Decades of painting doesn’t necessarily make someone Leonardo da Vinci or Pablo Picasso. Singing for 25 years doesn’t produce a Lata Mangeshkar or a Mehndi Hasan. Countless poets write for years, some even achieve commercial success, but they aren’t even a fraction of Ghalib, Faiz or Firaq. The journey from the ridiculous to the sublime requires exceptional talent, commitment and sincerity.Being in politics or power for long also doesn’t guarantee valuable leadership. One of the greatest politicians the world has seen – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – never held any position in any government. History is fraught with frightening experiences of tyrants, bigots and criminals ruling so many countries for substantially long periods. The likes of Benito Mussolini and Saddam Hussein ruled for over two decades. A World War became necessary to evict Adolf Hitler from power. But the exceptional leader Nelson Mandela voluntarily stepped down after five years despite soaring popularity. Two remarkable US presidents – Abraham Lincon and John F. Kennedy – had brief tenures of barely four and two years respectively. Rajiv Gandhi achieved a lot in his single-term rule. What’s clear is that the length of rule has lesser significance than the quality of governance and vision.Nobility of character is not a subject matter of calendars. The most acceptable yardstick to judge a leader today is perhaps constitutionalism and personal integrity. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) propaganda and celebrations of Narendra Modi being in power for 25 years won’t make him great. Greatness doesn’t lie in triumphalism. Modi indeed won elections and expanded BJP’s political base across the country but that is not the benchmark for citizens to judge his politics and performance. People will judge a prime minister on the basis of his work that improved their lives, not on the basis of how many days the emperor occupied the throne.It’s not the power of propaganda that forced people to embrace Gandhi as the “Mahatma”. Gandhi didn’t preach; the engine of his politics wasn’t publicity and self-promotion. Gandhi was an embodiment of his ideals. He demonstrated the power of his principles through personal conduct. He led by example; satyagraha was his own suffering. He never tried to influence the masses through deception and lies. In the same vein, Rahul Gandhi gained respect because he walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, trampling over doubts within his own party, his critics and the media. Had he launched the Bharat Jodo Yatra and flown out, letting others complete it, the trust he gained from the nation wouldn’t have come at all.A leader who hawks his humble origins and lives an ultra-luxurious life will be scrutinised with deep suspicion and disbelief. A leader flaunting subaltern pretensions being accused of crony capitalism will be tested for sincerity. A leader who asks citizens not to fly abroad and himself embarks on unnecessary journeys will be seen with distrust. A leader who asks the poor to eat less oil and encourages them to splurge oil on burning lamps on his own birthday needs to be dispassionately probed. Myth-making As the BJP asked the citizens to celebrate Modi’s birthday on September 17 by lighting up diyas, Union home minister Amit Shah talked about his electoral victories, spotless personal integrity and India-First vision. Referring to his clean and corruption-free life, Shah said Modi was “like a lotus in the middle of a swamp, completely untouched by the water or the mud”.How much “water and mud” was required for the lotus to bloom is not hidden from anyone. The prime minister inducted tainted leaders from other parties whom he publicly condemned as corrupt. “Water and mud” were collected from every stinking pond to nourish the lotus. When mud was thrown directly at Modi, like in the case of the Rafale deal, the government left no stones unturned to block investigation. The “spotless” claim is thoroughly dubious because Modi carries the stain of 2002 Gujarat riots on his political persona. While ministers and many of his associates in Gujarat went to jail, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee felt compelled to nudge him to adhere to rajdharma.The “spotless” claim rests on hypocrisy, evasion and a stubborn refusal to enforce accountability. Opposition parties alleged scandals in land allotment to corporate houses, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and demonetisation but nothing was properly investigated. The Congress went so far as to accuse him of violating rules and norms to help Gautam Adani, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the allegations but the government didn’t yield. A leader with impeccable integrity would have faced investigation. Modi was also accused of selectively hounding opposition leaders while protecting BJP ministers accused of corruption. The charge of promoting officers and judges with doubtful credentials has become routine. Above all, no prime minister ever faced the accusation of manipulating electoral rolls and EVMs, probably the worst kind of corruption in a democracy.Rajiv Gandhi was accused of corruption in the Bofors deal. He ordered a CBI investigation and the court finally acquitted him. But Modi fought valiantly in the Supreme Court and parliament to prevent investigation into any case that could have cast a shadow over his career. Electoral bonds, introduced by his government, were declared illegal by the Supreme Court but no probe was ordered to look into the obvious quid-pro-quo instances. A minister whose name cropped up in the Epstein’s files and a minister whose son crushed farmers under his vehicle were protected by Modi. The first resignation came only in his third term after the youth erupted in protest against the rot in the education system.Is Modi a role model?Let’s give credit to Shah for not judging Modi on the yardstick of constitutional morality. Defending the hype around Modi’s 25-year accomplishment, Shah, however, said, “Some people who are cynical have asked – What is the need for this? Today, I want to tell them: Modi’s life is such that it is essential to introduce it to every child, every adolescent, and every youth in India so that in the coming days, hundreds of Narendra Modis emerge from it and elevate India to its rightful place.” So, as per Shah’s vision, India needs more Modis, not Buddha, Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar or Indira!Shah made a sensational claim: No one matches Modi’s simplicity. Modi’s simplicity was stamped on the nation’s psyche when he arrived in Delhi to take oath as the prime minister in Adani’s plane. Let’s not recall the ugly controversy about the suit, auctioned for Rs 4.3 crore, in which the name Narendra Damodardas Modi was woven into the fabric with golden thread. Modi’s sartorial elitism has always been the talk of the town. He uses the costliest pen, glasses and shawls. The fleet of cars and airplanes were upgraded after his arrival in the prime minister’s office. The Central Vista he imagined was described by the opposition as his vanity project. Modi’s multi-camera photoshoots, with no minister or colleague allowed to sneak in, advertise his simplicity and humility every now and then.That Modi has completed 25 years in the high offices of chief minister and prime minister is not open to dispute. That’s commendable indeed. But the eminence that the BJP seeks to bestow upon him depends on the answers to some critical questions like: Has Modi tried to uphold constitutional principles of justice, liberty, equality & fraternity? Was his administration committed to enforce the rule of law without biases and prejudices? Did he pursue pro-poor policies instead of helping select tycoons? Did he strengthen the legal framework designed to enforce transparency and accountability? Did he frame foreign policy strictly on enlightened national interest without getting swayed by extraneous factors? Did he try to do ethical and conscientious politics instead of consolidating his own position by hook or crook? Answers to these questions will decide his place in history. The number of years he spent in office is of little worth for the nation and her people.Sanjay K. Jha is a political commentator.