Narendra Modi | Chief Minister, Gujarat | News | Blog | Information | Video | Ahmedabad

Narendra Modi beats all in web popularity

2009-03-07T16:46:00.000+05:30

If Facebook is an indicator of one's popularity, BJP veteran LK Advani has miles to go before he catches up with junior party leaders such as Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley.

With only 16 supporter-friends, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate doesn't come across as a convincing mascot for the party.

Contrast this with Modi's Facebook profile, which has five fan clubs with one titled 'Narendra Modi as PM' and the largest membership base of 5,674. Even Jaitley, more an ideologue than a grassroots politician, has more Facebook 'fans' than Advani, 99 in a group dedicated to him.

Advani's profile, createdwith his blog and web site in November 2008, is under the politician category and is managed by the same team that manages his blog and web site.

Advani's Facebook account hasn't been updated for more than a month. It shows on the 'wall' -- a Facebook utility where friends and supporters can post messages -- which hasn't had a single posting.

When it comes to the Congress, again, its most popular representative, Rahul Gandhi, doesn't have a Facebook account. Compare this with other party young turks such as Sachin Pilot and Deependra Singh Hooda who have 795 and 116 listed Facebook supporters. Both MPs have separate personal Facebook profiles too, which are not accessible to all.

Politicians around the world started taking their online presence seriously after the stupendous success of Barack Obama's web poll campaign (the US president's Facebook page has over 5 million members). But it seems the BJP and Congress hotshots have still not taken a leaf out of the Obama story.

Modi govt appoints six parliamentary secretaries

2009-03-03T07:51:00.000+05:30

The state has appointed six parliamentary secretaries in the government. This unprecedented move, which comes right before parliamentary elections, is an effort to bring about regional balance which was lacking in the government till now.

BJP sources pointed out that the appointment of MLAs as parliamentary secretaries by Chief Minister Narendra Modi came at a time when party’s parliamentary board was busy finalising the list of candidates for Lok Sabha elections.

“The districts to which the six belong weren’t represented in the Modi government,” a CM aide said, adding, “This is significant ahead of the polls. The BJP is weak in central Gujarat, which went unrepresented.” Of the six appointed, three are from central Gujarat — Yogesh Patel is from Vadodara, Sundarsinh Chauhan from Kheda and Jaydrathsinh Parmar from Panchmahals. Similarly, Bharuch can claim to have its representative in the government with Ishwarsinh Patel, so can Narmada with Harshadbhai Vasava, a tribal, and Junagadh with Lavaji Rajani.

“They will be the CM’s parliamentary secretaries, and will be obliged to do work allotted by him,” the Modi aide clarified. The six will enjoy the powers of deputy ministers and also be allotted official bungalows, cars and all other facilities given to state ministers.

After secretaries take oath in Gandhinagar on Monday, the government would allocate departments they would head. Officials said such a move was seen last in the early 90s when Congress’ Chimanbhai Patel had appointed Jayendra Boski as parliamentary secretary. For BJP chief ministers in Gujarat though, this is a first.

Modi announces package for diamond workers

2009-03-02T23:40:00.000+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced a skill enhancement training and aid package for the slowdown-hit diamond workers in the state.

Under the package, unemployed diamond workers from Surat, Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar will get a stipend of Rs.100 per day during their training period. Stipend limit is fixed at Rs.2,500 per month, Modi said.

Many diamond artisans in these areas were rendered jobless as the global economic slowdown has hit the diamond industry hard.

A four-month training module has been designed for the workers in diamond assortment, bruiting, grading of diamonds, planning and making jewellery and other trade related skills.

Once they finish the training, the state government would help them get loans under different schemes like the Vajpayee Bankable Scheme, the Kutir and Gramodhyog schemes, and the Prime Minister's Employment Programme.

In the first phase, Rs.120 million have been sanctioned to train 15,000 diamond workers, officials said.

Pakistan must be taught a lesson in a way it understands: Modi

2009-03-02T13:35:00.000+05:30

accusing the UPA government of handling Pakistan with kid gloves post 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said that the neighbouring country must be taught a lesson in a language it understands.

"Unless you reply to Pakistan in the language it understands, terrorism will not be wiped out from this country and the UPA is incapable of doing this," Modi said, addressing a public meeting in Pimpalgaon, about 22 km from here, as part of Maharashtra BJP's 'Parivartan Abhiyan' in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.

Modi said the 26/11 happened because of the UPA's "ineffectiveness". The government compromised on national security because of their vote bank politics, he added.

He said, "26/11 was a war on India, but our government sends letters to Pakistan and Pakistan has the audacity to respond with 30 questions." "Give me those questions and I will teach the government how to respond," he said.

Modi also took strong objection to the Centre accepting Pakistan's questions in response to the 26/11 dossier.

Karnataka Government wants to replicate Jyotigram-Model as “Nirantar Jyoti”

2009-02-11T01:21:00.000+05:30

Energy Minister of Karnataka meets the C.M: Gujarat Government to offer Technical cooperation for the project

Energy Minister of Karnataka State Shri K.S.Ishwarppa met Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi today; the high level delegation of Karnataka was stunned to witness the major achievements of Jyotigram Yojana. He expressed his keen desire to replicate the model of Jyotigram for 20000 villages of Karnataka.

After undertaking a detail study of Jyotigram Scheme, Shri Ishwarppa expressed his desire to presage the 24 hours flow of 3 phase electricity supply under the Nirantar Jyoti scheme, he also sought the cooperation in terms of technical know how from the C.M.

Minister of State for Energy Shri Saurabhbhai Patel, Principal Secretary –Energy Shri Jagdishan, Principal Secretary to C.M. Shri K.Kailashnathan were also present.

The high level delegation toured the rural areas of Gujarat to seek grass root feedback, and found that people are happy with the accomplishments and outcomes of the schemes, 24 hours 3 phase electricity supply, roads. Drinking water supply has benefited the masses. He conveyed the feeling of satisfaction of the people to the C.M.

Gujarat and Karnataka are the states facing deficit of electricity, Gujarat has set a time frame for Electricity Management. The Broadband connectivity and uninterrupted electricity supply has remained instrumental in rural development, the delegation took keen interest in this regard.

Chief Minister highlighted the blue revolution, which has taken place through PPP initiatives. The farmer needs water for agriculture, not the electricity supply. Thrust is given for Drip Irrigation. Water tables have come up. Karnataka and Gujarat may cooperate in establishing power plants and electricity distribution and its management.

Modi has no plans to apply for US visa: Official

2009-01-25T00:16:00.000+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has no plans to seek a US visa after the change of guard at the White House, an official said here on Thursday.

Modi has not made any request for a visa to visit the US as he has no plans to go to that country in the near future, an official at the Chief Minister's Office said in a press release here on Thursday.

"The chief minister would not ask for a visa from the new administration in the US. He has no immediate plans to travel to the US right now. The chief minister has extended his greetings to the new president (Barack Obama) when he took over office," the official said.

The statement came after speculation that Modi could visit the US with the new administration taking office.

The Bush administration had refused to grant visa to Modi in 2005, when he wanted to attend a diaspora meet there. The administration cited alleged human rights violations in Gujarat, especially during and after the communal violence in 2002.

Modi was invited to the World Gujarati Conference held in New Jersey in August, but he had to be content addressing the audience through video-conferencing.

His office had then said the chief minister, although desirous of attending the conference, had not applied for visa.

A section of the non-resident Indians (NRIs) from Gujarat settled in the US have campaigned to allow him to travel to the US.

Narendra Modi capable of becoming PM: Advani

2009-01-24T19:07:00.001+05:30

BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani has said that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had the capabilities of becoming a prime minister and promised to implement the Gujarat model of development if NDA comes to power.

During an online chat session organised by Rediff with netizens, Advani was asked if BJP had other leaders who could don the mantle of Prime Minister. "The BJP has many such leaders who have the capability of becoming Prime Minister and Narendra Modi is one of them. He agreed that there were many leaders in BJP who were very capable," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters, quoting Advani.

In a response to another question, Advani said, "Gujarat under the leadership of Modi has become a model for all others in the country as a corruption-free state. I believe this would be one of the principal objectives a new NDA government at the Centre would have in mind." Modi, who is considered as one of the rising second rung leaders within the BJP, has been in the thick of controversies for his Hindu right-wing image.

Advani received 11,000 questions during the one-and-a-half hour interaction, according to Rudy.

Advani replied to 35 of them.

When asked whether he felt India should attack Pakistan, Advani said, "What action precisely to take is a matter in which only a government which is fully posted about all the necessary parameters within which action can be taken can decide."

Modi unveils Netaji's statue at Haripura

2009-01-24T08:05:00.000+05:30

Statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was unveiled at Haripura in Bardoli by Chief Minister Narendra Modi at a function on Friday to commemorate the birth anniversary of the great freedom fighter.

At Haripura, Netaji was elected president of Indian National Congress (INC) in 1938 and Haripura convention has a historical significance in the country's freedom movement.

Netaji, who was just 39 then, became the youngest INC president. At the convention, he passed resolutions condemning federal schemes, appointed an India Education Board and set up a Constitution committee.

The statue was erected way back in 1999 with a fund of Rs 11.35 lakh sanctioned by Congress-ruled Surat district panchayat. All these years, the main approach road to the site remained unrepaired and recently when brought to the notice of Modi, local administration was instructed to take up the repair work of the road.

After unveiling the statue, Modi announced an e-gram plan for rural communication digital roadmap in the state.

Modi compelled to say Advani would be PM: Cong leader

2009-01-24T00:00:00.003+05:30

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was "compelled" to issue a statement about L K Advani remaining BJP's prime ministerial candidate after a row over it in the wake of two leading industrialists praising Modi's leadership, Congress secretary P Sudhakar Reddi claimed on Thursday.

P Sudhakar Reddi told newsmen here on Thursday that Modi, who was present at the concluding ceremony of Vibrant Gujarat summit where Anil Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal commended Modi's leadership qualities, "deliberately preferred to keep quiet" on it and was compelled to clarify his position after BJP leader Arun Jaitley said Advani would be prime ministerial candidate.

