Modi's Citizens for Accountability and Governance (CAG) to be a talent pool attached to government bodies

NEW DELHI: On May 16, when it became clear that Narendra Modi would be India’s next prime minister, congratulatory messages flooded his Twitter handle from across the world. While world leaders and many others got replies on their timelines, thousands of others got direct messages on their Twitter handles thanking them. Appended to these was a link to a form that has now been filled by nearly a million people.

The form, also available on www. narendramodi.in, seeks respondents’ particulars and asks for suggestions on building India.

“Narendra Modi firmly believes that India has unparalleled talent. The people of India can take this nation to greater heights and make India the leading nation of the world. He also believes that the people, particularly the youth of India, should devote their time, skills and energy towards the nation. Join this grand movement to create a strong, glorious and inclusive India. You are requested to fill this form.

Remember, your contribution will be a gigantic step in creating a better India,” it says. Skills in the form of field surveys, research and analysis, policy planning or ground execution are solicited. This is being heralded as the next volunteer platform Modi is seeking to build after the highly successful Mission 272+.

Through the volunteer network that he created during the campaign, Modi forged ground-level support for the massive logistics that were required. The push roped in nearly 2 million men and women for the campaign.

What role could such a force play in governance, which works through the bureaucracy and systems? According to top sources, the NGO Citizens for Accountability and Governance, which handled strategic parts of Modi’s campaign, is all set to morph into a consultancy and talent pool to be attached to government bodies and others and provide whatever help is required.

“Let’s term it a service like the Tata Administrative Service (TAS),” said one person. Ankit Gupta, an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus, has put his name down. “I filled the form on Narendra Modiji’s website and am waiting for some response, I guess it will be forthcoming after the formalities of government formation are done,” he said.

This soliciting of talent outside the regular channels of think tanks and consultancies, through a direct channel of volunteers, will probably upend many entrenched ‘thought’ hierarchies in the government and will shake up Delhi like nothing else. Something Modi is getting particularly good at.