Narendra Modi on top : BJP sweeps minicipal polls!

Narendra Modi on top : BJP sweeps minicipal polls! Narendra Modi and the BJP leaders are on cloud nine today. The BJP today swept all the municipal polls in Gujarat! Even as the election commission announced that the BJP won all the six municipal corporations that went to polls, the BJP cadre swung into a celebratory mode and distributed sweets to people in Ahmedabad. The BJP won the Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar municipal corporations. Incidentally except for Jamnagar, the BJP won with two-thirds majority in the remaining corporations.

Rural development has kept pace with urban growth: Narendra Modi

Apart from talking extensively to BT on why Gujarat is a hot destination, Chief Minister Narendra Modi marshaled the numbers and facts in a set of written answers to questions emailed to him. Edited excerpts:

What do you think differentiates Gujarat from other Indian states when it comes to the state's economy and doing business there?
Gujarat represents uniformity of development as well as unanimity on the issues of development. Gujarat is a state where infrastructure development has kept pace with economic growth, where rural development has kept pace with urban growth, where satisfaction of workers has kept pace with industrial growNot only have the multinationals and big companies done well, but a large number of medium, small, rural and domestic ventures have also prospered. Not only has industry and agriculture grown fast; but education and health services have also expanded equally fast. We are known not only for exporting quality industrial products, but for our agri- and horticulture produce. Even in those fields where India as a country has not been able to do well, Gujarat is doing well and producing a model for others.

Every state dreams of infrastructure that compares with the developed world but Gujarat is perhaps the only state that delivered. How and what are the best practices that helps your administration deliver this?
Yes, we have been very keen and committed on developing infrastructure. I personally believe that infrastructure is the enabler of development. There are a few elements that have helped us:

• We have vision documents for 20 to 30 years. We plan infrastructure in an integrated manner.
• On the one hand we are planning for big and robust infrastructure and on the other hand we see to it that even the remotest part of the State is benefited by that.
• We are aiming to build the best of infrastructure from a global perspective. For example, Ahmedabad's Bus Rapid Transport System has not only been a successful story but has been acclaimed worldwide. The new ports that we are planning to build, the SIRs that we are planning ... all are globally benchmarked.
• Gujarat is not only the pioneer in public private partnership but the state is recognised as the 'Most Admired PPP Enabler'.

The Gujarat model of attracting industries is infrastructure-led, not incentive-led. Don't you think of losing out when other states are also catching up on infrastructure?
Gujarat's infrastructure has reached to the second stage of development. We have to worry only about the best quality and global benchmarking instead of spread of infrastructure. We are now working on more futuristic social and physical infrastructure.

Narendra Modi In ‘Danger Zone’ Due to His Minister Amit Shah Involved in Sohrabbudin’

Narendra Modi In ‘Danger Zone’ Due to His Minister Amit Shah Involved in Sohrabbudin’

There were proofs found against Amit Shah as he had kept a secret name to give result to all his planning along with the Gujarat chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The government took secret steps when Narendra Modi forwarded the clean report of Amit Shah though one could easily analyze his involvement in the case.

CBI carried a secret investigation on the instructions of the government.

Narendra Modi who was the leader of this fake encounter was not aware of anything such and thought then everything was normal and no one would ever come to know about anything.

The day has come when he has surrendered himself before CBI on Jul 25 and has been sent for sent for 14-day judicial custody.

All this drama took place when he walked into the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) office in Ahmedabad at 11.35 a.m. and angrily denied the charges that he was involved in the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.

The magistrate has sent Shah to judicial custody for 14 days and didn’t hand him over to the CBI.

He would be in Sabarmati Jail for the night & will be asked about his role in the conspiracy to abduct and kill Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi.

Let’s see what happens next as these proceedings has increased the danger on Narendra Modi. One never know what is hidden in his destiny, as our bad acts always bring bad for us nothing in good.

Narendra modi: Chief Minister of Gujrat

Narendra modi: Chief Minister of Gujrat

Narendra Modi is the chief minister of Gujrat. He is among the most controversial chief minister and politician of India. He belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party in Indian parliament.

Narendra Modi has taken Gujrat in to an enviable height despite all controversies he has been continually elected as chief minister of Gujrat. he is among the most successful chief ministers in India.

Large numbers of people see Narendra Modi as future Prime Minister of India. He has started his career as "Pracharak" of RSS and was send in to politics by his organization RSS. He then joined BJP, the political wing of RSS.

His role in Gujrat riots remains controversial. Indian national Congress, which could not do well in Gujrat assembly elections since last few elections always accuse him for communal riots. Several other so called secular parties in India such as CPI (M), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) also blame him for Hindu Muslim riots in Gujrat. America, the US had denied for diplomatic visa to Narendra Modi.

However, Narendra Modi never cared for all these allegations and continued to work for Gujrat and elected several times as Chief Minister of Gujrat. He is among the most popular chief ministers in India. Indian industrial conglomerates such as Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata are great fan of Narendra Modi as he has created the best atmosphere and provided excellent infrastructure for industrial development in Gujrat. Recently he has appointed Amitabh Bachchan, superstar of Indian film industries as brand ambassador of Gujrat.

Biography of Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi a powerful orator and an original thinker won a third term as Chief Minister of Gujarat. Action speaks louder than words this adage is apt in context of Mr. Modi.

Narendra Modi a powerful orator and an original thinker won a third term as Chief Minister of Gujarat. Action speaks louder than words this adage is apt in context of Mr. Modi. He has proved himself as an outstanding administrator who turned Gujarat into an economic powerhouse. Even after being subjected to a malicious and prolonged campaign of vilification, he has been able to impress even his worst critics with his determination, single-minded focus, integrity and a wide array of achievements in a relatively short time. The thumping victory for the BJP in Gujarat says it all.

Born on September 17, 1950 in the northern Mehsana district of Gujarat, Mr. Modi completed his schooling in Vadnagar and obtained his masters degree in Political Science from Gujarat University. Since his early years, he has been interested in social services and has served the victims of major disasters in various parts of the country. Narendra Modi's abilities and leadership qualities were seen during the early days of his student life when he became the leader of Akhil Bhratiya Vidhyarthi Parisad. he entered politics in 1987 by joining the Bharatiy Janata Party. He took over as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on Octover 7, 2001 after carving a niche for himself in the national politics as a master strategist. His administrative acumen, clear vision and integrity helped him register a landslide victory in the Assembly elections held in Gujarat in December 2002 following which he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the State for the second term on December 22, 2002.

Narendra Modi down with swine flu

Narendra Modi down with swine flu

AHMEDABAD: Narendra Modi, chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, has contracted swine flu, his office said in a statement on Friday. Modi tested positive for the H1N1 virus days after his return from a business trip to Russia. “[Quarantine] facilities and medical treatment (have) been arranged at the official residence of the chief minister,” the statement said, adding that Modi was responding to the treatment. Swine flu has claimed more than 450 lives in India since the first death was reported on August 3. Modi, a key member of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, has been tipped as the party’s potential prime ministerial candidate, although his record is tainted by his involvement in the deadly anti-Muslim riots that swept Gujarat in 2002. The disclosure of Modi’s disease has sent a wave of panic among industrialists who accompanied him to the trip to Russia, APP reported. A minister complained that Modi should not have attended the meeting if a swine flu infection was suspected.

Tehelka Screws Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in New Sting

In a six-month-long sting operation, investigative magazine Tehelka.com has royally screwed Gujarat Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi over the 2002 communal riots that led to a wholesale massacre of Muslims in the state.

According to the Tehelka story, Modi blessed the violence that led to mass killing of the Muslims in Gujarat after the Godhra train burning incident in which some Hindus lost their lives.

The sting included interviews with Hindu activists using hidden cameras.

According to the Tehelka transcripts, the Hindu activists boast on tape of having engaged in violence against Muslims with connivance of the police and the state administration.