Addressing a women's convention in Panchmahal district on January 18, Modi had said Advani would be the prime minister if NDA was voted back to power.

Reddi wanted to know why Modi kept quiet for five days if he (Modi) was not in the race?

Poll Result : Narendra Modi should be next prime minister?

2009-01-16T00:25:00.002+05:30

We have kept poll which is asking "Narendra Modi should be next prime minister?" to our blog visitors and we got surprise that major all people want Modi to be new Prime Minister.

Yes of course why not 93% (127 votes)

Modi is good but not as Prime Minister 4% (5 votes)

No Way 2% (3 votes)

Who cares 1% (2 votes)

Modi PM material for Anil Ambani, Sunil Mittal

2009-01-16T00:12:00.003+05:30

From being vilified as the most-hated politician in the country post-Godhra, to being eulogised as a prime minister-in-the-making, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has indeed come a long way. As the fourth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit drew to a close at Ahmedabad on Tuesday, corporate India, shedding its usual reticence, hailed the BJP leader’s stewardship and went to the extent of putting the “prime ministerial class” stamp on him.

ADAG chairman Anil Ambani, while addressing the valedictory session of the meet, was effusive in his praise of Mr Modi’s leadership. “Narendrabhai has done good for Gujarat and what will happen if he leads the nation,” he said. “Gujarat has seen progress in all the fields under his leadership. Now, imagine what will happen to the country if he gets the opportunity to lead it,’’ he said and added, “Person like him should be the next leader of the country.’’ Recalling his father, the late Dhirubhai’s assessment of the Gujarat chief minister, Mr Anil Ambani said: Modi lambi race ka ghoda hai (Modi is a long-term player).

Bharti Group CMD Sunil Mittal also showered encomiums. ``Chief minister Modi is known as a CEO, but he is actually not a CEO, because he is not running a company or a sector. He is running a state and can also run the nation,’’ he said.

The branding of Mr Modi as a prime minister material is a far cry from the post-Godhra days when corporates poured their anguish over the state government’s failure to control the riots. HDFC Group chairman Deepak Parekh had then given vent to his anger, asserting that Mr Modi should have put in his papers since his government failed to protect innocent lives. “Which kind of government allows the killing of women and children?’’ he had asked angrily. And the then Thermax Ltd. chairperson Anu Aga, participating in a CII summit here in April, 2002, had confronted Mr Modi with the situation prevailing in the relief camps set up in the state for the riot victims.

By managing to win the hearts of the corporate sector, Mr Modi may have put the ghosts of the riots behind him. If events at Fourth VGGIS show was any indication, the Gujarat chief minister may have emerged as the toast of corporate India.

Both Mr Mittal and Mr Anil Ambani described Mr Modi as the ``future leader of the country,’’ given his “capacity to dream with open eyes’’ and “drive to achieve the results.’’ The younger Ambani asserted that Mr Modi’s achievements in leading Gujarat to an industrialised state had made him ``a proud Indian and a proud Gujarati.’’ He said the way he had transformed Gujarat, he could change the complexion of the country as and when he takes over its reins.

Tata Group boss Ratan Tata led the corporates in lauding Mr Modi’s track record. ``I have to say that today there is no state like Gujarat. Under Mr Modi’s leadership, Gujarat is head and shoulders above any state,’’ Mr Tata, who stunned the country last year by shifting the base of his small-car project from a badly-bruised West Bengal to Gujarat, told the Summit on the inaugural day.

A state, Mr Tata gushed, would normally take 90 to 180 days to clear a new plant but, ``in the Nano case, we had our land and approval in just two days.’’ In his ``humble experience, it had never happened before”, he added, seizing another opportunity to extol ``the speed and transparency’’ with which Mr Modi worked. And it were not just the desi corporates who were falling over each other in lavishing praise on the Gujarat chief minister.

Mr Modi got the thumbs-up from the international community too. Sri Lankan tourism minister M Moragoda, who said his country had also signed an MoU with the state government for development of mutual tourism, went to the extent of saying that he highly appreciated Mr Modi’s ``vision and foresight.’’ The developmental methods of Mr Modi, ignoring his personal image, should be “the recipe for all politicians.”

He also pointed out that it was the first time that his country had signed an MoU with a state instead of a country. The west, which had till now been circumspect about the Gujarat chief minister, too appeared to be jettisoning its reservations. British MP Barry Gardiner, going a step ahead of Mr Tata, said: "Gujarat can lead the world."

Summit ends with promises worth Rs 12 lakh crore

2009-01-16T00:01:00.003+05:30

Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2009
2 Days
120,00,00,00,00,000 MoU Value
8,500 MoU
25,00,000 Jobs

8,500 MoUs signed in two days; pledged investment to generate 25 lakh jobs in Gujarat

Nearly 8,500 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) projecting an investment of Rs 12,00,000 crore were signed during the two-day Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit (VGGIS) 2009, the state government informed. The investment pledged will offer employment opportunities to the tune of 25 lakh.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi said at the valedictory session on Tuesday that the investment pledged this year was higher than the cumulative investment in the last three summits.

“You can see investment coming to Gujarat even in the backdrop of the slowdown,” he said. He maintained that VGGIS has redefined the current economic crisis. “Call it the vibrancy or the stability provided by Gujarat,” he added.

Indirectly referring to reports that underlined the failure rates of earlier VGGIS melas despite signing many MoUs, Modi said his government could not be faulted. “If an entrepreneur wants to invest money here, we help him. There is not a single case where the investor has said that they are withdrawing their project because they have a problem with the government. Therefore, if the projects are not implemented due to the investor, we should not be held responsible,” he said.

Modi also said that the 2011 summit would be even bigger than this year. “I want to make this summit as big as the World Economic Forum, in terms of content and size.”

Meanwhile, Anil Ambani said it was the second time that he was invited to the summit. “Gujarat is different. The environment and the mood here is very different from the rest of the world,” he said. He also went on to rework the RACE formula that Modi had put forth for getting the better of the slowdown as ‘respect, attitude, cleverness, and execution’.

The government claims
* Delegates from 45 countries
* 600 foreign delegates
* 150 business meetings
* 90,000 visitors
* 75 eminent political

VGGIS titbits
‘MoU’ch ado about nothing
“Gujarat ma 2003 thi jetla mota mota MoU sign thaya hata tenathi ghano vikas thayo chhe. Aa je vaat chaali rahi chhe ke MoU falibbhut nathi thaya. Aa badhu khotu chhe. Gujarat no vikas batave chhe ke MoU ketla safal rahya chhe. Etla maate tamara samajh ane tamara anubhav thi MoU sign karo” (There has been great development in Gujarat due to all the big, big MoUs signed since 2003. This talk of the MoUs not materialising is all false. Gujarat’s development demonstrates how successful these MoUs have been. So, use your wisdom and experience and sign MoUs). This was one of the loudspeaker announcements obviously targeting locals who had been reading reports about the actual rate of success of the earlier VGGIS melas, on the concluding day . The announcement kept blaring near the CM’s office at the summit venue.

Brothers at arm’s length
Speculations about both Ambani brothers sharing the dais with Modi only proved half true. Share they did but not together. While Mukesh Ambani attended the summit on the first day, the younger sibling, Anil arrived on the concluding day to attend the valedictory function. Thus, the brothers not only maintained proximity to Modi, but also kept their distance from each other.

Guests were ‘hardly’ welcome
Different state ministers graced the dais at MoU signing ‘ceremonies’ to welcome guests. A senior minister at one such ‘ceremony’ said, “I hardly welcome you all…” No one protested, of course.

From Uganda, with love
Semakula Kiwanuka, minister of state for finance, Uganda, almost did a Modi on the first day. After the customary praises for his hosts, Kiwanuka went on to say that the days of Idi Amin being over, the Gujarati community in Uganda was hale and hearty. Then he spoke of the excellent investment opportunities for Gujaratis in Uganda. He, of course, did not forget to mention that Uganda would invest in India too.

Experience matters
SRF chairman Arun Bharatram could not be more forthright unlike other speakers on the inauguration day. He declared his company would invest Rs 3,000 crore and, “it may go up based on experience.”

'Vibrant Gujarat' gets off to a rousing start

2009-01-12T11:32:00.001+05:30

The political-cum-ruling phenomenon called Narendra Modi inched closer to being regarded as the national icon of inclusive development on Monday as Gujarat government's two-day 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor's summit' got of to a rousing start.

Present at the event was a galaxy of Indian corporate honchos, foreign businessmen and diplomats from 50 foreign countries, the Prime Minister of Kenya, Raila Amolo Odinga, and experts from diverse fields whom the Gujarat chief minister left mesmerised with his power-packed speech calling for balanced and inclusive development and a resolve to fight recession through dynamic entrepreneurial strategy.

Modi seemed to have come into his own on the occasion as he called upon the local small manufacturers to aim at defect free and environmental - friendly manufacturing while exhibiting global vision in order to fight recession and become competitive in the global market.

"Why should the small entrepreneurs of Third world countries always follow the models of the developed countries?", he asked as he called them upon to create their own indigenous models befitting the local conditions.

Emphasising that the 1600-km coastline of Gujarat was fast on its way to becoming the gateway of India's progress he said the ports coming up on the coastline would cater to the business of the entire northern hinterland being closest to it in terms of distance.

Modi's speech was interrupted by repeated applause by a spellbound audience that went to great lengths to appreciate the chief minister's vision. Speaking in English but breaking into Hindi in between, Modi said he always saw adversity as an opportunity and that's the very reason as to why the summit has proved to be a great success during global recession.

Unraveling his vision for Gujarat, Modi said that he planned to aim at equivalent growth in industrial, agro and service sectors to raise a balanced model of development that would be strong enough to fight any kind of economic slow down.

"I want a Gujarat which in case of a manufacturing slump or poor crop production would sustain its economy through its service sector and vice-versa", he said describing the summit as not just a simple investor's summit but a power house of knowledge, entrepreneurship and wealth creation.

