Chouhan has constantly performed well as CM

American politician Marco Rubio had once said, “Leadership cannot be measured in a poll or even in the result of an election. It can only be truly seen with the benefit of time. From the perspective of 20 years, not 20 days...” A cursory look at Shivraj Singh Chouhan from November 29, 2005 till date as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh provides us with a good glimpse of the man and his vision and its impact on the ground. In terms of generating ideas and electoral success, Chouhan passes the test with the flying colours. However, ground assessment indicates many potholes, hiccups and challenges ahead. Chouhan deserves huge credit for getting Madhya Pradesh out of the dubious BIMARU tag that was attached to a cluster of Hindi-speaking States (Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh were also in the same league) that were most backward on most socio-economic indicators. But there is still a huge scope of improvement in health services. In the last 10 years  Chouhan organised dozens of  panchayats announcing many sops for the unorganised sector. Spending about four days a week in villages, solemnising marriages under 'Kanyadan,' 'Ladli Laxmi' and other schemes specially targeting women and girls, Chouhan has emerged as a leaders among best performing Chief Ministers. Chouhan's focus on enacting laws that would bring about accountability and transparency is something worth highlighting. He introduced the Special Courts Bill 2011 that is aimed at speedy trial of those caught in corruption cases. The legislation empowered the State Government to seize illegal wealth within six months and give a decision against the accused within a year. The seizure of property is used for the welfare of public. Somehow his Government’s inability to show case specific cases of seizing and using land and wealth for the public good, along with clouds of the Vyapam scam, has blunted his image. Some may recall that five years ago, Nitish Kumar had dialled Chouhan to get a copy of the Madhya Pradesh Public Services Act 2010 that guarantees the delivery of basic public services to citizens within a stipulated timeframe and sets in place accountability mechanisms for non-delivery. The act envisages that if the services are not provided within the stipulated timeframe, the officials concerned would not only be held responsible but also fined. The penalty amount, initially pegged at Rs 250 per day and a maximum of Rs 5,000 per day, would be handed over to the affected persons. The concept of a citizens’ charter was first articulated and implemented in the UK in 1991 as a national programme with a simple aim: To continuously improve the quality of public services for the people of the country so that these services respond to the needs and wishes of the users. The basic objective of a citizens’ charter is to strengthen the relationship between citizens and service providers. Chouhan’s track record in maintaining communal harmony is both striking and worth a praise. Madhya Pradesh has witnessed very few communal disturbances and response to low intensity riots has been quick, firm and decisive. In Chouhan’s scheme of things, secularism and development works well in a BJP-ruled State. His Government had earned Indira Gandhi Award for Communal Riots Prevention and Harmony for the year 2006 when it successfully quelled communal disturbance in Dhar. The Chouhan regime managed to hold namaz at a disputed 16th century monument in spite of strong protest from Bajrang Dal, VHP and RSS cadre. In January 2013 and in February 2016, Chouhan again prevented riots at Dhar Bhojshala when miscreants had tried to stop namaz at the disputed site. The police did not hesitate to resort to lathi charge and teargas shells to disperse angry mob.In fact, in Feburary this year, a day after Dhar Bhojshala saw Jumma namaz and Saraswati Puja getting performed simultaneously on Basant Panchami day, miscreants had vandalised the local RSS office Dhar Bhojshala is considered as Madhya Pradesh’s “Ayodhya-like dispute  on account of the controversy surrounding the Bhojshala, a 11th century structure built by Dhar's great architect, King Bhoj. Local Muslims believe Bhojshala to be a  mosque named after Muslim saint Kamaluddin Chisti, a disciple of the famous Sufi saint Nizamuddin. As Chief Minister, Chouhan has often been seen being accommodative towards minorities. Each time there was protest over introduction of Gita in school syllabus, Surya Namaskar, Bhojan Mantra, singing of Vande Matram, the Chief Minister exempted students and Government employees from participating. The Chouhan regime has passed Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2013,  that seeks to make prior permission compulsory and stipulates a stringent jail term for forcible conversions but both Muslim and Christian communities, opposed to this law, have not complaint about its misuse. Another law to curb cow slaughter named as Madhya Pradesh Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak (Madhya Pradesh prohibition of slaughter of cow-progeny (amendment) Bill) has been enforced. Some provisions of the law were termed “draconian” -- such as a person found guilty of cow slaughter being liable for 7 years imprisonment. But once again, there have been no complaints about misuse of these laws. On social front, most initiatives launched by Chouhan have found adequate representation of Muslims and other minorities. For instance, a scheme permitting senior citizens (above 60) going to state sponsored pilgrimage has Ajmer dargah, Velankanni Church in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam, Golden Temple in Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Parasnath (Jharkhand) along with Rameshwaram, Puri, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Haridwar and several other places of religious importance free of charge. Thousands of Muslims, Christians, Jains and others availed pilgrim facility.  Another popular scheme Kanyadaan,  which provides cash grants to newly-weds has over 8 lakh couples benefiting from it and according to the government figures, about one Lakh beneficiaries are Muslims. On the political front, Chouhan has been a great survivor and come a  long way from somewhat diffident person to a towering leader.  John Oates had said, “If you look over the years, the styles have changed - the clothes, the hair, the production, the approach to the songs. The icing to the cake has changed flavors. But if you really look at the cake itself, it's really the same.” Chouhan, in many ways, has remained the same cake – unassuming, workaholic,  dedicated to the cause... But in this long journey, at times he seemed giving undue importance to certain vested interests that did not bring any glory to his regime. Zero tolerance towards corruption and nepotism, importance of rule of law, respect for civil liberties, right to dissent and freedom of expression are not mere slogans but vital necessities of vibrant, participatory democracy. Chouhan needs to pay greater focus to strengthen these aspects.