In the bold expose, Tehelka blames the Gujarat administration headed by Modi as well as the state police for the massacre of many Muslims.

In the introduction to the elaborate sting account of the lage-scale violence against Muslims, Tehelka Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal writes:

Of the many things that are uniquely appalling about Gujarat 2002, three are particularly disturbing. The first that the genocidal killings took place in the heart of urban India in an era of saturation media coverage — television, print, web — and not under the cloak of secrecy in an unreachable place. The second that the men who presided over the carnage were soon after elected to power not despite their crimes but seemingly precisely because of them (making a mockery of the idea of the inevitable morality of the collective). And finally — as TEHELKA’s investigation shows — the fact that there continues to be no trace of remorse, no sign of penitence for the blood-on-the-hands that — if Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky are to be believed — is supposed to haunt men to their very graves.

Responding to the Tehelka sting, the BJP blames it on its rival Congress party and charges Tehelka with acting as the CIA, an abbreviation for Congress Investigating Agency.

For its part, the Congress party lost no time in blasting Modi. Congress party spokeswoman Jayanti Natarajan said:

If the constitution of India is to be upheld, if we still call ourselves as a civilised society, if the right to life has any meaning at all, if human rights are to be upheld, Narendra Modi should immediately step down from public office.

Over the last few years, Tehelka has established a fearless reputation for doing investigative stories targeted at the political establishment using hidden cameras.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the Modi of West Bengal

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the Modi of West Bengal

The scale may be smaller in the case of Nandigram. But the basic fact is the same. There was violence by a large group against a much smaller group. There were deaths, more on the side of the smaller group. There was looting, there was rape. No one knows the details; Buddhadeb, or his party and government, made sure the media did not manage to enter the war zone. So there were no devastating TV visuals that would convery the horror of what was going on.

But essentially, the West Bengal government did what the BJP government did in Gujarat. Closed its eyes, thus giving a free run to the goons. Moral support too, by its statements at the time. And delayed deployment of central forces so its cadre could ‘recapture’ Nandigram.

I am sorry that I end up calling Buddha a Modi. Buddhadeb has generally been good for the state, good for bringing in a good dose of realism into the party, a good dose of capitalism too. But you are judged by your worst performance. So live with it. It was the same in the case of Modi too. Modi has been good for the economy of Gujarat pre-riots, he was good for it post-riots. But he will always be judged by his one big error. Same for you, Buddha, no mercy for you here.

Oh, and I came across this post rightly attacking Buddhadeb, but also playing apologist to Modi.

If the BJP’s Narendra Modi who responds to riots within 48hours is called a “Modern Day Nero”. what title will the sanctimonious conscience keepers confer on this Chief Minister of Bengal who has slept over the complete breakdown of government and constitution in Nandigram ?

// Got it wrong, pal. The line should have been: If Narendra Modi who did not respond to riots for 48 hours…! Buddhadeb’s screw-up does not absolve Modi’s screw-up, you guys are as sad as commies. //

It is easy for the leaders to sit back while their followers unleash violence, and talk only in terms of general ideas and motives, while the dirty work is being done on their behalf. It is important for them to keep that mental distance with what really goes on at the grassroot level, while, they spout philosophies and principles. But those very principles are translated into blood and gore and systematic looting and violence as we just saw in Bengal, before in Gujarat, even before in Delhi…

Buddhadeb, you would like think that this was inevitable, when worker power meets anti-state elements, this is exactly what would happen and all that blah. The same way a Modi would tell himself that the anger of a hurt community was pushed beyond a point and it lashed out, and it was inevitable. Like an Advani would tell himself that the Rath Yatra was critical for the self-respect of the nation, and some unfortunate incidents happened in its wake. Like a Rajiv Gandhi thought that the ground shook when a big tree falls.

Fact is, all of you are liars. And all of you are responsible for blood on the streets, violence, rape and mayhem. No court may ever punish you, but there are some saving graces.

Like never being able to wash the stigma away. The curse of spending the rest of your political life wringing and wiping your hands. The curse of being the Lady MacBeths of politics. Hopefully your worst judge will, one day, be your own mind.

Narendra Modi’s Gujarat is not developing, Maulana Vastanwi

With due acknowledgement of Ghulam Mohammad Vastanwi’s contribution in the field of education in Gujarat and Maharashtra, one needs to remind him, that no country in the 20th century developed as fast in the six years period, between 1933 and 1939, as Adolf Hitler’s Germany. And in the next six years––between 1939 and 1945––all what he did was destroyed because of the senseless war in the world, for which he too was largely responsible. About five crore people perished and his country, and many others, were thrown back to the Stone Age.

So, before opening one’s mouth on development, one needs to understand, what development actually means––who are the beneficiaries and who the victims. One should also be cautious of the pitfalls of development and be aware of the policies which may, in the long-run prove counter-productive.

Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanwi at a Madarsa in Bihar last year [Photo by Jamiatulqasim.com]

Not only that: in the 21st century world, one just does not need to understand the definition of development from an MBA––Vastanwi has that degree––when renowned scholars and Nobel Prize winners are coming out with entirely different meaning of the term. By their yardstick, Wastanvi’s Gujarat may be ranked among the least developed states. Why go so far. According to India State Hunger Index 2008, Gujarat is shockingly ranked worse than Orissa. Gujarat is ranked 13th in the 17 big states which were calculated. Vastanwi’s Gujarat, is only above Jharkhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, which are globally equal to the hunger situation in Ethiopia.

Hold your breath and listen: in this post-industrialized, computerized and mechanized world, a region, state or a country with less number of industries is categorized as developed. The service sector expands very fast there; the people rely on organic farming and want to live in pollution free environment in the rural suburb. Instead they are trying to shift all the iron ore, aluminum, asbestos, chemical, ship-breaking plants etc as well as other poison emitting factories to elsewhere in the world, especially in Asia and Africa, where labor is cheap and rulers have no regard for environment. Our leaders grab such industries with both hands to boast before the people that look we have brought so much Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).

Vastanwi’s Gujarat and Maharashtra are among the few states which are the ‘beneficiaries’ of these so-called investments. When new concept about development is coming up, we are still categorizing those states as developed ones, which have maximum number of poison-gushing chimneys. We are not at all ashamed to say that almost all of those 16,000-odd farmers, who are officially committing suicide in our country every year (since 1997 when the compilation of data started), come from these very industrialized states––Maharashtra topping the list. In contrast Jammu and Kashmir has almost negligible farmers’ suicide rate.

These states have industries because here semi-arid land is available and can be easily acquired from the farmers. In contrast farmers of West Bengal, Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh, where the land is extremely fertile would lay down their lives for every inch, whatever be the compensation. Because of this reason and not because of Narendra Modi, Nano got land easily in Gujarat while West Bengal failed in spite of so much bloodshed.

In contrast, the governments of these industrialized states have done little for the survival of their agriculture sector; therefore, the farmers are either committing suicide or famishing.

To know, how the concept of per capita income, growth rate etc are becoming less relevant in measuring the overall development of any place, one does not need to read big philosophical books of great scholars written on development. Just go through the CBSE Class-X book of Economics. Why Kerala is rated high on developmental index than Punjab, though the latter is agriculturally, even industrially and per capita income wise, ahead of former? This is simply because the definition of development by the United Nations Development Programme is more acceptable now than the old one of the World Bank.

Vastanwi must understand that his talent lies in running institutions and for this very purpose he was appointed as the Rector of Darul Uloom, Deoband.

But being a public figure he will have to understand that politics is a different ball game, for which he, and honestly speaking, many of our Muslim clerics are perhaps not suited. He must understand some basic facts about his own state and should not go about equating it with others abruptly. Being a state with largest coast, Gujarat as well as Maharashtra attracted largest number of big European companies in late 19th and early 20th centuries. Larsen and Toubro, Unilever, WIMCO, Britannia, Siemens and many others landed up on their ports and so was the first railway line, laid between Thane and Bombay.