Speaking with great gusto to an overwhelming audience which the Foreign Minister of Singapore, Zainul Abedin Rashid, described as the largest ever he had addressed in his career, Modi unraveled his RACE formula to overcome economic slow downs on a permanent basis - R for low risk, A for alertness, C for low cost and E for efficiency.

"If entrepreneurs followed a strategy based on RACE then they can withstand any kind of economic threat", he said.

MoUs worth Rs 140 billion dollars are going to be signed at the summit in diverse sectors involving top business houses of India, foreign companies and countries.

MoUs worth Rs 185 billion dollars were signed in the past three summits in 2003, 2005, and 2007 with a success rate of over 60 per cent.

The whose who of the Indian corporate world, from Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Shashi Ruia to Aditya Birla, Anand Mahindra, Adi Godrej were present on the occasion to pledge investment in Gujarat.

The list also included KV Kamath, Deepak Parekh, AM Naik of L&T, RN Dhoot and Tulsi Tanti apart from the local corporate heads like Gautam Adani, Sudhir Mehta of Torrent, Karsanbhai Patel or Nirma, and Pankaj Patel of Zydus Cadila and Sanjay Lalbhai of Arvind.Sabeer Bhatia of Nano Work Development.

What added to the weight of the summit was the presence of foreign dignitaries like PM of Kenya, Raila Amolo Odinga, Singapore foreign minister Zainul Abedin Rashid, Italy Agriculture Minister Paolo Pertini and Japanese ambassador, Hideaki Domichi.

Sri Lankan tourism minister M. Moragoda and diplomats and ministers from Uganda, Kenya, Namibia besides British MPs Barry gardener, Stephen Pound and Angela Billingham and Canadian MP Patrick Brown were also present at the event.

Corporate honchos and foreign dignitaries extol Modi

The Vibrant Gujarat summit turned out to be windfall for Narendra Modi in terms of image building as all the top honchos of the corporate world from Ratan Tata to Mukesh Ambani, and foreign dignitories, were lavish in extoling the Gujarat chief minister's vision and unparalleled commitment to development.

Tata who gave a major fillip to Gujarat's image as a land of development by moving the Nano car project to Gujarat last October was bountiful in his praise of Modi: "Once we had decided to select Gujarat as our destination, thanks to Mr. Modi's persuasive skills, his government gave us all the major approvals including the land approval in just three days. I have never seen it happening before. It enthused our officials to no end. Mr. Modi has unbeatable powers of persuasion. He himself works hard and makes you also work hard ".

Barry Gardiner, member of the House of Commons and a member of the Labour Party, went a step ahead of Tata in praise of Modi.

Comparing Modi with late American President F.D. Roosevelt and India's Sardar Patel he said: "Mr. Modi's action of holding an economic summit of this size in a phase of global recession is comparable with F.D. Roosevelt's great act of restoring the confidence of the American people at a time when the American economy had collapsed."

"Mr. Modi is that rare leader who has an answer to the triple challenge of global recession, global terrorism and global warming. He is not just an iron man but a man of tempered steel", he added.

Kumarmangalam Birla didn't lag behind. "We need many more Modis to make India an economic superpower. As entrepreneurs and investors we look for speed, transparency and cooperation from the government. If the right atmosphere based on these three things exists in India today, it is in Gujarat ", he said.

M Moragoda, tourism minister of Sri Lanka was equally lavish in his praise for Modi. He said: "We politicians draw inspiration from Mr. Modi's example in these challenging times. He is indeed an inspiration when it comes to vision, commitment and delivery. One who dares to host an investor's summit of this scale in times of global recession certainly has something in him to inspire us".

Mukesh Ambani described the 'Vibrant Gujarat' as a flagship event of not just Gujarat but of India saying "Gujarat is truly the growth engine of India, thanks to Narendrabhai's visionary leadership".

But the most significant speech was of Prasoon Mukherji of global infrastructure company, USEL: "I met Mr. Modi just four and a half months ago and today we are making a huge investment in Gujarat including a 10,00 MW power plant, two ports and a 5,000 acre SEZ. This is unthinkable. We have invested in a big way in China, Vietnam and Indonesia but never before we have decided to invest on such a large scale at a place in so short a period. This speaks of the investor's faith in Mr Modi's leadership."

Foreigners flock to Vibrant Gujarat

2009-01-04T00:17:00.002+05:30

When Narendra Modi sat with his think-tank in early August to plan the Vibrant Gujarat show in January 2009, the one issue which was discussed most extensively was foreign participation. For, FDI constituted a meagre one per cent of the total investment pledged during the summit in 2007. Just about a dozen companies came on exploratory trips then.

This time, however, the world is opening up to a vibrant Gujarat which had slid in the world's view after the 2002 riots. Nearly 400 foreign delegates from 30 countries are arriving, most of them looking for business opportunities. Nearly 60 companies from around the world will participate. There will also be an army of diplomats and parliamentarians who are warming up to Gujarat and Modi for the first time.

The reason is simple. Modi has been able to market Gujarat as an excellent investment destination even in this age of global meltdown. His officials and ministers went on tours to several corners of the world, hard-selling the state and its pivotal location along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).

Modi himself met envoys and consuls in separate meetings in Delhi and Mumbai in October 2008. Even some envoys from European Union (EU) nations, which do not allow Modi to visit their countries, were present at these meetings.

The list of participants gives out a clear trend of a changing perception about Gujarat. Where governments are still reluctant to be seen in Modi's company, conglomerates are rushing to sign MoUs. In a couple of cases, while the governments are taking time to warm up themselves, they are sending in parliamentary delegations to get a feel of a new Gujarat.

Left MP praises brand Modi

2008-12-30T19:29:00.001+05:30

A Left MP, A P Abdullakutty, has showered praises on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, which may leave the Left leadership red in the face.

The Lok Sabha MP even cited brand Modi as the model for promoting development.

Abdullakutty said Modi has made Gujarat the 'top investor-friendly state and one should learn lessons from him on how to behave with investors'.

The MP's comment was like rubbing salt on the wounds of the West Bengal government over the loss of Tata's Nano project to Gujarat.

Modi inaugurates Kankaria Carnival

2008-12-25T23:22:00.000+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated a week long Kankaria Carnival at Kankaria lake here.

The event has been organized by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to open the toy train for kids, garden and other entertainment fecilities developed under lake front development project.

Modi named the toy train as' Atal Express&aposafter the first name of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

While inaugurating the train and carnival, Modi said that Ahmedabad has become the cultural hub of Wstern India.

Ahmedabad has become a metro city now as city can boast of best infrastructure in the country,"he said, adding that Kankaria carnival will help promoting tourism in the city.

He announced that Kankaria carnival will be an annual event on December 25.

Talking about the current political situation in the country, Modi said that every party and politician is indulging into"vote bank politics"while Gujarat has taken a new path on"development politics."

AMC has developed a range of facilities and created a world class entertainment zone in the Kankaria lake where toy train, boating and other rides for kids have become centre of attraction.

UPA lacks will to take tough measures against Pak: Modi

2008-12-25T12:49:00.001+05:30

Chief Minister Narendra Modi came down heavily on the Centre on Wednesday, saying that the UPA government seems to lack the political will to take action against Pakistan with regard to the Mumbai terror attack.

Interacting with a delegation of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Modi said the November 26 attack was nothing but a declaration of war on India. The CM said the Centre has not been able to send a message to the Pakistani leadership that such nonsense would not be tolerated.

It is really unfortunate that the Central government has failed to understand the gravity of the attack and failed to give a fitting reply to it, he added.

Modi briefed the delegation members about the all-round development of the state under his leadership, particularly in the field of women empowerment, tribal development, agriculture, water conservation and management, and human resource development.

On the initiatives taken to reduce the number of pending cases and provide fast justice to the litigants, he mentioned the setting up of night courts and other special courts. He said that as many as 45 lakh cases have been cleared in Gujarat in the last three years, and 24 lakh cases are pending.

Will Modi be part of US Swarnim Gujarat fete?

2008-12-22T09:09:00.002+05:30

Will chief minister Narendra Modi visit US to address Gujaratis at the valedictory function of Swarnim Gujarat the 50-year celebration of Gujarat's foundation?

The Gujarati community based in US, especially New York, have decided to take up Modi's call for celebrations. The Swarnim Gujarat fete begins in May 2009 and will continue for a year.

Suresh Jani and Hirubhai Patel, two community leaders in New York, said that after Modi's call, the NRG community has begun giving final touches to the programme.

The duo said that rallies and conferences would be organised at all major American cities. Garba competitions as well a music contests would be organised.

Jani and Patel said that some of them would go to Gujarat to chalk out the minute details of the programme. "We will meet Modi during the Vibrant Gujarat summit and fine-tune the programme and request him to attend the valedictory function in the US," they said.

Sources in the community said that the platform was ready for Modi to come to Gujarat. After Barack Obama's victory in US presidential elections, several Gujaratis who are close to Obama and secretary of state Hillary Clinton are already trying hard to convince them to lift the stay on visa for Modi.

Businessmen Niranjan Shah and National Federation of Indian American Association president CK Patel are lobbying to get Modi to US. Even NFIA had in its meeting decided to take up the visa issue.

Also Read :

Modi mixture is fast becoming a rage among Gujaratis and NRIs in NewYork

2008-12-21T17:01:00.001+05:30

'Modi mixture' a hit in US

If you want to get a taste of Narendra Modi, here's your chance. Modi mixture is fast becoming a rage among Gujaratis and NRIs in NewYork. A mixture made from puffed rice and fried gram and pulses is being marketed among the Indian community as Modi mixture.

The snack is being marketed by Arvind Patel, owner of a food chain in New York. After Chief Minister Narendra Modi won the recent Assembly elections, the group celebrated Modi's victory by distributing sweets, says Patel. He was then struck with the idea of launching a mixture in the name of Modi, says Patel.

Patel says he wanted to name the snack Narendra Modi mixture', but then thought he would have to take the CM's consent and hence he decided use only Modi in the name.

Modi mixture is made from puffed rice, rice flakes, gram dal, corn oil, sugar, fennel seeds.

He got the idea to come up with Modi mixture due to Modi's popularity among all Indians overseas, and not just Gujaratis. And when we were to launch a mixture here in New York and we decided to have it in the name of Narendra Modi, says Patel.

