Hum Bolega To Bologe Ki Bolta Hai, is that what Narendra Modi thinks!

As a prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh often came under attack for either not speaking or speaking too less even when there were issues aplenty to address. However, he silenced the opposition by his famous address in Parliament about three years ago when he invoked an Urdu couplet to hit back at his critics.

"Hazaron jawabon se achchi hai khamoshi meri, na jaane kitne sawalon ki aabru rakhi (My silence is better than a thousand answers, it keeps intact the honour of innumerable questions)," Singh said in August 2012 in his statement during the discussion on coal block allocation scam.

PM Narendra Modi

The incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a leader who is known for speaking, and speaking a lot. He would often criticise Manmohan Singh for not speaking whenever it was required.

But that was when he happened to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat as he aspired to rule the nation. He still speaks, but not when the opposition parties attack him over any issue. He takes time and reacts only when either the matter snowballs into a major controversy or, many a times, just dies down.

The ruling BJP is under attack once again. This time, over favouring former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi, who has been facing an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe, procure documents from the UK to travel to Portugal.

The opposition first attacked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who even admitted to helping the other Modi by speaking to British Labour MP Keith Vaz. As the matter persisted, the opposition stepped up the attack and even dragged the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) into the controversy. Now many parties have been seeking the prime minister’s reply on the issue.

But Modi, who has of late restrained himself from frequent public speaking, probably after knowing the sanctity of the post he holds, has been silent.

I wonder what Mr Prime Minister must be thinking while he is attacked by the opposition parties. Probably Kishore Kumar’s famous song from 1974 Hindi hit “Kasauti” -- Hum Bolega To Bologe Ki Bolta Hai (If I speak up, you will say I speak too much), picturised on megastar Amitabh Bachchan -- would aptly describe the situation of the prime minister.

Who is a better diplomat, Sushma Swaraj or Narendra Modi?

She was once seen as a future prime minister as she impressed not just her own party leaders, or the people of India who would often see her on their TV screens strongly pitching against the then UPA government whenever there was a need, but even by the Congress-led alliance for being articulate and keeping the point of view of the majority of India.

The BJP largely banked on its two leaders – Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley – as they efficiently played the roles of Leader of Opposition in both the Houses of parliament. There were occasions when Swaraj actually proved herself a stronger leader than the most of her party colleagues, including Jaitley.

But the surge of Narendra Modi literally wiped the BJP top order, and Swaraj was no exception. The then chief minister of Gujarat suddenly shrouded the mass appeals of veterans like Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh and also Swaraj to a great extent.

Nevertheless, Swaraj did find a place in the NDA government's cabinet. Though the ministry of external affairs was not considered such an important portfolio when compared to the likes of ministry of home affairs and ministry of finance, the MEA did face some big challenges given the state of affairs involving India's bully neighbours and the friendly countries turning neutral.

However, it was not really the external affairs which kept Swaraj on her toes all the time, the bigger challenge was posed by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. From the day one, Modi kept on challenging Swaraj by taking diplomacy in his own hands as he invited all the heads of SAARC nations to attend the swearing-in ceremony of his council of ministers.

A year down the line, Swaraj is being admired as a minister more than any of her colleagues. Away from the media, she always preferred to work silently. Apart from addressing media on some rare occasions, like the hostage crisis in Iraq and Syria, she preferred to stay away from the limelight.

Swaraj hogged the limelight on Sunday as she addressed a mega press conference marking the completion of the NDA government's one year in office. As usual, Pakistan stole the show yet again as the minister ruled out cricket diplomacy with the country or talks with it until the masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi who was released from a jail recently, were acted against.

The minister did not restrict her address to her ministry. In fact she started elaborating Modi government's key achievements in the first year in office. She then answered the queries of journalists, without any hesitation or gaffe, unlike her ministerial colleague Rajnath Singh who had recently committed a faux pas at his press conference in the national capital. Singh had said that India had entered into an agreement with France to make nuclear weapons as part of Modi's pet "Make in India" campaign.

Apparently, her political strategy makes Swaraj different from the rest in the cabinet as she never moaned about her portfolio or even more than obvious interference by none other than Modi. Modi, who is often credited with India's bold outlook towards the West or even criticised for staying away from India for too long rather than visiting the Indian poor, always shadowed Swaraj as the external affairs minister and she let that happen.

There is no real failure on the part of her ministry. It has been rather appreciated for its efforts, including the major rescue operation in Syria wherein citizens of many other countries were also taken out of the war-torn nation along with the thousands of stranded Indians.

Call it her political strategy or her diplomatic prowess, Sushma Swaraj has time and again proved why she is the most efficient minister in the Modi government.