The entrepreneur culture in Gujarat developed in 19th century itself and man like Abdullah took Gandhiji to South Africa. So far entrepreneur culture is concerned; Gujarat can never be compared with other hinterland states of India.

So, even according to his own definition, whatever development had taken place in Gujarat, is not any thing new. In fact, under Narendra Modi the growth rate––if this is again used as the lone yardstick of development––is less than in early 1990s, when there was no Modi around.

Two decades back, the growth rate of Gujarat was something between 12 and 13 per cent. The national average was six to seven per cent then. Today, Gujarat has the growth rate of 11 per cent when India’s rate of growth is 10 per cent. This is not the figment of anyone’s imagination but the official fact.

Vastanwi will have to understand that the saffron brigade is master in changing goal-post. Since Modi is responsible for what has happened in Gujarat in 2002, he is now being painted as the man of development. The media machinery of the BJP works overtime to project their chief ministers as the developmental-minded ones, even if men like B S yeddyurappa is out to ruin Karnataka, which owes its development to the non-BJP rulers.

Instead of falling into the trap of the corporate media and the Hindutva brigade, who are now projecting him as a hero and an open-minded Maulana, Vastanwi must concentrate in the field he has been involved.

Lastly, he must understand that many criminals-turn-MPs (or MLAs) are ‘much better’ people’s representatives than honest and upright ones. They carry out more development works in their constituencies and are more responsive to the voters’ problems. Then by that logic, their achievements should be highlighted and they should be exonerated of all the crimes and dubbed as development-minded politicians.

Narendra Modi

I have piled on Sagarika Ghose earlier, but I must give credit when she is right. I think that she is essentially right here. I had written earlier that Very few politicians have tried to break out of this cycle, and I believe that the person with the greatest chance of succeeding is Modi. The [...]

Contempt plea against Modi in Supreme Court

A contempt of court petition was filed against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Friday for his reported comments on the Supreme Court order of a probe into his role during the communal violence of 2002.

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, acting as amicus curiae in cases relating to the Gujarat violence before the Supreme Court, filed the plea seeking contempt of court proceeding against the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) leader.

The Supreme Court Monday ordered a probe into the role of Modi as well as his cabinet colleagues and senior officials during the communal violence. Modi, addressing an election rally in Gujarat the next day, had termed the ruling as the result of a “Congress conspiracy”.

Modi attacks UPA government over illegal Bangladeshi migrants

Raking up the issue of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Friday accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of not taking any concrete steps to check infiltration from across the border.

“The country is heading towards slavery, following the UPA’s dilly-dallying over illegal cross border migration from Bangladesh,” Modi said at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Kannauj district.

“Taking advantage of the government’s inefficiency, after Assam, now the Bangladeshis are moving freely towards other states of the country,” added Modi.

Accusing the UPA of vote bank politics, Modi said: “Congress and its allies like Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are just not bothered about security of the country. They only care for votes.”

Modi also attacked the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), accusing them of giving patronage to members of the banned outfit Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

“In this time of election we can punish those political outfits which for their own interest are encouraging anti-social elements,” said Modi.

Earlier, addressing an election rally in Farukhabad district, Modi criticised Congress party president Sonia Gandhi for “lagging behind” in terms of development in comparison to his state.

“What has been done in Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi has failed to achieve it alone in her constituency Rae Bareli as yet.”

Modi alleged that union minister Kapil Sibal had threatened to send him to jail if he did not stop talking against the Congress party.

“I want to make it clear that I am not afraid of going to jail.”

He blamed Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) boss Mayawati for “ruining” Uttar Pradesh.

“Look at the security and law and order in Gujarat today and compare with UP where kidnapping and loot are flourishing industries. The competition between Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party is for fielding maximum number of criminals and upping crime cases in the state,” Modi said amidst thunderous applause in Agra.

The Congress, he said had created new trouble spots for India in Bangladesh and Nepal with arms and fake currency factories having been set up there.

Modi said “there’s not a single tehsil in UP which doesn’t send out people to work and live in Gujarat. Ask them about how the state is being governed there.”

Though the state is not as rich in natural resources as Uttar Pradesh but the pace of development under BJP rule has been faster than during the Congress. “We have only the registan (desert) and Pakistan and yet we have done well,” Modi said.

From State CM to GCA chief for Modi

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi has been elected as the president of the Gujarat Cricket Association on Tuesday.

Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) authorities feel that Narendra Modi’s new role as the president of Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) will prove to be beneficial for cricket in the state.

“It is a very good development. The CM will now be closer to the issues of cricket in the state and will give impetus to cricketing activities. I congratulate him and wish him luck in his new endeavour,” said Chirayu Amin, BCCI vice-president and BCA president.

BCA vice-president Samarjitsinh Gaekwad too said Modi’s presence in GCA would help all the state associations in promoting, encouraging and developing the game further. “It will help the associations in making inroads in district areas and get better infrastructural facilities,” Gaekwad added.

BJP modi seems to be following the footsteps of Sharad Pawar and Arun Jaitley.

Gujarat riots back in focus after apex court order against Modi

The ghost of the 2002 Gujarat riots came to haunt the BJP midway through Elections 2009 with the Supreme Court Monday ordering a probe in to the role of state Chief Minster Narendra Modi along with 50 other politicians and government officials.

The news gave fresh ammunition to the Congress which was quick to demand Modi’s resignation, especially in the poll season which has witnessed continued slugfest between the two parties.

“It is a slap on the face of a constitutional functionary, we are not at all surprised. Modi will not be apologetic, he will not resign and nor will he start feeling that anything went wrong in his state,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

Privately leaders were taken aback by the apex court’s strong order, but they tried to put up a brave face. “This has become a tradition that a Gujarat related issue is raised before the elections,” Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Arun Jaitley said, a day after he plumped for Modi as the future prime minister.

A grim-faced Modi, however, refused to reply to persistent questions by a TV reporter on whether he had anything to say or would apologise. He tersely said that he has spoken on the issue before.

A bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and Asok Kumar Ganguly directed the Special Investigation Team headed by former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director R.K. Raghavan to particularly look into allegations that Modi was involved in the killing of Congress MP Ehsan Jafri in Ahmedabad’s Gulbarga Society arson case.

The SIT was asked to file its report within three months. The decision came on a plea filed by the wife of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed and social activist Teesta Setalvad.

Continuing his tirade against Modi, Congress’ Singhvi asserted: “He should have resigned, not now but seven years ago. But he will not resign. Modi’s greed for power exceeds far more than any morals.”

“It is true that Modi is getting exposed by his conduct”, he said and added that “ultimately this is the true face which needs to be exposed before the public, the true intent of the party which calls itself a responsible opposition.”

The Supreme Court had constituted a five-member SIT to re-investigate as many as nine riots cases of Gujarat, including the killings in Ahmedabad’s Gulbarga Society, in the wake of allegations that the Gujarat Government was functioning in a partisan manner.

Almost 64 people were killed there while more than 1,180 persons died in the Gujarat riots.

Amit Shah is innocent, says Narendra Modi

Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah is “completely innocent” and all allegations against him have been “fabricated”, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said here Saturday while accepting his resignation.

“Amit Shah is completely innocent. The allegations have been fabricated,” Modi said after arriving in the capital in the morning.

“Amit Shah has sent his resignation to my bungalow. I will complete the formalities after returning from here. I accept his resignation.”

Shah has been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged role in the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, accused of being a Lashkar-e-Taiba activist by the police, in a staged shootout in 2005.

“The Congress government in the centre is misusing the CBI to obstruct the development of Gujarat. It is a conspiracy to obstruct the development journey of Gujarat,” Modi said.

BJP snatches Congress bastion in Gujarat

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi got a perfect birthday gift Friday when his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Kathlal assembly seat, a Congress bastion, by over 21,000 votes.