Patel who hails from Ahmedabad had migrated to US in 1980s and started a small store that sold Gujarati sweets and fried snacks. Today, he has a four restaurant serving Gujarati thalis and fried snacks and sweets.

Claiming to be a Modi fan and impressed with his style of functioning, Patel plans to have more sweets and mixture in the name of Modi.

Kankaria Carnival : Soon, all roads will lead to Kankaria

2008-12-20T00:36:00.004+05:30

Cops and municipal employees in the city have one focus these days - Kankaria Carnival.

Though it is still a week ahead, preparations are in full swing. Police officials have already begun security checks on tableaus. City cops are also burning midnight oil, assessing security arrangements. A special security cover for the chief minister, who will be present at the inaugural and closing ceremony on December 25 and on January 1, is also being looked into.

A senior city police official told TOI that in the wake of recent terror attacks, roads leading to Kankaria lake will be transformed into a virtual fortress, with every passer-by thoroughly checked.

Though many churches and other religious outfits across the country have cancelled their grand Christmas plans to express solidarity with Mumbaikars, the state government has decided to go full steam with carnival.

Being a pet project of Narendra Modi for his constituency, Maninagar, AMC officials are not leaving any stone unturned for its grand preparation.

However, leader of Opposition, AMC, Surendra Baxi said, "Lately, the KLFD project has resulted in slow pace of work for providing basic civic amenities to people. These days, officials cite KLFD to excuse themselves from their responsibility of addressing day-to-day problems of citizens."

"We have made special arrangements for the security of lakefront premises. With our detailed plan, we are sure of all security aspects," said a senior police official.

Mob tries to damage toy train

Around 100 to 150 people protesting against the entry fee tried to break into the lakefront premises and damage the mini-train, specially brought from England.

Security forces used a mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd. The entire episode was video recorded.

According to Maninagar police station officials, the mob scaled the Pushpkunj gate and entered the premises. Despite heavy deployment of security guards, police officials and jawans trying to stop the mob, some entered the ground.

"We have got complaints from AMC officials about the incident. We have also got the CD containing the recording. We will crack down on the miscreants soon," said PJ Trivedi, inspector of Maninagar police station.

Carnival to cost Rs 50L

First-of-its-kind carnival in the city will be organised by AMC at a cost of over Rs 50 lakh. Highlights of the carnival will be cultural performances by students of Gujarat University, communities from different states, ras garba, gymnastics and adventure sports among others. A unique toy train Kankaria Queen,' imported from UK, will be a star attraction here. In the week-long celebration, yoga classes and rides for differently-abled children have been organised.

The Rs 36-crore KLFD project houses a zoo, food court, swimming pool, linear garden and informal sector market.

See Kankaria Map

Jammu can solve Kashmir problem: Modi

2008-12-19T23:45:00.002+05:30

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said only people of Jammu could resolve the Kashmir issue. "I am saying this on the basis of unity displayed by people of Jammu during the two month-long agitation on the Amarnath land issue,'' Modi said while addressing an election rally at Bishnah, about 30 km from Jammu. "
If Jammu people rise to the occasion, the Kashmir issue will be automatically resolved,'' he said. People braved rain and icy winds to attend the rally.

Asking people to give "a fitting reply to those political parties which have always played vote bank politics'', he said, "Congress is a century-old party but has failed to find a solution to discrimination against Jammu and Kashmir.''

Earlier, BJP president Rajnath Singh said Pakistan's cold response to India's demand for handing over terrorists was nothing new. "India should build international pressure on it (Pakistan) and demand stern action.''

Sadhus frown upon Modi’s ‘priestly’ act at Dwarka temple

2008-12-14T13:09:00.002+05:30

Sadhus of Junagadh have raised eye-brows over Chief Minister Narendra Modi conducting a religious ceremony at the Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka on Friday. According to a section of sadhus, it is the exclusive right of the Shankaracharya or Brahmins to perform religious rites at the temple and politicians should have nothing to do with them.

The sadhus also said that the sanctity of the temple is violated when politicians perform religious ceremonies. On Friday, Modi had participated in a religious ceremony to install a golden throne specially made for Lord Krishna, which was donated by a devotee.

Mahant Gopalanand, president, All India Sadhu Samaj (Gujarat Chapter), said, “Some ceremonies are exclusively conducted by the Shankaracharya or Brahmin priests. No other person is allowed to perform them. If politicians perform those ceremonies, then it violates the temple’s sanctity and the spiritual environment. Politicians should not cross certain limits. They should concentrate more on their work.”

Gopalanand further said that instead of taking a keen interest in developing the religious places, they are interfering in holy ceremonies. “They have not given permission to carry out repair work at a temple in Dwarka. Besides, a grant of Rs 15 crore sanctioned for various developmental work in the Girnar region has been idle since long,” he added. The Mahant has appealed to the people to raise their voices against Modi’s act.

Modi to visit village not on revenue records

2008-12-11T20:42:00.001+05:30

Gandhi-nu-gam or Gandhigram, the name sounds patriotic, but the hamlet in Kutch district, despite its real existence, is a non-existent entity on the government records. Interestingly, chief minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries are all set to visit the 'non-existent' village during the Rannotsav.

Though the village came into existence way back in 2001, it is yet to get the status of a village on the revenue records. Modi, along with cabinet and ambassadors of several countries, will visit this village during the much-hyped Rannotsav on Friday.

"Gandhi-nu-gam was created out of Ludiya after the devastating earthquake in 2001. For the predominant population of Dalits, the village is a beautiful place to live, for it has artistic Bhungas (thatched huts) made up of mud and grass to thwart any earthquakes.

Mostly foreigners visit our village as it is famous for handicraft, clay work and wood work. We have sent countless representations and even handed over a memorandum to the chief minister during last Rannotsav in February last. Here, the Dalits do not get the benefits of a regular village. In fact, Modi would be visiting our village third time as chief minister," Vaiyal Node, the sarpanch of the village who is also the vice president of the Kutch district minority cell of the BJP, told DNA.

He said that Ludiya village has been facing water problem. "We get water once in a week under a water supply scheme of the water supply board. The supply is only three to four hours. We are proud that ours is the only village in the Pachham area to have been selected for the second consecutive Rannotsav as a showcase village because ours being the village of artisans," an enthusiast looking Node said.

The visit of the CM and his entourage is limited to all-Dalit Gandhigram and all the villagers are all set to welcome the dignitaries from home and abroad.
"We have mud plastered our Bhungas afresh. Normally, we do this before Diwali but since the dignitaries are coming to our hamlet, we have to beautify our houses to welcome them. We have cleaned the streets at our own cost because we consider Rannotsav as our own festival,'' Marvada Khajur Kanya, a resident, said and demanded immediate revenue status for their hamlet.

District collector and chief organiser of the Rannotsav, RR Varsani, was not available for comment. Additional collector GC Waghela said that it was not the time to raise such an issue when they were busy with the Rannotsav preparations and added that the issue would be taken up later on and needful would be promptly done.

Video : Mumbai Commando Operation is great : Modi

2008-11-28T22:03:00.001+05:30

Modi says Pak has violated UN code

2008-11-28T20:19:00.001+05:30

Holding Pakistan responsible for allowing use of its territory for carrying out the Mumbai attacks, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said Islamabad has violated the UN code on the use of land and sea routes for launch of terror strikes against India.

"This is for the first time Pakistan has allowed use of sea routes to further terrorism against India," Modi said at the Oberoi-Trident hotel here, where operation is underway to flush out militants holed up there.

He said Pakistan has violated UN convention on use of sea and land routes to launch attacks against India.

"Terrorists have targeted US, British and Israeli citizens and made Mumbai a place that has been hit by international terrorism," he said.

Modi wants 3-layer ring to secure coast

2008-11-28T20:14:00.002+05:30

Members of a high-level meeting on Thursday, which was taken by Chief Minister Narendra Modi at his residence on the terror attack in Mumbai, decided to act fast on plugging existing gaps in security along the 1,600-km-long coastline. In the meeting, it was decided to act swiftly to implement a three-layer ring to make the coast secure. Of this, if Indian naval forces operating in the international sea off 12 nautical miles from the coast were to guard the outer ring, the coastal guards and the state coastal police could take care of two other rings to protect the region. Minister of state for home Amit Shah followed it up with a similar meeting in Sachivalaya later with his officials.

Soon after the meetings, attended among others by minister Shah, principal secretary (home) Balwant Singh and DGP PC Pandey, Modi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to urgently call a meeting to work out a strategy to guard coastal security. The meeting, he said, should be attended by senior representatives of Central government and state governments which are within reach of mischievous elements in Pakistan, Indian naval forces and coastal guards. "There is a need for political willingness to fight terror," Modi told Manmohan.

Soon after the meeting, a senior state official told TOI that security near state's borders was found to be extremely weak, especially at two of the private ports operating in Gujarat Mundra and Pipavav as also a large number of fishing harbours. "At Mundra and Pipavav, private guards are doing the job of securitymen. They cannot be relied upon for guarding against any infiltration. They also lack training," the official said. Officials favoured a professional approach, under which state police, coastal guards, naval forces and fishing boat owners cooperate to guard against infiltration.

The meeting decided to ask the Central government to urgently sanction 50 coastal police stations for Gujarat as against just 10 operating in the state. "Currently, a mere 250 trained police personnel of the state are doing the job of guarding the entire 1,600-km-long coast. Of course, there are police checkpoints and other police stations next to the sea coast, but they are not trained to guard the coastal region. With 50 coastal police stations, the total number of trained cops can go up to 1,500," the official said.

Besides, sources said that though the Central government has sanctioned 30 modern boats for carrying out surveillance, the state has yet to get one. As a result, the state's coastal region has to heavily depend on private boats, which have a speed of merely eight nautical miles per hour. "The 30 coastal boats, under construction at Goa's ship-building yard, will have the capacity to run at the speed of 25 nautical miles per hour. These are being manufactured under the Centre's Rs 58-crore grant for coastal security," they added.

