New Delhi, (The Telegraph): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned into the embodiment of his chief jab at predecessor Manmohan Singh: maun, silent.

Not a syllable issued from Modi during this morning's edition of his monthly radio talk Mann ki Baat on the taint that has come to trail several of his top colleagues in the central government and elsewhere.

The Prime Minister's 23-minute peroration was replete with references to the monsoon, but not once did he seem to remotely concede cognisance of the dark cloud that has arrived overhead his enterprise.

Today was probably the fourth spell of public speaking Modi has undertaken since conflict of interest and misdemeanour allegations erupted against external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje in relation to aiding ousted IPL boss Lalit Modi, who has refused to return home to face multiple charges of financial fraud.

Not once has the Prime Minister so much as referred to what is widely seen as a scandal embedded deep in his dispensation, indeed even in the Congress echelons across the fence.

Two other leading young ladies of the BJP have come under question. A Delhi court has admitted a plea to examine whether Union human resource development minister Smriti Irani misled the Election Commission about her educational qualifications while filing nomination for the Lok Sabha polls in 2004.

And Maharashtra minister for women and child welfare Pankaja Munde is up against a dare she favoured contractors in the purchase of materials worth Rs 206 crore for government schools.

Expectation that the Prime Minister would use his popular Mann ki Baat platform to dispel the turbid air of wrongdoing around the Modi Sarkar and address the challenge was casually belied.

The Prime Minister feigned no awareness of cause for shame, offered no explanation, much less any hint of correction. His silence echoed the blanket barricading the BJP leadership and colleagues in government have erected to ward off raised fingers: "Nobody is tainted, there is no taint."

There is, therefore, no cause for concern, no consequences to follow.

One of the men who got kicked up as margdarshak to make way for the new regime in the BJP, L.K. Advani, has hinted otherwise and stopped barely short of seeking correction without needing to take names or underline context.

"I feel political credibility is essential," Advani told Ananda Bazar Patrika yesterday. "The decision to quit (the Lok Sabha after being charged by the CBI in the alleged hawala scam in 1996) was mine. I have always listened to my conscience. I have no regrets, I knew I had done nothing wrong, so I had no fear of anything."

Prime Minister Modi, though, appeared unmindful he owed answers to widespread anticipation. He resorted wholesomely in achievement and advice - take forward the record-breaking success of International Yoga Day, create a global database on yoga training and practice, spread the word of India's rich heritage and family values, make the coming Rakshabandhan a celebration of gifting social security schemes to sisters and mothers, post "Incredible India!" pictures from far corners, click more selfies with daughters and send them to me, beti bachao.

He betrayed no sense there may also be rising anxiety over sarkar bachao.

"Monsoon ka mazaa leejiye," Modi blithely told his countrymen, (Relish the monsoon).

"Monsoon is a lovely season, many people have suggested I say something about the monsoon today, and I am happy with their suggestion. Everyone wants to enjoy the flush of first rain, no matter what their age... maybe you too are enjoying the rains with piping hot pakoras and other snacks with tea... greenery is so pleasing to the eyes, and rains so enrich our lives."

He flagged the need to conserve and harvest water, referring also to Mahatma Gandhi's 200-year-old ancestral home in Porbandar where there still exists a unique system of filtering and storing rainwater for drinking.

Equally, he alerted people to the dangers of water-borne epidemics and said the requirement to keep the environs clean and free of infection was even greater during the monsoon.

Modi opened with what he called the "stunning success" of International Yoga Day.

"Sometimes the man in me detaches himself from all posts and privileges and gets lost within himself," he said. "It was like that for me when Yoga Day came on June 21. Wherever the rays of the sun went on the globe, the sun was welcomed by people doing yoga. From Times Square in New York to the Eiffel Tower in France to the Sydney Opera House, people were exercising. Which Indian would not be proud of the way the world took it upon itself to perform yoga on that day? I too was elated."

Not refraining from a swipe at critics, the Prime Minister said: "I do not know how the intellectual class or elite world will interpret this but I know for one that the world is keen to know about India, a new curiosity has been created to get to learn about this country, its values, its customs, its heritage. It is our duty to make the world aware of our heritage and values."

He called upon young IT professionals to put together resources in creating an international yoga database. He also patted himself on the back in the process.

"A working, running government can make a visible difference," he said. "A year or so ago, there was widespread cynicism and lack of hope all around. People said nothing would happen. But now a small, neglected ministry like Ayush has made a global mark, it all depends on intent and what you want to achieve."

He also spoke of the Yemen evacuation and the relief and rescue effort in quake-hit Nepal to claim: "The world is seeing what India can do, with what speed and alacrity we can move. How our bankers have helped millions and millions of people to open accounts and derive benefit from the Jan-Dhan Yojana in a matter of months.... Last August 15, I had vowed we would make 4.5 lakh toilets in schools in a year. August is not here yet, and we have not reached our target, but we are close.... What did not happen in 60 years, we have achieved in a single year."

By 2022, the platinum jubilee of Independence, the Prime Minister said, he hoped to achieve homes for all, "and homes with power, water, toilets, homes with schools nearby... that is our vision".

He closed with another monsoon greeting - enjoy it, people, this is a lovely time of the year. He may not say the same of that other calendar event this season, the approaching monsoon session of Parliament.

Photo credit: The Telegraph