doing most, travel the world, touring international political hotspots, engaging with fellow heads of states, genuine gentlemen like United States President Donald Trump and their Chinese and Russian counterparts. As of now, there’s the belief cementing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the world’s saviour-in-waiting and we should all be glad for that glad tiding.
Except that knitwear clusters in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu are living the early days of doomsday scenario are scared stiff of the evangelical-like coming of the aftermath of Trump’s terrible tariffs, Trump the Terrible! Tiruppur’s knitwear workers are bracing for the expected loss of tens of thousands of jobs and there’s talk of a Rs 3000 crore shock hitting Tiruppur’s garment industry in lar plexus.
Clearly, Prime Minister Modi has to shoulder some of the responsibility. Opposing Trump’s tariffs does not mean flagging industries at home should be left to fend for themselves. Far from that. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, a bastion of the INDIA bloc, has urged Modi to do something, anything, but so far nothing has been done and Prime Minister Modi is in Tokyo!
What does Tiruppur have to do with Tokyo? But, of course, Prime Minister Modi has to do with the nation as a whole and today, he’s an international icon. Americans, the lovable friends of India from across the seven seas, believe Indians are unbelievably rich and tariff isn’t a problem.
Important thing is “India has political and economic stability, transparency in policy, predictability and is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy.” It lifts the spirits and leaves Trump’s Pakistani pal Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir stewing in his ‘jihadi juices’. What must really rile Gen. Munir must be Americans saying “Ukraine War is Modi’s War’ and President Trump admitting failure in bringing an end to this “Modi’s War”.
The other “Modi’s War”, the one with Pakistan, Trump ordered a halt and Prime Minister Modi folded in “five hours” flat, a fact Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi mentioned the other day when negotiating the curves of his latest ‘yatra’, the vote ‘adhikar’ march through pollbound Bihar’s districts. The biannual ‘Mood of the Nation’ survey of a certain outlet doesn’t give the BJP/NDA a cakewalk in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.
Will Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar regret spurning the “Muslim cap”, not once but three-four times, at a Gaya rally where Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of “ghuspetias” without mentioning Bangladesh but that was understood and that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is “Bangladeshi infiltrator-centric”. The ‘Mood of the Nation’ survey says if general elections are held in 2026, the NDA will romp home with 324 seats, up from the current 293.
It says Modi remains the favourite PM choice with 58% but LoP Rahul Gandhi is closing the gap. This bit of trivia must have reached Modi’s ears in Tokyo but did Prime Minister Narendra Modi hear in the din of the welcome he received in Tokyo? Tens of thousands of MSMEs are waiting for Prime Minister Modi to save India from a monumental disaster; for, despite all the talk of “Make in India” and “a chance for atmanirbhar”, it ain’t as easy as cooking up a ‘bull’s eye’.
PM Narendra Modi cannot leave Tiruppur’s knitwear clusters floundering in Trump’s tariff war. The United States is behaving like the bully that it is and Modi has to get above the basking he’s getting. The 50% tariffs on Indian goods is a punishing rate as Tiruppur’s garment workers are telling Chief Minister MK Stalin and the Chief Minister himself is conveying to Prime Minister Modi.
“Today, India has political stability, economic stability, transparency in policy, and predictability. Today, India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world. And, very soon, it is going to become the third largest economy in the world,” Modi said at the India-Japan Economic Forum in Tokyo…You are all aware of the growth and transformation that have taken place in India over the last 11 years…
“We contribute 18% to global GDP, and our markets are delivering strong returns. Our approach of 3reform, transform, and perform is driving all this progress,” Modi told a Japanese economic forum. Tell that to Tiruppur’s garment industry workers and they will be adding to the “gaalis” raining down on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bihar’s thorny electoral landscape. Only these ones would be “Tamil gaalis”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should know that the ‘Mood of the Nation” isn’t a status quo. (IPA Service)