Meanwhile, senior Sachivalaya officials denied they had given any specific information to Maharashtra police about possible terror strike in Mumbai. "We sent across a routine message to Maharashtra. Such messages are sent or received regularly by every government and are never taken seriously," one official underlined, adding, "We have now received Central intelligence input about putting all important installations on high alert, including railway stations, airports, temples and Gandhinagar Sachivalaya, and start intensive checkings on ports and roads."

Modi announces 1 crore [10 Mn] for Mumbai martyrs

2008-11-28T20:01:00.002+05:30

Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat recently visited the Oberoi Trident hotel in Mumbai and announced a reward of Rs one crore for the police officers who have sacrificed their lives fighting against terrorists during Mumbai attacks.

GUJARAT CHIEF minister Narendra Modi has announced a reward of Rs one crore for the police officers, who have sacrificed their lives fighting against the terrorists during Mumbai attacks. He also visited the homes of the slain policemen and said that the nation was proud of their supreme sacrifice.

Standing in front of the Oberoi Trident hotel, Modi who came to Mumbai on Friday (November 28) criticised the United Progressive Alliance government for failing to tackle the spread of terror.

He accused the Congress of being soft on terror and said that it was for this reason that innocent people were losing their lives.

Alleging that the terror attack was orchestrated from across the border in Pakistan, Modi alleged that this was a clear violation of United Nations conventions. Announcing a reward of Rs one crore on behalf of the Gujarat government, he said that it was high time that government understood the threat underlined by terrorism from across the border.

Meanwhile, latest reports coming from Mumbai said that more than 100 people are still trapped in Trident hotel. Intermittent firing is taking place at the hotel as the holed up terrorists, now seem to have slipped to the adjacent Oberoi building.

Political will required to fight terror: Modi writes to PM

2008-11-27T23:10:00.000+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying political will and national resolve were required to root out terrorism, a day after Mumbai was rocked by terror attacks that have left around 100 dead.

"There is a need to exhibit political will and national resolve to fight against terrorists who have put the internal security of the country in jeopardy," he said in the letter.
"The time is ripe to chalk out a coordinated strategy to maintain internal security by cooperation between all Central and state agencies," he said.

"I request the Prime Minister to call a meeting of all the Chief Ministers to firm up a coordinated strategy to root out terrorism from the country," he further said. Referring to the Mumbai strikes, Modi said this is for the first time that sea route has been used by terrorists.

"The terrorists are targeting our economic establishments which is a proxy war unleashed by our enemies." Modi requested the Prime Minister to also call a separate meeting of western coastal states, especially those near Pakistan, with Indian Navy and Coast Guard to devise a strategy to counter terror coming from the sea.

The Gujarat CM, in the letter, has described the Mumbai strikes as "an attack on the faith of people of India".

Kenya ‘poised for big growth’

2008-11-21T11:27:00.001+05:30

Kenya is on the path to achieving tremendous development following Barack Obama’s election as US president, a top Indian government official has said.

Visiting Gujarat State chief minister Narendra Modi said although Mr Obama, whose father was Kenyan, won an election thousands of kilometres away “the real effect will be felt in Kenya.”

Powerful force

“Every Kenyan feels Obama belongs to them. This feeling can generate tremendous energy in Kenyan society to work even harder,” Mr Modi said at a meeting to explore bilateral and trade potential between Kenya and Gujarat.

“The feeling of being Kenyan now has a high value and can change the country,” Mr Modi said, adding that Kenya stood to benefit if it could “generate these emotions into a powerful force that will provide a breakthrough for development of Kenyan society.”

He said the country was also perfectly positioned to boost its image abroad.

Mr Modi, who was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi hailed Kenya’s relationship with India, which dates back centuries.

“We want to strengthen our relationship,” Mr Modi said.

He said the two countries could work together to boost small-scale industries, infrastructure development, energy, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and mineral exploration.

Engine for growth

Gujarat, he said, has 99 per cent road connectivity, has broadband connection in every village, its economy grew by 10.4 percent last year and is India’s engine for growth.

Both Mr Modi and Mr Mudavadi called for more investment in infrastructure, especially in ICTs. Urging Indian investors to explore opportunities in Kenya, including the rural towns, Mr Mudavadi said the Government was working round the clock to speed up the processing of requests for investment.

“Indeed, Kenya has 175 local authorities with enormous investment opportunities which are just waiting to be tapped. I welcome investors from the State of Gujarat to explore opportunities available in these local authorities,” he said, adding that the Local Government ministry, which he heads, will facilitate a conducive environment for potential investors.

Singhal visits demolished temple sites in Gandhinagar

2008-11-21T11:20:00.001+05:30

Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Ashok Singhal on Thursday visited the sites where Temples were demolished by the Gandhinagar civic authorities, which according to them were illegal structures on government land.

Singhal, who is on a visit to the state, was accompanied by VHP's state unit leaders and supporters who opposed the demolition of temples by the civic authorities.

"Mohammad Gaznavi used to do such type of works. The government here is playing with the sentiments of the people. I don't know what are they going to gain from this," Singhal said after visiting the sites.

Claiming that the government has demolished some very old temples, VHP state unit General Secretary Ranchod Bharadwaj said, "Singhal ji had visited the sites where the demolition was carried out by the local authorities. He had expressed his displeasure over the demolition drive and asked the government to stop razing religious structures as it hurts sentiments of people."

When asked if VHP was planning any agitations against the demolition drive, Bharadwaj said they were thinking about it, but nothing was finalised as of now.

More than 250 structures -- most of them temples -- have been razed by the civic authorities as part of the demolition drive that began in the second week of October.

Mandir Bachao Sangharsh Samiti here had given a call of Gandhinagar bandh yesterday which received lukewarm response.

Modi to campaign for formation of Telangana region: BJP

2008-11-21T11:12:00.001+05:30

BJP has said that Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will be roped in to campaign for creation of Telangana region and galvanise
party cadres there.

"The party is organising a massive rally of Narendra Modi in Telangana in December, the dates are yet to be finalised," party leader Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.

The rally lead by our Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani on November 13 was a massive success, people are now looking forward to BJP for the creation of the Telangana state, he added.

Sources in the party said Modi has been selected for the job for his pro-development image.

Advani had in a rally in Hyderabad last week announced that the saffron party, if voted to power, would initiate the process of Telangana formation within 100 days.

When asked if the party feels the probability of TRS joining back the Congress fold, which is seen as a probable threat to its prospects, he said, "we cannot help if the goat lays faith on the butcher".

Rs 911-crore facelift for Ahmedabad Civil Hospital

2008-11-13T12:51:00.001+05:30

Modi says the ‘innovative initiative’ aims to improve state’s human development index

In its bid to tone up the medical services in Gujarat, the state government has chalked out an ambitious Rs 911.68-crore project to upgrade and restructure the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, which is considered the biggest in Asia. The project will be implemented soon and executed in three phases, ending with the state’s Golden Jubilee Year—2010.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced this at a New Year luncheon organised for the media at his official residence in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. Under the project, the bed capacity at the hospital, which currently stands at 2,150, will be increased to 5,150.

Though Modi did not mention any Central assistance for the project, a senior official in the State Health Department told Newsline later that the UPA government has chipped in with Rs 120 crore under the Prime Minister’s Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). A couple of years ago, the Centre had provided nearly Rs 100 crore for the same purpose.

Modi said the project was his government’s “innovative initiative” aimed at bringing about qualitative changes in the health care services and improving the human development index (HDI) in the state. “Patients from Gujarat as well as from the neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will also be benefited by the modernisation of Asia’s biggest hospital,” he said.

At present, the hospital, spread over 110 acres of land in Asarwa, provides health care services to over 6.50 lakh patients every year.

Under the project, the hospital will have one additional trauma centre besides multi-specialty and super-specialty health care facilities. The medical colleges located in the sprawling hospital complex will also get a facelift under the project.

In the first phase, the renovation and restructuring work of all the blocks of the Civil Hospital, B J Medical College, Dental College and Hospital, Paraplegia College, operation theatres, new trauma centre, Ophthalmic Institute, Nursing College and other related infrastructure in the complex will be undertaken at a cost of Rs 289.05 crore.

In the second phase, involving Rs 235 crore, renovation and upgradation of medical students’ hostels, professors’ residential houses, housing blocks of the hospital staff, students’ mess and a guesthouse will be taken up. The third phase costing Rs 325 crore will involve works related to parking facilities, beautification of the entire hospital complex, and the day-to-day needs of patients among others.

All old buildings and temporary constructions will be removed from the hospital complex as part of the project. It is also envisaged to upgrade the existing power and water supply networks and drainage system. Moreover, fire fighting and emergency services will be upgraded and a special system for solid waste and medical waste disposal will be developed.

Did Modi offer Rs. 30,000 crore in sops to Tata Motors?

2008-11-13T12:48:00.001+05:30

The Narendra Modi government is claimed to have offered over Rs. 30,000 crore in sops to Tata Motors to bring the Nano car project to Gujarat.

Not only has the Modi government agreed to provide a soft loan of Rs. 9,570 crore at a negligible interest of 0.1 per cent to set up the project, but also allowed a deferred repayment for 20 years. It initially met all the costs of infrastructure development, cut in power tariff rates and the shifting cost of Rs. 700 crore for bringing machinery and equipment from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand, near Ahmedabad.

Even as the Chief Minister’s office refused to give the details of the agreement signed on October 7 between the State government and the Tata Motors, an official document submitted to the State Cabinet for approval was leaked to the media, bringing to light the unprecedented concessions offered to the Tatas to bring the “prestigious” project from West Bengal to Gujarat.

An incensed Mr. Modi has reportedly ordered an inquiry into the leakage of the document.

But State Congress president Siddhartha Patel and the former Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Arjun Modhvadia, said their “inquiry” with the official sources proved that the leaked information was “authentic.” If this was the kind of concessions offered to the Tatas, “it is a complete sell-out and will not be acceptable to the people of Gujarat,” the Congress leaders said.

They, however, said they had no plans to launch an agitation on the lines of Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee in Singur to block the passage of the Tata Motors coming to Gujarat.

