Vibrant Gujarat 2011: Essar commits Rs 30,000 cr to Modi agenda

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi persuaded Essar Group to commit a huge amount of funds for the state.

Diversified conglomerate Essar Group today said it will invest Rs 30,000 crore in Gujarat for projects in various sectors, including power and refinery.

“Essar has committed to invest in Gujarat Rs 30,000 crore in power, refinery, ports and water infrastructure,” Essar Group Chief Executive Prashant Ruia said here during the 5th Global Summit of Vibrant Gujarat.

He, however, did not specify the timeline for the investments but said the earlier investments committed by the group in the state have been executed.

Essar Group is a major player in the port sector in Gujarat. Its ports and terminals business operates a crude oil and petroleum products terminal at Vadinar in the state.

The group is also constructing a dry bulk port at Hazira and a coal jetty at Salaya, all in the state.

It also has a 14 MTPA petroleum refinery at Vadinar which started commercial production on May 1, 2008.

Besides, it also operates a 515 MW gas-based power plant at Hazira.

Vibrant Gujarat: Who said what about Modi

Apart from showering mega investments on Gujarat, captains of Indian industry, including Ratan Tata and Mukesh Ambani, today heaped praises on Chief Minister Narendra Modi and described him as a great visionary.

At a time when the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre is struggling to keep basic needs of ‘aam aadmi’ affordable, Modi got full marks from corporate leaders for working towards uplifting the quality of life of the common man.

“Gujarat is shining like a lamp of gold and the credit goes to the visionary, effective and passionate leadership provided by Narendra Modi. We have a leader here with vision and determination to translate this vision into reality,” Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said.

Speaking at the fifth global summit of ‘Vibrant Gujarat‘ here, Ambani said Modi’s efforts for growth and development in the state has been responsible for alleviating poverty.

“Given Gujarat’s commitment towards the quality of life and prosperity of the people, I have no doubt that Gujarat will be the first state to vanish poverty in India,” he added.

Expressing similar sentiments, Tata Group chief Ratan Tata said: “The leadership of Narendra Modi has proved that

Gujarat is not only seeing industrial growth but is also witnessing rural development.”

Anil Ambani exhorted other states to take a cue from Modi for development. “Gujarat is a role model for other states to learn from … Narendra bhai has single handedly transformed the state into a power state,” he said. Gujarat today is the power capital and power hub of the country and stands out in a sharp contrast to other states in the country, Ambani added.

In the last edition of the summit held in 2009, Anil Ambani and Bharti Group chief Sunil Mittal had said that Modi should be the next Prime Minister of India.

ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar said Gujarat is seen as the country’s growth engine. “Today when the world looks at India to drive world’s growth, India looks at Gujarat to drive India’s growth…the state has the potential and the ability to drive this growth,” she added.

Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej gave full marks to Modi for his government’s sustainable and inclusive policies. The state government said it has got investment commitments from various corporate houses to the tune of nearly Rs. 15 lakh crore on the first day of the two-day Vibrant Gujarat summit.

New Deoband chief lauds Modi’s Gujarat

The new Darul Uloom vice-chancellor, Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi, said “all communities” are prospering in Narendra Modi’s Gujarat and there was “no discrimination against the minorities in the state as far as development was concerned.” He was talking to TOI here on Tuesday.

This is arguably the most significant endorsement of Narendra Modi. Darul Uloom, based in Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, is a leading Islamic seminary in India and the fount of the Deobandi thought, which has adherants well beyond the country’s borders, especially in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Vastanvi, himself a Gujarati from Surat, is an MBA graduate and has been instrumental in introducing modern subjects in institutions run by Darul Uloom in Gujarat and Maharashtra, including medicine, engineering and allied subjects. His recent election as the Darul Uloom chief is seen as a possible change catalyst in this conservative seminary.

It’s not easy for the man holding this chair to be charitable towards Modi, the person who has been accused of persecuting Muslims during and after the 2002 Gujarat riots. Asked about the riots, Vastanvi didn’t give Modi a clean chit, but stressed that it was now time to move on.

“The issue is almost eight years old now and we should move forward,” Vastanvi told TOI on Tuesday. “Rioting anywhere — in Gujarat or in any other part of the world — is bad for humanity and it should never happen. Gujarat riots were a blemish for India and all culprits should be punished.”

Vastanvi said “there are not as many problems in Gujarat as has been projected.” Asked about justice for the Gujarat riot victims, he said the riots had worsened “because the police did not act due to political pressure during those days”.

But he differed with what many activists working among the riot victims or the UPA government at the Centre claim about continuing discrimination against Muslims in Gujarat. He said, “As far as relief work riot is concerned, it has been carried out very well by government and people of Gujarat.”

The Deoband chief has obviously been impressed by the economic progress of Gujarat. He said, “Development has undoubtedly taken place in Gujarat and we hope it will continue. I ask Muslims to study well. The government is ready to offer jobs (to them), but for that, they need good education.”

Vastanvi hails from Vastan village near Surat and his initiation into Islamic studies began at a seminary here.