Modi-Legend or Ghost
Posted : January 19, 2009 at 7:44 pm [IST]
Narendra Modi has a penchant for getting a big publicity. Many hate him for post Godhra carnage. English media, Congress and almost all other political parties keep on vomitting venom against him. US and developed countries of West have refused to provide visa to Mode. Even many allies of BJP try to keep him at a distance. Many in the BJP too are either envy or afraid of him.
I was associated with Vadodara during my Hindustan Motors’ years and have also travelled to many places thereafter in Gujarat. Interestingly, Hindustan Motors had started at Port Okha and then later on shifted to Hind Motor near Uttarpara, because of special Dr. BC Roy, the then chief minister of West Bengal. The business world saw a reversal of the role too last year. Mamta Banerji forced Tata Motors to shift its plant out of West Bengal last year even after all the support and incentives from its present chief minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya. It was Modi who gave Tata Motors everything it wanted to locate its ‘Nano’ manufacturing plant in Sananda. Rajkot, Bavnagar, Surat, and other cities have developed as manufacturing clusters.
Modi has become the best friends of industrialists. Gujarat is getting industrialized faster than almost all the states of the country. And as it is believed, it is because of Modi. The last three Vibrant Gujarat investment summits generated combined project proposals worth over Rs 8 lakh crore. Around 60 percent of the projects are already under implementation. Employment potentials in these projects run in 2.5 million people. The recent summit saw the investment pledges of $250 billion in these hard times of global slowdown.
And why is it happening? Ratan Tata described during the recent summit how he was able to get all the approvals for the Nano project in just three days. “A fast clearance would generally mean three to six months but what we experienced in Gujarat was simply unimaginable.” Why can’t other states emulate Modi’s model? Unfortunately, Indian politicians are hardly large-hearted in learning from the opposition. One MP of Kerala got suspended from the party for a year for praising Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s development initiatives.
Modi has been one who can take unpopular decision too if it comes on the way of his development and face anyone even his Hindu bosses. Modi ordered the demolition of 250 illegal temples in Gandhinagar. Modi can criticize farmers for stealing electricity. He could brush aside the objections of Vidya Bharati, a Sangh Parivar outfit, to teaching English in schools to be globally competitive.
I still remember the ITI student on Rajkot railway station who was trying to improve his English through special coaching. Modi is fighting the great battle to take Gujarat ahead. I am amazed and delighted that Modi wishes beat China’s growth rate in Gujarat. He can do that. India can do that. Unfortunately, the unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats are making it not happen.
Why can’t Modi use his industrialist-friends to make Gujarat a state with 100% children going to schools and getting the quality education? Why can’t Modi make them go to the rural Gujarat to provide employment? Why can’t Modi get a knowledge kiosk in every village of Gujarat? Modi is fortunate that he has a huge number of rich Diasporas to help him.
I wish all the other states particularly UP, Bihar, and other eastern states take some lesson from the good work of Modi.
- Indra
Category: Government Policy/Administration |
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