“We will consider what the Congress can do to salvage the situation in the best interest of the people, but the party is not for blocking the passage of the Nano project. Ratan Tata is a worthy son of Gujarat and is welcome to set up five factories instead of one, but he must do business at his own cost and not at the expense of the people of the State,” Mr. Patel said.

Modi new posterboy for industrialists?

2008-11-13T12:37:00.001+05:30

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi appears to be one person who can lift the spirits of India Inc in the time of financial turmoil. This was amply demonstrated at a summit in Mumbai where Modi's spiel of pro-active governance bolstered his new image as darling of the business community.

His good governance hat firmly on, Narendra Modi's saffron turban was quickly forgotten. Addressing the big names of industry at a five-star hotel in South Mumbai, he urged his audience to put their money and faith in his state and promised all manner of help and permissions forthwith. The speech, which repeatedly jabbed at all the right buttons of efficiency, cooperation and enterprise, was a far cry from his usual political rhetoric, used as recently as his election rallies in Chhattisgarh last week.

In progress was the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit attended by businessmen, entrepreneurs and multinationals. The Ambani brothers (who had separate meetings with Modi), Shashi Ruia, Ajit Gulabchand, Adi and Jamshyd Godrej, Nimesh Kampani, Harsh Goenka, Niranjan Hiranandani, Vinod Mittal and Nikhil Meswani frontlined a host of small and medium entrepreneurs. As the heads of business queued up to get an audience, it was hard to believe that this was the same Modi who had been denied a US visa because of the 2002 Gujarat violence.

Instead, the rehabilitated new chief minister was seen solely as the man who had green-lighted Ratan Tata's Nano project in a few hours flat. Apart from the winning cards of good infrastructure, smooth roads and quick redressal of business issues, Modi's trump card remains the Tata's small-car project that his state has won.

He warned that with the credit crunch, there could be an unprecedented rise in ‘dirty money' — funds from illegal sources such as drug and arms dealers. This, he said, would only deepen the crisis in the country.

When the head of a Mumbai-based construction company said that Modi should personally call upon the Reserve Bank governor to discuss the current financial crisis, he did not hesitate a second before answering in the affirmative. He added that he had been prompting the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P Chidambaram to meet financial and business heads to get a clear picture of the gravity of the situation

Narendra Modi to campaign for Chhattisgarh chief minister

2008-11-06T10:57:00.000+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will address a series of public meetings during his two-day election tour to Chhattisgarh beginning Nov 8 to campaign for Bharatiya Janata Party candidates, including Chief Minister Raman Singh. Party leaders said Modi would address meetings in Durg, Rajanandgaon and Kawardha districts. On the Rajnandgaon seat, state Chief Minister Raman Singh is locked in a straight fight with Congress party’s sitting legislator Udai Mudliyar.

The Congress won the Rajnandgaon seat in Nov 2003 polls against BJP nominee Leelaram Bhojwani by just 40 votes.

Modi will address meetings at Vaishali Nagar segment in Durg where the party has fielded Durg mayor and state unit spokesperson Saroj Pandey. He will address a rally in the neighbouring Bhilai constituency as well where Assembly Speaker Premprakash Pandey is finding the going tough this time against Congress nominee and former minister Badruddin Qureshi.

The BJP is planning to arrange Modi’s public meeting at Raman Singh’s home district Kawardha too where the Congress has fielded its sitting legislator, Yogiraj Singh.

BJP leaders claim that the party candidates were lobbying for Modi’s public meetings in their segments and Modi will travel at least one more time before campaigning ends for the second phase of polling Nov 18.

The state goes to the polls in two phases, Nov 14 and 20, to elect a new 90-member Assembly.

In the first phase, 39 segments will go to polls and the rest in the next phase.

Book us for sedition: VHP leader tells Modi

2008-11-05T22:47:00.000+05:30

The war of words between Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the state unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is escalating with the
arrest of a senior VHP leader on the charge of sedition.

Ahmedabad VHP general secretary Ashwin Patel allegedly circulated derogatory and defamatory SMSs against Modi and the state government after the July 26 serial bombings here, in which 56 people were killed.

Last week, the Gandhinagar police crime branch arrested him on charges of sedition, defamation and inflaming communal passions. He was also booked by the Gandhinagar police in yet another offence on a complaint filed by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) for allegedly giving a bogus residential address.

"The Gujarat government is targeting Ashwin Patel on trumped up charges. There were no SMSs sent by Patel nor had he purchased any SIM card. Someone has impersonated him," said VHP Gujarat unit president Dilip Trivedi.

"The VHP holds the Gujarat government responsible (for Patel's arrest). Since he has been booked under a non-bailable offence, it is totally politically motivated," Trivedi said.

"The VHP workers from across Gujarat sent SMSs against the Modi government on Tuesday. In a democracy we have the right to protest. If Ashwin is booked for sedition, then book all of us too," Trivedi said.

"The VHP has never believed in sending SMSes or doing anything secretly. When (senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader) L.K. Advani went to Muhammad Ali Jinnah's mazaar (in Pakistan in 2005), we protested openly," Trivedi said.

Asked if Modi was behind Patel's arrest, all Trivedi would say was that the Gujarat government had let loose a terror campaign and he would not name any individual. "Someone somewhere has made up his mind," he said.

VHP general secretary Kaushik Mehta said the Modi government was anti-Hindu.

"When terrorists are attacking the country, state governments are competing with one another over how many Hindus and Hindu saints they can arrest under some pretext or the other," he said.

Modi's taking on hindu hardliners raises eyebrows...

2008-11-03T16:02:00.001+05:30

Is this a sign of Narendra Modi's worsening relations with Hindutva hardliners ? Or, his way of telling the world that he is keeping all extreme elements under check?

In, what is believed to be the first case of sedition through SMS, the VHP leader booked for sedition by the Modi government is a close ally of the organisation's international general secretary Dr Pravin Togadia.

The local crime branch of Gandhinagar arrested VHP leader Ashwin Patel, a Togadia aide, on October 27 on sedition and defamation charges for allegedly circulating SMSes provoking communal ill-will and accusing the state government of mishandling the July 26 serial blasts probe. The FIR mentions 16 cellphone numbers which received so-called provocative SMSes-around dozen of which belong to people associated with the VHP. More cases were filed on November 1.

"It is very clear that Modi has ambitions of making it big on the national political scene. With an image of a hardliner he cannot have a national appeal. So by preparing a case against members of Sangh Parivar he is telling the world that he has changed," says Sunil Oza, a BJP rebel, who along with other party dissidents floated a separate political outfit recently. He says Modi's mentor LK Advani had played a similar gimmick by raking up controversy by his 'Jinnah was secular' remarks ahead of the 2004 general elections.

There have been murmurs in the Parivar over Modi's relationship with its various outfits-be it Modi government's tough stance with Bharatiya Kisan Sangh in 2004 or its not-so-patronising attitude towards VHP. Senior RSS functionaries are upset with the fact that the number of RSS shakhas have dwindled in the past seven years that Modi has been at the helm-from 1,500 shakhas in 2001, the year Modi took over as chief minister, to 300 today.

Modi's relationship with Togadia has been particularly strained ever since the former toppled his predecessor Keshubhai Patel. However, the difference came to the fore when VHP withdrew from BJP's political campaigns in 2004 and later in 2007.

However, many see Patel's arrest, coming at a time when BJP has got into poll mode, as a signal to Togadia. "Patel is seen as somebody very close to Togadia. Togadia stays at Patel's residence whenever he is in Ahmedabad," said a VHP functionary.

Modi loyalists are also harping on the fact that unlike Orissa, Gujarat has not seen a single attack on Christians in the past few years - a clear signal that the state has reined in hardliners from all faiths.

Human rights activist Fr Cedric Prakash, however, says it's a part of the blowhot-blow-cold strategy of Modi. "Modi is trying to gain acceptance in the international world as well as on the national political scene. But in reality the situation of minorities is very bad in the state. The vibrant Gujarat story is nothing but a myth," he says.

Modi's auto love-in

2008-11-02T11:28:00.001+05:30

Mein sadakon ka shehzada, mein tez chalu kuch zyada...kuch tedi medi chaal, mein roz karu dhamaal...mein hoon. Hero Hiralal', crooned Naseruddin Shah as he manoeuvred a black and yellow rickshaw through the streets of Hyderabad in Ketan Mehta's 80's film. Hero Hiralal was the common man personified — an easy-going, affable rickshawallah. His vehicle was typically Indian.

Insurprising then that political leaders ranging from Gaddar of the Public War Group (PWG) to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi find an invaluable communication tool in the rickshaw. Gaddar wrote his first song on an autorickshaw driver and now Modi plans a 'dial-a-rickshaw' service in Ahmedabad.

It is not as ludicrous as it may sound. Modi understands the pulse of his people and the way an autorickshaw connects with the masses. He has done something like this before. His 'Dial 108 Emergency Medical Services' was an instant hit in Gujarat. It's thought this success convinced Modi of the potential of a similar experiment with the rickshaw. The chief minister is not shy to acknowledge this.

"Almost a year after the 108 ambulance service started, we are still inundated with calls thanking the state government for its initiative. I firmly believe that a rickshaw service on similar lines will help the common people in a big way," Modi told STOI.

Whatever the motives, it is an innovative idea whose time may have come. The Gujarat government is planning a fleet of distinctively coloured auto-rickshaws, very different from the green-yellow paint combination of three-wheelers plying the state roads today. It plans to offer a toll-free number, '109'. And it wants to turn the rickshaw into the poor man's Rolls Royce with services such as phone, newspapers, bottled water and music.

Like the future of tomorrow's Modi Rickshaw, the good news rolls on. A senior official says the state government will offer subsidies to owner-driver rickshawallahs. "We have worked out a unique colour scheme for the vehicles as well as uniforms for the drivers, who will double up as tourist guides. The drivers will become ambassadors of the city. If this works, people will take pride in travelling in a rickshaw because of the premium attached to it."