This is the first time the BJP has won the seat, located in Kaira district. Kanubhai Dabhi of BJP bagged 62,120 votes against 40,573 votes of Ghelabhai Jhala (Congress).

Overjoyed BJP leaders termed it the best gift for Modi on his 60th birthday.

“This win is significant as it marks the defeat of the Congress-CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) conspiracy,” he said, in a reference to former home minister Amit Shah, arrested for his alleged involvement in the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.

“Election results would have been declared earlier but the Congress conspired with the Election Commission to get re-polling done in seven booths. But the people saw through the ploy and the BJP steamrolled the opposition in these booths,” he added.

District Congress president Ramsinh Parmar, however, attributed the ruling BJP’s victory to large-scale misuse of official machinery.

The polling in Kathlal was held Sep 13 with over 62 percent of people voting. The by-election followed the death of Congress legislator Gautam Zala, who represented the seat.

GUJARAT CASE

GUJARAT CASE



In the last two years many bomb blasts have occured in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Jaipur. None of the cases were solved. The only case that was solved is that of Gujarat. Why? Because Modi and his establishment took it up as a major endeavor and a challenge. They made sure no riots occured, and even if they would have, the order to the 11 or so investigation teams was to ignore it and keep working. He gave to the investigating teams complete authority and full support - they had money, resources, people and also a chartered plane to pursue whatever they wanted.
For almost 3 weeks the team members did not sleep. They worked round the clock to get to the bottom of the case.
-More than 11 teams were formed within the first few hours of the blasts. One team was asked to handle the investigations into the material used in the bombs. Another team was asked to investigate the use of bicycles. Another team was formed to thoroughly check all the phone calls made in Ahmedabad from certain areas just before and after the blasts. Another team was set up to reach out to all the police informers and gather their opinions on and information of the blasts. One team followed the cyber crime aspect of the case. The overall investigation of the case was assigned to the crime branch of Ahmedabad where more than 100 people started following whatever little leads that were available, from the midnight of July 26.
What has happened and what was uncovered is nothing short of amazing given those three weeks.
Yes, the administration failed the residents in not preventing the attacks, but thankfully this administration did not wallow and start finger-pointing in its aftermath. It went into action from get go. Also, and importantly, it prevented any reactions and went about their work professionally

It is no wonder that Modi has been recognized as No. 1 Chief Minister by the people, thrice in last five years in India Today- ORG MARG Survey, a unique recognition ever achieved by any C.M in the country.

The recent drama that evolved was when Anil Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Ratan Tata and other industrialists lauded Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the investors" summit in Gujarat, claiming his leadership as "national level material" and wishing that "person like him should be the next leader of the country".

The ever increasing list of his public supporters and admirers now include in addition to above 3 mentioned- Mukesh Ambani, Kumarmangalam Birla, Politicians from completely different ideology CPM Muslim MP from Kerala Mr. Abdullakutti and Trinamool Congress leader Ms. Mamta Banerjee

And the latest addition from Bollywood- PREITY ZINTA! who has said- "Till last year, I didn’t support Modi but today I support him with all my heart. He should be India’s Prime Minister. Look at how he has administered Gujarat. Every politician has something bad to his name but Modi is one politician who also has something good to his name. If we have five states like Gujarat, India will shine.”

ACHIEVEMENTS -

ACHIEVEMENTS -



Honestly speaking, the achievements are so many that if I list down all of them, you will get bored even just going through them. But still here are a few achievements:

- In the past few years, Gujarat has made excellent progress and received various awards for infrastructure building, water distribution, economic freedom, environmental protection, e-Governance, energy conservation, health accessibility, heritage protection, sanitation, software development. The agencies conferring these awards include International Bodies like The United Nations, World Bank, UNESCO, various ministries/agencies of Government of India etc.

-Gujarat ranks number 1 in The Economic Freedom Index as per the research conducted by none other than The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
-Gujarat has only 5% of India's population and 6% of Geographical area but its contribution to India in terms of "Value of Output"is 16.10%
-Gujarat is one of the most Industrialized states of India with 16.2 % share in India's Industrial production and percentage of man-days lost due to labor strife is 0.52% lowest in country
-Gujarat surpassed the target of 10.2 % set by Planning Commission for 10th Five year plan compared to the average of 8.2% for entire country, achieving growth rate of 15% in 1st year itself.
-Gujarat accounts for 54% of India's onshore crude oil production, 50% of India's natural gas production, 46% of India's installed refining capacity, 60% of India's total crude oil import facility
-Gujarat today has one of the best infrastructures in the country comprising of 11 airports, 1 international airport, extensive rail network and a robust road network of over 74,000 km. A total of 17, 763 out of 18,028 villages (98.53 %) are connected with pucca (concrete) roads, the best in the country.
-Gujarat coastline of over 1600 kms , longest in the country, is dotted with 41 ports, which handle over 25% of India's total cargo.
-On Education front, there have been 11 new Universities, 400 new colleges, 1.25 lakhs new teachers, 38,000 new school rooms and the Government has set a deadline of 2010 to ensure a 100% enrolment and 0% drop out rate at primary level.
-Gujarat is now an emerging Global Medical Tourism destination. WHO has appreciated Gujarat's school health program and the Chiranjeevi program bagged International recognition and was appreciated in UNICEF's report.
-Modi's mission of "Water for All" has been a revolution. There has been interlinking of 21 rivers of the state, state wide Water Grid.
- The Jyoti-Gram Yojana to provide 3-phase, 24-hour, uninterrupted power supply to all villages has enabled Gujarat to become the first state in India to achieve 100% electrification of villages.-When other chief ministers accumulate crores of personal wealth as birthday gifts, Modi deposits each and every gift/souvenir received by him in the Government treasury for the cause of "Girl Child Education" and has deposited Rs 287.37 lacs in a period of 5 years. Touched by this, people have directly started donating and have given more than Rs. 11 crores for this.-Gujarat has brought Broadband Connectivity to all village bodies so that "every household can avail the advantages of information technology".

QUOTES

QUOTES


On being asked whether it hurt him not getting a US visa, he responded' "I take this as an opportunity. I want my India to be so strong and prosperous that Americans will queue up to come to India. A day will come when Americans will yearn to come to Gujarat."

Perhaps the best compliment comes from Mr. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani- " If Gujarat was a separate country, it would stand in a different league among some of world's most flourishing and prosperous countries."

Modi remains untouched and unfazed by all the filth and accusations. "Do you think the Centre would have left me like this if they had any proof against me? I have a Goverment that is unfavourable at the Centre and their quietness says it all." He once shot back at an Interviewer.

"We have a vibrant media, an active judiciary and global human rights groups working in the country. If there was even the slightest evidence that I had committed a crime, I would have been hanged long since." he said to another.

Mr. Advani said, " I can think of no other example in Indian politics of a leader who, after being subjected to a malicious and prolonged campaign of vilification, has been able to impress even his critics with his determination, single-minded focus, integrity and a wide array of achievements in a relatively short time."

Asked once by the Sachar Committee about what steps his Government has taken for Muslims, Modi bluntly replied," I have done nothing...I have done nothing for the Hindus too...Through river linking, we brought the Narmada river to the Sabarmati. Now am I going to find out which community is drinking how much of this water? That is divisive politics."

NARENDRA MODI - THE PERSON

NARENDRA MODI - THE PERSON



His biggest challenge when he took over as the C.M was the reconstruction of the earthquake affected areas. Bhuj was a city of rubble with people living in temporary shelters without basic infrastructure. Earthquake recovery became his first priority. His dynamic vision and quick decisions have put Gujarat Reconstruction Program as one of the best on global map and set a benchmark for reconstruction and disaster recovery, not only in India, but also in entire Asia, for which he achieved global recognition.

