By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Ahmedabad: Is Chief Minister Narendra Modi the architect of the modern day Gujarat with its gross domestic product touching a figure of 11 per cent as per report of the Planning Commission and is aiming to achieve a GDP figure of 14 per cent in the next few years?
It is not true because development is not a process to be achieved within a period of five or 10 years of rule of an individual but what is true is that Gujarat chief minister is desperately trying to project himself as a ‘man of development’ by organizing biennial ‘vibrant Gujarat’ summits since 2003. The official website of the Gujarat government says that when Modi became chief minister in 2001, growth in various sectors was “stagnant and infrastructure was in shambles but Modi’s efforts put the state back on the road to progress and prosperity.”
Modi taking credit for decades-old projects
But this is factually not correct because all the big projects in the state including Indian Oil Corporation’s Gujarat Refinery at Vadodara, biggest refinery in the public sector, Gujarat State Fertiliser Company, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertiliser Company and Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited that worked as foundation for industrial revolution in the state and made it country’s biggest chemical and petro-chemical hub were conceived and set up decades ago when Modi was nowhere on the political scene of this western Indian state. While Gujarat Refinery’s foundation stone was laid by India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, GSFC with an annual turnover of Rs. 3000 crore was set up in 1983 and GNFC with an annual turnover of Rs. 2000 crore came into existence in 1986. Even the Narmada dam, Gujarat’s lifeline that transformed the face of agriculture ever since its water started reaching agriculturists farm three years ago, was conceived within 10 years after India got independence and its foundation was also laid by Pt Nehru.
When the World Bank put harsh conditions for advancing loan for the project in 1993, the then Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel publicly declared not to take WB loan and floated Narmada ‘Deep Discount Bonds’ to finance the project. He succeeded in it. However, it is only a coincidence that the dam got completed during Modi’s rule and he is now taking credit for it. It was again Chimanbhai Patel who had cleared the proposals for Jamnagar-based Reliance Refinery, one of the biggest refineries in the world. Even world class Expressway linking Ahmedabad and Vadodara was conceived and its implementation began during BJP’s Keshubhai Patel regime.
Enterprising spirit of Gujaratis, not Modi, changed Gujarat
Gujarat also became the hub of world’s diamond cutting and polishing industry in 1970s when Modi was not known to the world. According to industry sources, 80-90 per cent of world’s diamond is polished in Gujarat, employing an estimated 8 lakh workers directly, with an annual export turnover reported to be Rs. 55,000 crores. Gujarat also got the title of the ‘Manchester of the East’ for its textile industry before Modi or his party came to power in the state.
So, it is enterprising spirit of Gujaratis which is responsible for the development of the state and not Modi or any political leader. Gujarat would have been what it is today with or without Modi. Even before Modi or BJP came to the political scene in the state, Gujarat was having the largest number of cooperative banks, 352 in all, exhibiting the saving habits of Gujaratis and accumulating capital so vital for industrial growth.
Economic boom, strategic location helped Gujarat
Gujarat moved on the path to industrial development when there was no economic liberalization and country faced extreme cash crunch. However, when Modi took over the political power in the state, it coincided with the era of economic boom in the country and Gujarat with its strong industrial foundation built in previous decades as also its strategic location like being a coastal state and located on Mumbai-Delhi route, got maximum advantage of it. For instance, 40 per cent of Delhi Mumbai Integrated Corridor (DMIC) being developed exclusively by the central government at its own expenditure falls within Gujarat. So, Gujarat would have been what it is today even if Modi was not there. The credit for Gujarat’s industrial development must go to enterprising Gujaratis, not to any particular leader, no matter what is his political ideology.
Cooperative banks collapsing since Modi became CM in 2001
However, cooperative banks that played a key role in state’s industrial and economic growth, began collapsing since 2001 when Modi took over the reign of the state, owing to huge scams involving political leaders, mostly belonging to BJP. A total of 62 cooperative banks went bust in the last five years, with state’s investors losing over Rs. 2000 crores and only 264 bank remaining operational now. Another success story of cooperative movement in the state was the ‘White Revolution’ making country self-dependent in milk requirements but the architect of this revolution Dr. Verghese Kurien had to face ignominious exit from Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) only under Modi’s rule.