The first phase of the project will see roughly 250 Modi Rickshaws take to the streets of Ahmedabad. It will eventually be rolled out to other cities too. The state government is also planning to help Modi Rickshaws secure sponsorship, which could start a whole new trend, just as in the south, of using rickshaws for political mileage, says Ahmedabad-based sociologist Gaurang Jani.

The Modi Rickshaw could easily become a barometer of tastes. Both the rickshawallah and his passengers would be judged by the vehicle's display, whether it is pictures of pretty women, images of handsome hunks astride the mud-guards or shayari on its hood.

Pradyumna Vyas, head of automobile design at the National Institute of Design (NID), says the choice of image could be seen as an important reflection of the aspirational levels of the rickshawallah and his passengers.

She says, "Like Bollywood, the three-wheeled rickshaw has in itself the identity of ordinary Indians. It's more than a mere vehicle. It is in some way associated with the struggles of the common man."

Stars have used it for effect. Singer-actor Himmesh Reshammiya rode a rickshaw for his grand stage entry to a concert to promote Karzzz. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie could not resist the temptation to take a rickshaw ride with son Maddax to get a feel of real India during their last visit to the country.

Recently, Salman Khan dropped lady-love Katrina home in a rickshaw. Even James Bond (Roger Moore) took on the baddies aboard a rickshaw in the popular 007 flick, Octopussy.

Gaddar immortalised the autorickshaw in his 1971 song Apuro Rickshaw (Stop Rickshaw), which described the hardships faced by rickshawallahs "Stop Rickshaw-walla; I am coming; You work from morning to night, but your stomach cannot be filled; So much blood and sweat, yet you earn hardly anything," the song lamented.

Much before this, Indulal Yagnik, the man who pioneered the Maha Gujarat movement, used the rickshaw to symbolise the state's establishment in 1960. Yagnik, a social reformer who started the campaign for a separate state, travelled throughout Gujarat, using the rickshaw to campaign.

Dr Tejas Desai, a faculty-member at Ahmedabad's Indian Institute of Management, says the rickshaw is like a Hindi film, a great leveller.

Desai, who had designed a course on India's first contemporary film industry course, says, "It is a completely Indian concept of transportation, (and) rickshaws, like films, appeal to people from all strata of society. They are deeply rooted in the people's psyche".

Source : TOI

When asked Why Gujarat, Tata’s answer was Modi

2008-10-31T17:29:00.001+05:30

In an interview to Times Now channel, Tata group’s Chairman Shree Ratan Tata praised Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment towards Gujarat’s prosperity.

When Times Now’s political editor Navika Kumar asked Ratan Tata “Why Gujarat?”

Ratan Tata in his reply said “We have been quoted now by many states. I think Gujarat stands out as a state which acts fast and the chief minister is truly committed to making the state prosperous and investor friendly. Something that, we do believe, that the West Bengal government is also trying to do, unfortunately without the total support in the state. We have been always impressed by what Mr Narendra Modi has been able to do in terms of administering and managing the state. In a very efficient way he holds to his word, that’s very important. Industry wants to be assured of some things before it moves and more and more industries demand that we have the deal in writing and get it signed. This is because very often you hear later that things said cannot be done etc. One really has a sense of faith in Modi, that if he were to say that if he says it will be done then it will be done.”

In continuation to his answer above, when he was asked “That does not come from some of the other sites?”

He replied “Despite the best intention of the people that does not come from the other sites. We are in a democracy and not all of them have the capability to make things happen.”

Equal male-female ratio in Gujarat is Narendra Modi’s new year resolution

2008-10-31T17:24:00.002+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his Gujarati Vikram Samvat new year day by visiting Gandhinagar’s Panchdev Mahadev temple in the morning on Wednesday.

Talking with the media outside the temple Modi said “My new year resolution is to ensure equal male-female sex ratio in Gujarat. Child sex ratio in Gujarat was just 800 some time back(800 girls per 1000 boys in 0 to 6 years age group). We worked hard to improve the Child sex ratio and thanks to these efforts, Child sex ratio in the state is now 840(840 girls per 1000 boys). However we want to bring an ideal situation where male-female Child sex ratio is equal. We want 1000 girls per 1000 boys in Gujarat and this is my new year resolution.”

After a visit to Panchdev Mahadev temple, Modi received public greetings on the stage at Gandhinagar’s Ministerial Enclave based Chief Minister’s Bungalow No.1 from 8.00 to 8.50 A.M. where besides common citizens, IAS officers and government employees could be seen standing in a long queue to greet Modi. Modi visited Governor’s house ‘Rajbhavan’ soon after this and received Governor’s new year wishes.

Modi’s convoy then arrived at Ahmedabad’s Bhadrakali temple where Gujarat assembly speaker Ashok Bhatt, higher education minister Mrs.Mayaben Kodnani etc. were also present. Temple’s priest gifted Goddess Mahakali’s framed photo to Modi. Modi received greetings from common public at Ahmedabad’s Shahibag Circuit house Annexe and then participated in Gujarat Police’s new year get- together function at Senior Police Officers Mess.

Hapyy Diwali

2008-10-28T09:26:00.001+05:30

Wish You

Happy Diwali

and

Happy New Year

Chandrayaan-1: Modi congratulates SAC scientists

2008-10-23T11:12:00.001+05:30

The launch termed a major milestone in Indian space programme

Chief Minister Narendra Modi visited the Space Applications Centre (SAC) here on Wednesday and congratulated scientists for the successful launch of the country's first lunar mission — Chandrayaan-1.

Mentioning Gujarat's contribution to the Indian space programmes right from Vikram Sarabhai's era, Modi said, “The benefits of India's space programme for the common man are immense, especially the data recorded by remote sensing. The catch identification for fishermen is a classic example."

SAC associate director Ram Rattan termed the launch as a major milestone in the Indian space programme. He said that each of the four-stage propulsion system of the spacecraft was perfectly ignited.

Gujarat Governor Naval Kishore Sharma and Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee also congratulated the scientists at SAC for their continuous dedication, commitment and zeal in ensuring Chandrayaan-1's success.

Modi dedicates Shivranjani (BRTS Route) flyover to Manekshaw

2008-10-23T11:09:00.001+05:30

Security personnel and members of armed forces from the state who gain martyrdom on the battlefront and while fighting terrorists would be immortalised with schools in their villages named after them.

This was announced by Chief Minister Narendra Modi while dedicating the newly-built Shivranjani flyover on the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) route, to the city and Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw at a ceremony hosted by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in the presence of members of the Parsi community and senior defence personnel from the three armed forces on Wednesday.

Hailing Manekshaw, as hero of India's victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan, Modi said, "Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was known globally for his daredevil acts and he was instrumental in creating a new country, Bangladesh."

Taking a dig at central government, Modi said, "Cental government leadership never checked on the war veteran when he was ailing and admitted at the hospital in Ooty."

On the recent political cries over Azamgarh emerging as a terrorist hub, Modi said, "There have been nefarious activities among political parties in supporting terrorists and these people also had termed Sardar Patel as a terrorist."

In the end, Modi took credit for bringing the Nano project to the state and criticised the Congress for raising questions over Nano shifting to Gujarat.

Field Marshal Manekshaw, MC, was born to Parsi parents who settled in Punjab after moving from Valsad. He died at the age of 94 in June this year. The newly built flyover is located on 132 feet ring road and is part of the BRTS project under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Mumtaz, Juhi to jazz up Modi's African safari

2008-10-22T14:29:00.003+05:30

Chief Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Qatar to campaign for the Vibrant Gujarat business summit scheduled in January 2009.

The visit, planned between November 16 and 25, will seek to establish rapport with the huge Gujarati diaspora. The idea is not only to promote investments from the diaspora in Gujarat, but also encourage more Gu-jarati businessmen to seek opportunities in these countries. Among the star attractions during this visit will be Bollywood heart-throbs Mumtaz and Juhi Chawla. Mumtaz is married into the Madhvani family and Juhi into the Mehta family. Both families have immense business interests in Kenya and Uganda.

“Juhi and Mumtaz will talk to the Gujarat delegation about the prospects of investments in Uganda,” said Ugandan ambassador to India Nimisha Madhvani, Mumtaz’s niece. Some top businessmen would accompany Modi on the trip to Kampala, Nairobi, Cape Town, Durban and Doha where the delegation would also be meeting some heads of state.

Rajat Sharma : Narendra Modi is in highest demand

2008-10-22T10:03:00.002+05:30

India’s No.1 Hindi news channel India TV’s owner Rajat Sharma was in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Rajat Sharma delivered a speech and interacted with viewers in a packed hall at Ahmedabad Management Association. Sharma looked frank and honest in answering most of the questions.

Some of the questions raised by common people present at the open function were Narendra Modi and Godhra coverage related.

When asked, Does he consider Narendra Modi a man for development or a communal person? Rajat Sharma said “Narendra Modi has proved by his performance that he can make Gujarat a Golden State. Proving by performance is difficult but he has done this successfully. He has created better infrastructure armed with better power, better water, better roads facilities. He has excelled the state in a way that Ratan Tata has choose Gujarat for Nano. Modi is a man for development. We should forget the old things and should pave new paths.”

When asked why news channels keep highlighting Godhra issue even now at prime time but never give a justice to coverage on Gujarat’s development side, Rajat Sharma said “My opinion may differ with most of the other television news channel editors but I think we should forget Godhra. We the people from media should go with the sentiments of the people of Gujarat. When Gujarat’s clear choice is Narendra Modi, who are we to decide something else?”

In an answer to the question about offending Godhra related coverage by the media that projects bad picture of Gujarat, Rajat Sharma said “When Godhra happened in 2002, my TV news channel India TV was not in existence. My channel came in 2004. But I guarantee you, that if India TV was there in 2002, Gujarat’s image after Godhra could be much different than what was projected.”

When viewers asked Rajat Sharma, why his famous Aap Ki Adalat program’s old episodes are being repeated for last some months and why fresh episodes are absent, Sharma said “We are building a better set up for Aap Ki Adalat and the task is near completion. We would be back with Aap Ki Adalat’s new episodes soon after Diwali. We choose our guests for Aap Ki Adalat via viewers demand. And the highest demand from all parts of the nation is for Narendra Modi as a guest in Aap Ki Adalat. However to ask questions to Narendra Modi is not an easy task.”