He is perceived as an honest, capable man who has taken Gujarat to greater heights of prosperity since then. He was re-elected for the third time in 2007, after a hard fought battle of ballots where he single handedly fought not only the Congress lead opposition but also the biased and prejudiced media and his own disgruntled party members. With a reputation revolving around his incorruptible image and ascetic style of living, he is a workaholic, with a no-nonsense attitude who is unafraid to call a spade a spade. A person who cares less for political correctness and social connections whose vision is to make Gujarat at par with developed nations.

Certain facts

Certain facts

do stand out, even from accounts in the English media, not particularly known to be generous to Narendra Modi :

a) The Congress Union Minister of State for Home, ShriPrakash Jaiswal, in Parliament on 11 May 2005, said 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed - hardly consistent with a Muslim genocide. And the figures in Delhi massacres in 1984 were: Sikhs: 2733 killed in Delhi alone. as per Ahuja Committee, which submitted the report in August 1987

OTS-

OTS-



No discussion can happen on Mr. Modi without talking about the Gujarat riots of 2002 for which Modi has been the villian in everyone's eyes. Communal riots are not new to Gujarat or even India and this wasn't the largest in history either, with more extensive and prolonged violence with higher death tolls happened in 1969 and 1985 under the rule of Congress Government and even the cause of Gujarat riots is conveniently downplayed or misrepresented. It wasn't a few stones thrown at a procession or some petty quarrel but a terrible Godhra carnage where bogies of Sabarmati Express were set on fire!

MODI

MODI



As I have already said that I am not a political person so I don't understand it too much and I will not be taking the side of any political party. I just like a few individuals in this political scene and one of them is certainly Narendra Modi. He is one person about whom I felt it was absolutely necessary to write about to create awareness because I have seen that most of the people specially outside Gujarat have a certain negative image about him. It is because they have only one way of knowing about him and that is through media and from what I have seen, even a blind person can tell that the media is always against him, no matter what. I am not saying that he is the best or flawless person but because it has been onesided so far from media and overall, thus here I will focus on the other half and concentrate only on the positive side of him to balance or even things out. So please don't write to me accusing me of taking his side or some other arguments as I have already mentioned my purpose clearly. However I will do this with valid points and honest opinion.

Now I will not go into his past or his background but focus more on some important events and milestones in time.

A FEW INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT ELECTION 2009

A FEW INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT ELECTION 2009




-India will hold general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in 5 phases in April & May 2009, starting from 16 April upto 13 May. The results of the election will be announced in single phase on May 16, 2009.

-714 million people are eligible to vote in 2009, up 6.4% (43 million) from 2004.

-This time, there are many who are vying for the post of Prime Minister, as Bal Thackeray has said- "People should enjoy 'Grand show' for PM's post. The Prime Minister candidate for Congress being Dr. Manmohan Singh and for the BJP being Lal Krishna Advani and many others like Sharad Pawar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh, Mayawati etc are interested; though some are now denying it.

- The Congress party has bought the rights for the Oscar winning soundtrack 'Jai Ho' from the movie Slumdog Millionaire and this song will be used as the official campaign tune by the party. To counter this, the BJP coined the phrase Kushal Neta, Nirnayak Sarkaar which translates to 'Able leader, decisive government' specially using Advani as their main leader and trying to brand Manmohan Singh as a weak P.M.

I could not help but notice the use of internet as a medium for L.K.Advani. His blog page, the websites, the advertisements everywhere on the internet etc. This is a conscious effort and a Marketing strategy I feel to reach out to the youth and to project the image as someone moving with the times and to give a youthful feel which many feel is their answer to the challenge from the young Rahul Gandhi with even pictures of Advani lifting weights in a gym! No doubt that Advani seems to have taken a cue from Obama's highly successful campaign using technology and internet and having various IT related things in their vision including 10 million laptops at Rs 10000!

Narendra Modi- A different picture

Narendra Modi- A different picture

The Indian general elections are just round the corner making this a good time to write about this topic.

First of all, let me tell you that as far as I am concerned, I am a completely 'a-political' person. I cannot understand politics; just like Amitabh Bachchan confesses. And that's why I myself am surprised that I am writing on something related to Politics which I could never have thought!
I don't particularly care for politicians either, whom I consider to be a different species altogether. But still there are a few people in there who do seem to be different from the rest and do seem to be nice people indeed!

Narendra Modi, Raveena Tandon open Ahmedabad chapter of FICCI's FLO

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi with Sonal Ambani, Raveena Tandon at inagural ceremony of FLO - Women branch of FICCI

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi with Sonal Ambani, Raveena Tandon at inagural ceremony of FLO - Women branch of FICCI

Entrepreneur and author Sonal Ambani has become first chairperson of FICCI’s ladies organisation’s (FLO) Ahmedabad chapter which was inaugurated today by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and film actress Raveena Tandon.

Ahmedabad is FLO’s eighth chapter in the country and the first in Gujarat. The main task of FLO will be to promote enterpreneurship in women. Other team members include Vice-chairperson Pooja Agarwal, treasurer Shubha Bhandari and secretary Rachita Parekh.

FLO was established in 1983, as a division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). FLO endeavours to enhance the various skills of women through its educational and vocational training programmes, talks, seminars, panel discussion and workshop on a wide range of subjects like information technology, taxation, insurance, venture capital, stock market operations, accountancy, marketing, mutual funds, investment planning and entrepreneurship development programmes.

FLO also focuses on women-related legal and social issues like uniform civil code, domestic violence among others. FLO also has a business consultancy cell for potential women entrepreneurs to provide consultancy services and extend help in setting up their units. It also helps in providing appropriate guidance for running the units.

As an All India Organisation for women, FLO has chapters in Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Guwahati and Kolkata with its head office in Delhi. The members comprise entrepreneurs, professionals and corporate executives.

Muslims moving towards Narendra Modi : Babi Sama

Muslims moving towards Narendra Modi : Babi Sama
Gujarat's first Muslim woman corporator, Babi Sama, has claimed today that the Muslims in Gujarat are slowly but steadily moving away from the Congress party and moving towards the BJP!

She revealed that when she first sided with the BJP few years back, many of her relatives slammed her.

"But I stood by the BJP since only Narendra Modi has the ability to develop Gujarat" she said.

Babi Sama defeated her Congress rival by 2000 votes! In fact Babi Sama is now seen as the BJP's Muslim face in Gujarat!

CM Narendra Modi talks with IIMA alumnis, says Gujarat will be global capital for solar yenergy

CM Narendra Modi talks with IIMA alumnis, says Gujarat will be global capital for solar energy

Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi today at IIMA conclave said that Gujarat is heading towards being a global capital for solar energy.

IIMA conclave was organized today jointly by IIMA alumni association and government of Gujarat, as a part of celebration of IIMA's golden jubilee and promotion of forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit. Chief Minister participated a question-answer session besides delivering keynote address on the occasion.

Shri Modi said that Gujarat government, by exploiting all possible natural means of energy is trying show a way-out in the time of energy crises. He said that world's largest solar energy park is being setup on the land of Gujarat and many countries are now eager to partner the state in the field of solar energy. Gujarat is also open for a global participation in the field of solar energy equipment manufacturing and is already done with the solar energy policy, he said.

Chief Minister called upon young intellects to chip in their skills for the development of the state in the newer directions. He said that Gujarat has formed an Innovation Commission. A world-class incubation centre is also going to be established in the state and government will assist the young minds having innovating ideas, with a venture fund.

Shri Modi appreciated IIMA alumni's eagerness for contributing in Gujarat's development and said that IIM has given a huge contribution in the progress of the state.

Chief Minister said that the state government is putting emphasize on P2G2 (Proactive Pro-people Good Governance) and development friendly atmosphere in the state. Government wants to provide a 'pragati ni sidi' (ladder of progress) to industries instead 'subsidy', he said.

IIM alumni Shri S.B.Dangayach and Pro. Atanu Ghosh described Shri Modi as an extraordinary leader and manager and said that Gujarat has scored a high position in the world due to his farsighted leadership.

