Close to 100 days, assertive Narendra Modi stands tall as PM

"The government's performance has been extremely disappointing in the first 100 days," Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha told IANS. "They had raised a lot of hype and made exaggerated promises. But there is nothing to show on the ground.

"The by-election results show people are already disappointed," he said.

Others have faulted the Modi government for forcing governors of several states to quit simply because they were appointed by the earlier government.

The elderly Kamla Beniwal, who as Gujarat governor enjoyed frosty ties with then chief minister Modi, was first shunted to far away Mizoram and then, within days, sacked.



After using the media extensively during the election campaign, Modi is now keeping the media at an arm's length and has discontinued the practice of taking a large media party on foreign tours.

The BJP's Rao, however, swears by Modi the prime minister.

"Modi is a man with a very, very clear vision, a man who knows what is the road he has to travel, what is in national interest. The strong point about him is that he does not get unnerved by criticism as long as he knows he is on the right track."

"Modi is seen as a star in the international scene," Rao said. "Everyone recognizes that India now has a strong and decisive prime minister who will be there for years to come."



"All this is striking when you compare it with the Manmohan Singh government," he added. "The earlier PMO was like the Malaysian plane which disappeared. There was no sense of direction in UPA II."

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, one of the handful of Muslim leaders in the BJP, told IANS: "In these 100 days, the government has both performed and reformed. We have been able to show the world that a new Bharat is emerging."