[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]I[/dropcap]t’s time PM Modi broke the back of the cabal which is preventing him from asserting himself. Modi’s biggest Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is his clean image. Vested interests did try to sully that image by raking up the infamous Birla-Sahara diary issue. But this motivated non-controversy died a natural and expected death.

Normally the sheen wears off after a couple of years. But Modi’s brand equity is, on the contrary, becoming stronger by the month as evidenced by the uninterrupted success of the BJP from small time panchayat elections to mega polls like the UP assembly elections.

It is because of his squeaky clean image which makes Modi’s instant connect with the masses possible. Independent of the rumble and tumble of partisan politics, the moral idiom in Indian society is still strong. It is this idiom which accounts for the continued popularity of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is a different matter that BJP president Amit Shah is shrewdly marketing Brand NaMo to rake in huge political dividends for the party.

Normally the sheen wears off after a couple of years. But Modi’s brand equity is, on the contrary, becoming stronger by the month as evidenced by the uninterrupted success of the BJP from small time panchayat elections to mega polls like the UP assembly elections. The fatigue factor vis-a-vis Modi’s bearded visage is nowhere to be seen to be setting in. Never in the history of post-independent India has a PM been in constant dialogue with the people as Mr Modi is through mass rallies, Mann Ki Baat sessions and the clever use of the social media. His popularity ratings refuse to climb down. And, of course, within the BJP he has effectively marginalised his detractors.

This being the case, it is highly baffling why he is allowing himself to be pushed around by the crooked cabal? There is no other explanation for the extreme reluctance of the investigative agencies, many of whom are under the finance ministry, to act against P Chidambaram and his son Karthi despite highly damning evidence against them which will easily stand legal scrutiny. Politically speaking Palaniappan Chidambaram is a lightweight and Karthi even more so. So it is not that the father-son duo will inflict political damage to the BJP if they are moved against. PGurus has highlighted the reluctance of the CBI to appeal against a single-judge’s verdict favoring Vincent George, PA to Sonia Gandhi. The CBI’s strange move against L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in the Ramjanambhoomi case is another instance. Many more examples can be cited to buttress the perception that a cabal is keeping the PM’s hand tied in certain crucial matters.