Modi's visa woes begun with China

GANDHINAGAR: Even as Narendra Modi flies off to London after being rejected a visa by Uncle Sam, mystery surrounds his visit to China that never took place. The tour, planned in December last year, was cancelled at the last minute. At that time, Modi men proffered some garbled explanations for why this happened.

Instead of the land of dragons, Modi journeyed to the easy-to-enter Singapore and Hong Kong on the scheduled dates. A little later he went to Australia.

The Gujarat chief minister was keen to visit Shanghai and other places to see for himself the ports and special economic zones. He had timed his visit with a Confederation of Indian Industry-organised India Trade Fair. Two consultants - AT Kearney and Ernst & Young - were also set to fix Modi's meetings with business leaders.

When quizzed about the Chinese fiasco on Wednesday, Modi's office preferred not to comment. But a senior official close to the chief minister said, "Let me put it this way, getting a visa for Beijing proved to be quite a complicated affair." Another official said: "There were some protocol problems, so Modi cancelled his trip."

Threat to Modi's life in UK, trip called off

NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD: Following a call from PM Manmohan Singh on Thursday night, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi cancelled his proposed UK trip.

Modi, who has been in the eye of a storm following denial of visa to him by the US, was scheduled to attend the 'Gujarat Day' function at London's Royal Albert Hall on March 26. He was to fly to London on Friday afternoon from Mumbai.

Official sources in New Delhi said the PM called Modi at 10 pm and advised him to cancel the trip in view of intelligence reports from Central agencies that there was a specific threat to his life from the Dawood Ibrahim gang and jehadi groups, including Al-Qaida affiliates. Several radical Islamic groups are known to have a strong presence in the UK. When Modi showed reluctance to cancel the trip, the PM, according to the sources, told him that if he went ahead, not only his own life would be in danger but also the consequences for the nation could be grave. Modi finally relented.

In a short span of half an hour, the CM received calls from three Union government functionaries, advising him to cancel the visit. The first to call him was home secretary Dhirendra Singh. When he showed reluctance to heed the home secretary's advice, home minister Shivraj Patil called him. But in vain.

Meanwhile, Modi held consultations with top leaders of his party, who reportedly told him that in a federal polity, the Centre's advice cannot be ignored.

The final decision to cancel Narendra Modi's visit to UK was taken after a call from the PM. Modi is reported to have told him: "If you are advising me not to go, I'll not go."

Modi invites Bush to Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR: Days after he was refused a visa to visit the US, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi invited President George Bush to visit his state.

Addressing a convention of the Asian-American Hotel Owners' Association (AAHOA) in the US through video-conferencing, Modi asked Bush to come and see the culture of Gujarat.

The US had last week denied a visa to Modi, citing his role in Gujarat' sectarian violence in 2002.

Modi was then set for a six-day visit to the US to address a public meeting in New Jersey and to attend the AAHOA's convention in Florida.

Modi addressed the New Jersey public meet over a webcast Monday morning.

AmEx pulls out of Modi meet

NEW DELHI: American Express Corporation has withdrawn its sponsorship for the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) convention beginning Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was to have addressed the association if he had not been refused entry into the US by the Bush administration.

Christine Elliott, an official of American Express, conveyed the decision to CAG in a message which said, "As you know from our previous communications, our sponsorships at AAHOA's 2005 annual convention included the following three events: an industry issues panel, an awards ceremony and an address by former National Football League quarterback Terry Bradshaw."

"Unfortunately, a conference that was intended to help promote travel and tourism has become the object of partisan political contention. Therefore, we have chosen to withdraw from the conference," Elliott said.

Narendra Modi given clean chit in Godhra riot case

New Delhi, Dec.3 (ANI): The Supreme Court (SC) appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) is reported to have given a clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Narendra Modi has long been alleged to connive with 62 others including some cabinet colleagues, police officials and bureaucrats in aiding and abetting the post-Godhra program that claimed 1000 lives in 2002.

The SIT grilled Narendra Modi a few months ago after the SC directed it to enquire into the allegations by the wife of a former Congress MP who was killed in the carnage along with 69 others. According to some newspaper reports the SIT gave a clean chit to Modi as it couldn't find evidence to substantiate his alleged connivance in the riots.

Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, said, " The matter is sub-judice and we can't be sure of what the SIT has said." e added that if the Modi's reported acquittal by the SIT is true than their long-standing stand is finally vindicated.(ANI)

Narendra Modi must call manmohan's bluff move to delhi

Narendra Modi must call manmohan's bluff move to delhi

Finally I will tell you the interesting way in which Lao Tzu the great Chinese sage looked at Good governance. There is an old saying of Lao Tzu. It goes like this:

“If there is a king and people get things done and don’t know that they have a king it is the best type of government. If there is a king and if people get their things done and if they know that there is a king it is a good government. If there is a king and if people have to complain to the king to get things done then it is a bad government. If there is a king and things don’t get done even if complaints are made to him then, it is the worst type of government.”

Nobody has said better than this. Our aim is make people partners in the development process so that they don’t feel that they are subjects but they feel that they are citizens.

After 7 long years the central debate has finally shifted to one over who has the greater political will to pursue Economic Reforms. The Indian Express in its lead editorial attempted some clever deflection pn this debate. But these two pieces in the Wall Street Journal and in the Indian Express by Niranjan Rajyadhyaksha and Bibek Debroy have nailed the issue on

#1 Dr. Manmohan Singh’s capitulation to the Left Liberals in the Sonia Gandhi lead National Advisory Council

#2 Dr. Manmohan Singh’s failure to show political will in pursuing economic reforms

That the Prime Minister should have blundered in his press conference on this issue dragging Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi into the debate, is perhaps something the Congress will regret in the days to come.

For long the debate around Narendra Modi has centered on reinforcing negative stereotypes from 2002. For the first time the debate on Modi is where he exactly needs it to be on the central question of which political leader in India has demonstrated the will and the spine to pursue economic reforms.

While Mr. Modi is on the record having articulated a philosophy on the role of Government in economic affairs through “Minimum Government Maximum Governance” and through his speech at the BJP’s Governance Summit, he had not made it the central debating point of his political rhetoric. This blunder by Manmohan Singh offers the opening Narendra Modi has long needed.

While the next Lok Sabha election is some time away, Delhi could do with this central debate inside and outside Parliament. In fact the BJP could do even more with fewer distractions and sideshows. Mr. Advani’s out of turn pursuit and comments on issues like Black Money continue to contribute to this distraction. It is high time Mr. Advani retired gracefully and vacated the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat.

It would not be a bad idea at all for Narendra Modi to take to the Lok Sabha the debate on Manmohan Singh’s lack of political will and on Sonia Gandhi’s Left Liberalism.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi




The first slogan that he coined to capture the voters` imagination was "Apnu Gujarat, Agavun Gujarat or Our Gujarat, Unique Gujarat". Since 7th October 2001 has been the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujrat. He was promoted to the office following the defeat of the BJP in the elections. In December 2002, he won re-election as chief minister with 126 seats in the 182-member assembly. In the early 1990s, as elections organiser he participated in the rise to political dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat.

Mr Narendra Modi was born on 17th September 1950, to a middle class family in the Mehsana district of Gujarat. During his student life, he displayed influential leadership qualities, and this was clearly seen when he successfully set up a new chapter of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, at that time it was a powerful national student body. This post-graduate in political science, Modi entered social life right at the beginning of his career, in the early seventies. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a young man in the year 1974. After that he became a full-time worker and organiser for it. During his engagement with RSS, he plunged into the anti-corruption movement. In the early 1980s, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was the brigde between the RSS and the BJP.

Modi was recognized as the master planner between 1988 and 1995, who had successfully carried out the necessary groundwork for making BJP the ruling party of the state. The responsibility of organizing two crucial national events were entrusted to Narendra Modi during this period - the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a very long march) of Mr Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southern most part of India) to the troubled Kashmir in north.

