“Pehli baar bharat ko mard Pradhan Mantri mila hai (for the first time India has a strong Prime Minister),” replies Bhanu Pratap, 40, when asked about the five-year rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Hailing from Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, also ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bhanu has a family of five to support. He has been working at Richa and Company, a garments factory at Industrial Model Township in Manesar’s Sector 5, for over one year now and staying at Naharpur village nearby.
Bhanu sits under a tree along the company’s boundary wall, hurriedly finishing his lunch during the 20-minute break. Like him, several other factory workers are sitting under trees along the road, a few huddled at a food stall nearby, making the most of their short break.
Though most of the workers are reluctant to speak, Bhanu readily agrees to answer a few questions. “What’s the harm in speaking one’s mind,” he reasons.
He also agrees to get photographed.
‘Good work’
So what does he think about the work done by Mr. Modi? “He has done good work. My family back home now has a gas cylinder. The government has also built a toilet at my house. My brother has got ₹2,000 instalment under the new [KISAN] scheme in the budget to help poor farmers. Though it is of little help, it’s still better than nothing. A lot has been done. The earlier governments did nothing,” asserts Bhanu. The workers surrounding him nod in affirmation. Some even chip in with their views of the good work done by the Modi government.
“We lost 40 jawans in Pulwama. Had Modi not been the Prime Minister we could have lost more,” he continues.
Asked about “ achhe din ”, he says they are here for him. When told that around 10,000 workers in Industrial Model Township, Manesar, are feared to have lost their jobs during demonetisation, he says he has no knowledge about it.
“The prices have gone up marginally, but the inflation could have been higher had Modi not been the Prime Minister,” he argues.
‘False allegations’
Bhanu, like the other workers, does not believe in Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s slogan of “chowkidar chor hai ”. “Rahul is making false allegations. They did nothing for 60 years. Modi is good for the country,” contends Bhanu.
But he and most of the migrant workers feel there is a need for job opportunities in Uttar Pradesh so they do not have to come to Haryana in search of livelihood.
“We will vote this time around for more industrialisation in U.P.,” signs off Bhanu as the siren goes off, indicating that the lunch time is over.