False claim of 63.5% implementation of MoUs
An RTI data has blasted Modi’s claims of 63.5 per cent implementation of memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed during 2003, 2005 and 2007 vibrant Gujarat summits. The data furnished by his officials say that only 25.25 per cent of MoUs signed during these summits were implemented. And figures available from union commerce ministry say that only 16 to 17 per cent of MoUs signed in Gujarat were implemented.
Tribal Gujarat still backward, less spending on social sector
Despite all claims of development, there are huge imbalances in various regions of the state as far as development is concerned. While western Gujarat and parts of Central and southern Gujarat have prospered with most of industries, big and small, located in these regions, eastern tribal belt spread over 14 districts accounting for state’s 16 per cent population, are comparable with the most backward regions of the country. More than 500 farmers have committed suicide in the last five years due to agrarian crisis. According to Reserve Bank of India, Gujarat ranked 17 among the 18 largest states in India about spending on social sector which was just 31.6 per cent of the budgetary expenditure in Gujarat, much less than other states. The Muslim pockets in the state have become virtually reduced to slums with no amenities, infrastructure facilities, hospitals and schools being set up there. Gujarat is also among the most indebted states of the country.
However, the firebrand Hindutva leader in Modi, who won two assembly elections in December 2002 and December 2007, riding on a wave of communal tension sweeping across the state following 2002 post-Godhra communal riots and kept alive by Modi and his supporters during the last six years, is going whole hog to project himself as a development man with a view to improving his image of 2002. Modi, in fact, launched a campaign to improve his image after the United States declined to issue him a visit visa in 2005 and subsequently, the European Union declared him a persona non grata on account of human right violations under his rule in Gujarat.
Political purpose of ‘Gujarat shining’ campaign
According to political analysts, as Modi is aspiring to play a role in the saffron party at the national level by becoming prime minister owing to his popularity in the saffron party, he knows well that his image of a Hindu hardliner will not be useful in fulfilling his ambitions. It was perhaps for this reason that his mentor and senior party leader L K Advani visited Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s tomb during his tour of Pakistan to show himself to the world as a secular leader and made a statement about Pakistan’s founder which was just opposite the Sangh Parivar’s view of Jinnah. In fact, it was the rigid hardliner image of Advani that prevented him becoming the prime minister because of opposition of BJP allies and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was anointed as prime minister though Advani had emerged the most popular leader for his leading role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992.
So, Modi is well aware that he may not get the support of his party’s political allies with his image as a hardliner unable to take all the religious and cultural groups with him. Even if he manages to win the support of his allies, today’s world has become a global village and he may face resistance from world powers who have been interfering everywhere including India. So, the challenge before Modi is to shed his anti-minority image and project himself as a man of development if he wants to play a role at the national level and become acceptable to people of all hues and colour. Modi’s latest attitudinal changes, therefore, needs to be seen from this perspective.
So, Modi welcoming Ratan Tata to shift his Nano car project from Singur to Sanand, just 40 kms from Ahmedabad, is no surprise even though the state government had to give concessions to Tatas better than offered by the West Bengal. While Tata’s small car project is just worth Rs. 2200 crore, the state government, according to media reports, has agreed to give a loan of Rs. 32000 crores at 0.1 per cent of interest with repayment to begin after a period of 20 years. Master strategist and adept in the art of propaganda, Modi received wide publicity for it all over the country.
But whatever Modi may do to improve his image, he will always be remembered for his crimes of mass killing of Muslims in 2002 like Adolf Hitler who is remembered for Holocaust, killing of Jews in gas chambers, and not for his ‘administrative acumen’ for which he got praise from German industrialists in 1930s.