To note a statement of Lal Krishna Advani, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party about Modi "a leader who, after being subjected to a malicious and prolonged campaign of vilification, has been able to impress even his critics with his determination, single-minded focus, integrity and a wide array of achievements in a relatively short time".

In the beginning, he was believed to be a back-room operator for the political party. He was made the National Secretary of the party in the year 1995, in charge of five major states in India. He was asked to head the government of Gujrat in the turmoil period (2001) of Gujrat, as the state was undergoing problems because of several natural calamities including the massive Gujarat Earthquake in January 2001.

In order to compensate for economic losses, Modi re-organised the government`s administrative structure. It was during his headship Gujarat registered the highest growth rate among all the states in India with a GDP growth rate of over 10%. Narendra Modi was credited by the Gujrat Government for reducing the fiscal deficiency of the state treasury by fifty percent and reducing the losses of the Gujarat State Electricity Board. It is his initiative with which the availability of electricity in many parts of rural Gujarat was increased in over 5,000 villages.

Successful raising of the height of the Narmada Dam from 95 to 110.64 metres is one of the most substantial accomplishments of his government that has been resulted in increased irrigation, water supplies and hydroelectric power. The increased height has resulted in waters finally flowing to practically all parts of the state. Several drinking water schemes, in addition, have been accomplished and the problem of water scarcity is nearly on its way to extermination. By over one hundred per cent, value of the agricultural production of Gujarat has grown during the first three years of the Narendra Modi`s government.

Narendra Modi is considered to be one of the most easily reachable political leaders in India. He is popular and progressive, tech-savvy and a true democrat, a poet and author of three books. For the 500,000 government employees in Gujarat, Modi has launched a motivated training programme. He is a leader who believes in teamwork. This initiative of him is being watched in admiration by every other state and is in for replication through out the nation. A true Karmayogi (doer), as he has been named Mr Modi refuses to be intimidated by catastrophes and turmoil and is effectively leading Gujrat to be one of the top states of India.. His trail-blasting efforts have afforded rich dividends for the economy of the state.

Narendra Modi has been awarded by `India Today` as the best chief minister twice in three years. Modi is considered front-runner in party`s leadership among the next generation of politicians. A section of society calls him "Chhotte Sardar" the next Sardar Patel who is most distinguished politician from Gujarat-State who is the architect of India with immeccable contribution to India`s freedom movement.

Narendra Modi is widely esteemed as a youthful and vigorous leader with innovative thoughts. Modi has communicated his vision successfully to the people of Gujarat and has been able to impart faith, trust and hope among the 50 million people of Gujarat. Image of the state as a preferred investment destination with the successful conclusion of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January 2005, among global investors has taken a quantum leap. Mr Narendra Modi is adored as an able and visionary leader, wide cross section of the people of Gujarat, cutting across religions, income groups and even political affiliations. He is also admired as one who is successfully, significantly, extensively, transparently and persuasively uplifting the quality of their lives. A skilled narrator and an adroit negotiator, Mr Narendra Modi has earned the love and affection of people from villages and cities.

Sanjay Dutt meets Narendra Modi to discuss setting up of film studio in Gujarat

Sanjay Dutt meets Narendra Modi to discuss setting up of film studio in Gujarat

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had a special guest on Monday and it was none other than our very own 'Munnabhai' Sanjay Dutt. Before you start wondering whether this was some high prolife political meeting, let us assure you that it was not. Sanjay had in fact gone to meet Modi to discuss the prospect of setting up a film studio in the state of Gujarat.

Sanju Baba apparently has been mighty impressed with the way Gujarat has developed as a state over the last couple of years. He has also been toying with this idea of starting a state-of-the-art film studio for a while now. However with escalating costs and lack of spaces in Mumbai being a problem, Sanju thought of discussing the possibility of setting up the studio in the neighbouring state of Gujarat.

If this dream turns into a reality, you will suddenly see a host of Bollywood bigwigs making a dash to Gujarat every now and then.

Narendra Modi defines secularism at PBD meet

"A lot of people in this country have given different definitions of secularism. I too have a right to give my own definition," Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [ Images ] said at a session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Delhi [ Images ] on Sunday, while replying to a query by New Yorker Sanjay Sinha.

"For me the definition of secularism is very simple: India [ Images ] first. That's it," Modi said, getting a huge round of applause from the NRIs, mostly Gujaratis, while addressing the state session at the 9th edition of the PBD that ended on Sunday.

The Gujarat CM was in a pretty laudatory mood when it came to his style of governance but was at his acerbic best while rebuking the media for ignoring the good work that the state is doing and highlighting negative issues.

"I'm very happy that you asked me this question," he told Sinha while replying to his query seeking the CM's thoughts on secularism.

"The media people want some masala (sensation) and I think they will get it now. Till now they were sleeping (while he spoke about various good governance schemes started by his state). Now, see how they have woken up from their sleep," he said leading to a round of applause and laughter from the assembled NRIs.

Earlier, in his address, he said that Gujarat has focused its attention on good governance. It was because of good governance, Modi said, that Gujarat has managed to steal the development march over other states despite the destructive earthquake that struck Bhuj on January 26, 2001.

"The real test of good governance is its grievance redressal system," he said. "That should be at the root any democratic system that people should not only be able to voice their problems freely but also get their problems solved quickly."

Praising his administration, he charted out three initiatives that has led to a sharp decrease in pendency of legal cases in various Gujarat court.

"Before starting this initiative, Gujarat had a pendency of 45 lakh (4.5 million cases). Had we let that continue, by now it would have ballooned to 1.5 crore cases. But because of the efforts of the state government and judiciary it has now come down to 18 lakh cases (1.8 million). We are running 100 evening courts and the entire judiciary too is working for extra hours," he said.

To solve the legal issues of the people of Gujarat his government took three initiatives, he said.

"One, we requested our courts to increase their working hours by 30 minutes to which they agreed. Secondly, we asked them if our courts could reduce the duration of their vacation by a week; that too was accepted happily.

"The third thing was our courts' infrastructure would lie idle after 5 pm. In a poor nation like ours, idling of such infrastructure is a huge waste of resources. So we started evening court sessions from 6 pm to 10 pm where people who work through the day but still have to appear before various courts for their cases could easily appear after completing their office hours. Thus poor people in Gujarat earn their livelihood in the daytime and appear in the court in the evening," he said.

Narendra Modi's long haul

Narendra Modi's long haul

OLD-FASHIONED caste seems to be making a comeback against new-fangled Hindutva on Gujarat's retrograde political stage. By appealing along caste lines, newly-appointed Congress(I) president Shankarsinh Vaghela has called the wily Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Minister Narendra Modi's bluff. Even in communally polarised Gujarat, caste ties seem to be stronger than communal biases, judging by the response to Vaghela's rallies in the past month.

Vaghela's aggressive caste mobilisation scared the BJP. It was forced to postpone its much-touted Gujarat Gaurav Yatra once again. The threat of a violent face-off with Vaghela's supporters in Phagvel village made Modi run for cover. The BJP was asking for trouble when it decided to flag off its Gujarat Gaurav Yatra from the Bhattiji Maharaj temple in Phagvel village on September 3. Phagvel lies in Vaghela's Lok Sabha constituency in Kheda district. Moreover, the village is dominated by the aggressive Kshatriya community, which forms the backbone of Vaghela's mass base.

By challenging Vaghela on his own turf, the BJP got more than it bargained for. Vaghela used Kshatriya caste loyalties in Phagvel to sabotage the BJP yatra. His supporters, organised under the banner of the Bhattiji Sena, invited him for a parallel religious meeting in the temple on the same day as the Gaurav Yatra was planned. Kshatriyas threatened that they would not allow the BJP elements to enter the temple. Platoons of the police were posted on the roads leading up to the village. Trouble seemed inevitable. Rather than face a hostile crowd, Modi preferred to cancel the event. Vaghela's mission to railroad the yatra had succeeded.

