Without a doubt, PM Modi decided to utilise the platform of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India to counter the discourse that the economy was on a declining curve because the viewpoint was gaining currency and beginning to jeopardise his political authority.Probably his longest and laboured speech as PM, this was not a standard lecture delivered to mark landmark anniversary of a statutory professional body. It was a prepared speech — replete with power-point slides — during which Modi donned several hats ranging from the country’s premier to its chief publicist.That he chose multiple roles indicated recent developments and assertions — including RSS sarsanghchalak’s worries expressed at his Dussehra speech and the storm triggered by Yashwant Sinha — forced Modi to lead the defence of his government’s policies from the front. Besides presenting a slew of data and arguments, these shall surely be contested by rivals — Modi also had political objectives.Firstly, he painted critics as consistent doubters akin to Shalya, the mythological character who sowed doubts in Karna’s mind during the Mahabharata war. Secondly, he argued detractors were selective when basing criticism on data — when it suited them, official data was treated as gospel but when not, the same institutions were denigrated.Most significantly, Modi reached out to the middle class, the constituency which was his earliest backer but whose continued support has been in doubt post-demonetisation. The PM cited data to demonstrate that goods consumed by middle class remained on the growth path. Peculiarly, Modi did not address the masses, the constituency he cultivated since November last.Modi accepted that he was not an economist but argued that he had enough common sense to believe that poor performance in one quarter did not spell doom. He asked people to think likewise and made his case stronger by contending that on every parameter his government performed better than UPA. He was also scathing on the opposition for questioning the current methodology to calculate the GDP numbers.However, by spending considerable time in presenting data to counter charges against his government, Modi has made his government vulnerable to another round of counter-data presentation.Yet, Modi sent a clear signal to sections within Sangh Parivar that his government is alive to their concerns. His promise to examine hardships being faced by MSME, informal sector and exporters is a response to issues raised by Bhagwat and affiliates who have been threatening to agitate but have been held back by RSS. Modi also reiterated the declaration made in December last that government shall not conduct post-mortem of records of small and medium businesses which decided to legitimise their enterprises.Contrary to public image, Modi declared that he never claimed to know-all and did not believe that critics were always wrong. He declared being prepared to face criticism because he chose the difficult course — ensuring honesty and transparency. He asked other parties and state governments to jointly review GST regulations and suggest alterations. But, he pledged to fight tooth and nail all forms of pessimistic campaign.