This was just the start of a dirty election campaign in Gujarat. The BJP is aggressively playing on communal sentiments. But Vaghela, a former BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader, is out to beat Modi at his own game. While his strongest appeal is to caste ties, he is not allowing the BJP to monopolise Hindu rhetoric either. His mass base is the strongest among Kshatriyas, a community in the OBC (Other Backward Classes) category. Kshatriyas form around 20 per cent of the State's population. Although Modi is from the Ghachi community, also an OBC, he does not have a mass following amongst OBCs.

Vaghela is also playing on the traditional rivalry between Kshatriyas and Patels, the dominant castes in Gujarat. Patels, who support the BJP, form 20 per cent of Gujarat's population. Most Patels are loyal to former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, who is currently at loggerheads with Modi and reluctant to campaign with him. Vaghela is capitalising on this discord. "Kshatriyas are actually a political caste," says Achyut Yagnik, a social activist. "Rajputs (who comprise 5 per cent of the population) aligned themselves with the Kolis (an OBC which forms around 20 per cent) in order to counter the rise of Patels. They formed the Kshatriya Mahasabha in 1942. This led to the spread of Kshatriya consciousness." When Vaghela was with the BJP, he mobilised Kshatriya support for the party. Now he is reclaiming their loyalty for the Congress(I).

This time, too, the Congress(I) is trying to use its KHAM formula (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi, Muslim). This strategy proved very successful for the Congress(I) during the 1980 and 1985 elections. Since then, the BJP has managed to gain ground in Adivasi areas and amongst urban Dalits. Together, KHAM communities form a large chunk of the population. Muslims constitute around 9 per cent, Adivasis 15 per cent and Dalits 7 per cent.

Vaghela is also challenging the BJP at its own game by playing the Hindu card. He has garnered the support of religious leaders like the Jain muni Acharya Mahapragya who wrote to the Chief Minister asking him to call off his Gaurav Yatra to prevent further violence in the State. When the RSS mouthpiece Panchajanya recently praised Vaghela for remaining a 'patriot' and a 'swayamsevak' and for making 'shrewd moves', it came as a slap in the face for the BJP. Moreover, the Panchajanya article also praised Modi's main rivals within the BJP - former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and former Minister Haren Pandya. Vaghela is also using the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's traditional anti-cow slaughter slogans in his rallies. He is determined not to let Hindutva become the BJP's trademark. In his war against the BJP, Vaghela is managing to stonewall Modi at every step. His tactics are as aggressive as those of the BJP, and his rhetoric as caustic.

"Do they take pride in not being able to save the Ram sevaks at Godhra when they took votes in the name of Ram?" asked Vaghela at the meeting in Paghvel. That was a sarcastic reference to the BJP's attempts to highlight the Godhra incident during its election campaign.

The BJP has been on an advertising spree over the past weeks. Besides touting Modi as the best Chief Minister in the country, it is stoking Hindu insecurities. Across Ahmedabad the BJP has put up banners displaying a photograph of the Sabarmati Express burning, with the slogan: "Who is for us?" The 'Gujarat Gaurav Samiti' published advertisements that said: "Who is the Election Commission for? The minority. Who is the National Human Rights Commission for? The minority. Who is the Minorities Commission for? The minority. Who is for us?"

The BJP has also been using festivals to flex its Hindutva muscle. It was the Jagannath Rath Yatra in July. The Shobha Yatra was taken out on Janmashtami day, August 31. After that came the Ganesh festival. The Shobha Yatra, organised mainly by Sangh Parivar members in Rajkot, Modi's constituency, had the "Fight against Terrorism" as its theme. Several floats and exhibits had replicas of the Sabarmati Express burning. But there was no mention of those among the Sangh Parivar who orchestrated the killing of more than 1,000 persons after the Godhra incident.

Hindutva leaders now seem to be facing the backlash for their state-supported carnage. The Delhi police claim to have uncovered a plot to assassinate Modi and VHP president Praveen Togadia. On September 29, three youths, reportedly from the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba, were arrested in Delhi. Later, two persons were nabbed in Ahmedabad.

The BJP has suffered setbacks on several other fronts. The Supreme Court dashed Modi's hopes for early elections. The court said that no elections would be possible until October 2 (see separate story). It would take until then for the Supreme Court to decide on the government's appeal against the Election Commission's order on elections in Gujarat. The BJP is worried that as the communal fever dies down, it will lose votes.

These fears have been corroborated by a recent survey conducted for the BJP by a Delhi-based market research company. It found that Modi's popularity has slipped since a similar poll was carried out in April. The Congress(I) is gaining ground, according to the survey. While in April the poll predicted that the BJP would win 118 of the 182 Assembly seats, the number slid to 96 in August. Contrary to the current political discourse, the main issues for the voters were employment, inflation and basic amenities, rather than Hindutva.

But the Sangh Parivar remains unrepentant. VHP international working president Ashok Singhal described Gujarat as a "successful experiment" and warned that it would be repeated all over India. At a recent meeting in Amritsar, Singhal jubilantly described how entire villages had been "emptied of Islam", and how whole communities of Muslims ran to refugee camps. This was a victory for Hindu society, he said, a first for the religion. "People say I praise Gujarat. Yes I do," Singhal said.

Yet, the communal campaign has not managed to deflect attention from the BJP's governance failures. Even in Phagvel, village residents spoke of the BJP government's neglect. "The Gujarat Gaurav Yatra isn't a matter of pride. In the last five years, the BJP hasn't done anything that it should be proud of. They haven't ever come here. Our panchayat hasn't got any development funds," said Rathod Dayabhai Abheshi, the Congress(I) sarpanch of Phagvel. Overnight, Abheshi became the most famous sarpanch in Gujarat as the national media hovered around Phagvel. Prominent politicians, including Modi, called on him, in an effort to win him over.

With Gujarat's economy on the downslide, basic survival issues are still the most important for voters. The entire State is classified as 'water-scarce'. The recent drought has worsened the situation. But the government has not yet started relief. Unemployment and insecure employment has become widespread as small-scale industries face financial ruin. Hikes in electricity rates have deepened the agricultural crisis. For the first time in Gujarat, around 25 farmers committed suicide in the last year in Sanand, Ahmedabad (rural) district alone (The Indian Express, August 14, 2002). In Ahmedabad, at least 10 suicides have been reported amongst families ruined after the carnage. "Modi is totally ignoring people's basic problems. Anyone listening to him would think that Gujaratis have nothing to do but attend yatras and religious festivals," remarks Martin Macwan, a Dalit activist.

The BJP's selective amnesia applies also to riot victims. It has chosen to overlook the misery of the 1.5 lakh people who were displaced by the riots.

After closing several relief camps and forcing people to leave, the government has doled out pathetic sums as compensation to rebuild homes. Some people are still rebuilding their houses with the help of charitable agencies. Others still have not been able to return to their homes or their jobs. In Ahmedabad alone, there are around 10,000 people still in relief camps, estimates Fr. Victor Moses of Citizen's Initiative, a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the camps. There are hundreds of others in rural camps in Sabarkantha and Dahod districts that are shut officially but from where refugees have not left. "Refugees still feel insecure and uncertain. At a time when efforts should be made to heal the wounds, the elections are bringing out all the hate and mud-slinging," says Fr. Moses.

In the political race for the Hindu heart, Gujarat's real problems have been kept on the back burner. Moreover, Vaghela's divisive caste politics is likely to make the dominant castes even more empowered and aggressive. With such strong posturing going on, it is unclear how both the parties will get to mobilise the poorest sections of Gujarat's society, who also constitute a large vote bank. These parties are likely to face the brunt of the social discord that such politics is bound to generate. If only politicians would wake up sleepy towns like Phagvel for more constructive purposes, rather than for pujas and brawls!