Nano could give Modi US visa power

2008-10-21T16:31:00.001+05:30

Chief Minister Narendra Modi met envoys of several countries at a meeting in New Delhi on Friday in order to hardsell Gujarat in the po

st-Nano scenario. The meeting was called at the Taj Mansingh and even an envoy from the Pakistan High Commission turned up.

This is the first time that anyone from the Pakistan foreign mission has landed up on an invitation by Modi. “The change in regime in Pakistan certainly has changed things,” said a person who attended the meeting and also recalled that Modi had won the 2002 Assembly elections by attacking “Miyan Musharraf”.

The source confirmed that envoys from Canada, China, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Egypt also dropped in and met Modi. While most of these envoys first went to an event organised by the Swedish Embassy on the Nobel prizes in the same hotel at the same time, it is also important that they took time out to
peep into Modi’s show for the Vibrant Gujarat event in January 2009, which is latching on in a big way to Tata’s small-car project.

Apparently, Modi didn’t mind establishing a rapport with Pakistan. Some Gujarat officials are already in Karachi to negotiate the release of Gujarati fishermen caught by the Pakistan Marine Agency. Officials from the state hope that in the post-Musharraf era, Pakistan will be more cooperative in releasing the Gujarat boats along with the fishermen.

Establishing rapport with the immediate neighbour, many say, would be of great help for Modi’s future, who is seeing a new role for himself after the Lok Sabha polls. “It is also important that other foreign missions are warming up to a person who is being seen as the star campaigner against Sonia Gandhi,” said a CMO official.
Officials said it is natural for representatives from China and Japan to land up at the event, given the windows that Modi has opened out to the East. What is more important are signs that countries in North America and Europe, which have so far denied him a visa, are also warming up to him.

When the US denied Modi a visa in March 2005, it was because of reasons more than the 2002 riots against the Muslims. Attacks on Christians, and the impending law against religious conversions were used in the campaign against him with the State Department under the Bush Administration. A leading campaigner against Modi said, “While there has been anti-Christian violence in some other Indian states, it is significant that things have been very quiet in Gujarat.”

Now, with countries like Canada and those in the European Union trying to be friendly with the Gujarat CM, officials here are expecting that a US visa would come naturally once either Obama or McCain come to power.

Modi is an ideal chief minister

2008-10-12T20:37:00.001+05:30

They say somebody's loss is somebody's gain. That is what happened with West Bengal and Gujarat a few days ago. The small car from the Tatas, Nano, found a new home in Sanand, nearly 30 kilometres from Ahmedabad in Gujarat after a rather 'ignominious' exit from Singur in West Bengal.

For Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, it is yet another feather in his cap. For, it is under Modi's rule that Gujarat has almost become a model of development in India, and the Tatas have corroborated it now by selecting Gujarat from the list comprising of states like Karnataka, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh that had laid out the red carpet for Nano.

Moreover, Modi was successful in bagging the small car project from none other than his sworn political enemies—the Marxists in Bengal. So it is double whammy for him!

It is, therefore, no wonder that India Today website is flooded with feedback favouring Modi and hailing him as the best chief minister of India. When asked to comment on the question whether Nano is another milestone for Modi, Satyasadasivarao Vemuri from Vuyyuru, Andhra Pradesh, feels that India needs leaders of Modi's caliber. He says, "Modi yet again proved his detractors wrong by signing the MoU with Tata Motors for the Nano project. Our country needs such leaders."

Ankit from Surat even goes to the extent of comparing Modi with Sardar Patel, "The way his government cleared the deal in 10 days, as media reported, it's really amazing and Modi proved again that he is the best administrator after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel."

Bhasmang Trivedi from Junagarh says, "The Tatas' selection of Gujarat for the Nano project has proved that Gujarat, under leadership of Narendra Modi, is the most favourable state for industries to come."

Gujarat's economy will also get a fillip with Nano. The car will provide employment to many people. It might even change the political firmament of the land where Gandhi was born. Jayur Patel from Dharmaj, Gujarat, says, "Employment is the number one issue in the world. The Nano project will change Indian politics and Gujarat in the coming years. The 1,100 acres of land will make 11 lakh families happy in the state. Long live Modi."

Anjan Kumar Samal from Delhi praises Modi for his commitment to Gujarat's development and feels that he rode to power for the second time because of this factor. "Though Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were in race for the Nano project, Gujarat has finally became the destination of Ratan Tata's dream car. It happened due to the experience and vision Narendra Modi has to develop the state. He was completely aware of the importance of the project and the need to encase this dream project for the socio-economic development of the state…" he says.

For Prasanth Murali from Chennai, Modi is one of the rare politicians who loves his state and can go to any extent for its welfare. He says, "Modi deserves to be congratulated for what he did in the past ten days. Though he is the champion of Hindutva, he shows others that he cares for his state and the people. India needs such leaders. Let other politicians learn from him."

A majority of our surfers feel that Modi is an inspiration for many. He is an enigma. He is perhaps one of the leaders who don't give a damn for what the media says. "Modi is one of the best leaders in the right of centre. We salute his conviction to serve his state in spite of all odds as manifested by the criticism mounted by his detractors, mainly the English media and the pseudo-secularists. He is one of the few leaders who inspire the people, irrespective of sex, age, caste and religion," says Jogish Mehta from Mumbai.

Ajeet Singh from Varanasi says, "He is a CM who has a clear vision of development for his state. I really praise him for his efforts. He is an ideal CM. Well done Modi!"

Tata team meets Modi on Nano

2008-10-05T12:23:00.000+05:30

Tata Motors, which suspended work at the Nano plant in West Bengal's Singur in view of continued confrontation at the site early this month, has held talks with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over relocating the facility to the state.

In a closed-door meeting held at Modi's official residence on Saturday afternoon, a team of Tata Motors officials led by managing director Ravi Kant discussed setting up the project in Gujarat.

After Tata Motors officially announced the suspension of construction and commissioning of work at the Nano plant at Singur on September 2, several states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, invited the auto-maker to set up plant for the world's cheapest car.

Top Gujarat government officials as well as the chief minister’s office ensured that the Saturday's meeting remained a closely- guarded affair.

However, sources close to the development told Business Standard that the meeting lasted for over 30 minutes, where Tata Motors officials evinced interest in Mundra as one of the probable locations for relocating the plant.

"Tata Motors is exploring various locations, one of them is Gujarat. The group is looking at Mundra in the Kutch region as one of the locations," said a source.

Tata Motors is looking for about 1,000 acres to relocate the facility, which the government is willing to support, the source said.

The company has in the past held talks with diversified business entity Adani Group, which operates the Mundra port, including the possibility of Ro-Ro (roll on and roll off) ships coming to the port, said the sources. Tata Power also has its 4000 MW ultra mega power project (UMPP) at Mundra, and being close to port the Nano project can have the advantage of exports also, sources added.

For a long time, the Gujarat government has been wooing Tata Motors to set up a car manufacturing facility in the state, even before it selected Singur in West Bengal for the Nano project. Gujarat has an advantage as far as land acquisition by the government is concerned.

"So far not a single project wherein the government has acquired land on behalf of the company has evoked any protest from the farmers or land-owners," said a senior government official.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said it would be a setback to industrialisation if the Tatas leave Singur.

Rice avoids comment on Modi visa

2008-10-05T00:17:00.001+05:30

S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was tactfully silent Saturday when Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani raised the issue of a US visa being denied to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a source in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said.”The issue of the visa for Modi was brought up during the meeting between Rice and Advani,” the source told IANS, not wishing to be named.

“We pressed for a US visa for Modi as he is the elected representative of the people of Gujarat. Rice, however, did not comment on the issue,” the source added.

The US had previously denied a visa to Modi in 2005 citing charges of biased handling of communal violence in the state in 2002 and human rights violations.

While Modi, a popular BJP leader, was invited to the World Gujarati Conference in New Jersey in August, he addressed the gathering using the video-conferencing facility. He has insisted that he has not applied again for a US visa.

Meanwhile, Rice, on a day-long India visit, met Advani, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, and held talks on a wide range of bilateral issues, including the India-US nulcear deal.

Though Advani expressed the BJP’s reservations on some aspects of the nuclear deal, he assued Rice that his party favours deepning the engagement between the two countries.

Modi offers Tatas land for Nano in Bhuj

2008-10-05T00:14:00.000+05:30

Even as Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata gets ready to meet with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in Kolkata, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has offered huge land tracts in the Bhuj area to the Tatas for the Nano manufacturing plant.

Modi has invited Ratan Tata to Gandhinagar for a discussion with state government officials as an initial offer. Feasibility shall be discussed at the first level.

Meanwhile, speculation is rife that the Tata-Buddhadeb meeting is being held to express the Tata Motors decision to say good bye to Singur Tata Nano car project.

Seedhi Baat with Narendra Modi at Aaj Tak - 1/2

2008-09-26T00:56:00.000+05:30

Seedhi Baat with Narendra Modi at Aaj Tak - 2/2

2008-09-26T00:54:00.001+05:30

Modi 'cleared' over Gujarat riots

2008-09-26T00:52:00.002+05:30

A commission set up by the government in the western Indian state of Gujarat has exonerated Chief Minister Narendra Modi over religious riots in 2002. It said there was no evidence that he, his ministers or police were at fault. Gujarat's authorities were criticised for not doing enough to stop the riots. At least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. Violence began after about 60 Hindus died in a fire on a train. The commission's conclusions differ from those of an earlier inquiry. 'No evidence' The incident which triggered the riots was the train fire, which occurred in the town of Godhra. It was allegedly started by a Muslim mob. Justice GT Nanavati concluded in his report, which was presented in the state assembly on Thursday, that the train had been set on fire. But the report said: "There is absolutely no evidence to show that either the chief minister or any of the ministers in his council or police officers played any role in the Godhra incident." It concluded that there was also no evidence against him for the outbreak of the riots after the attack, and nothing to suggest that he and his administration did not provide relief and rehabilitation to riot victims. The commission examined more than 1,000 witnesses during a six-year period. It found that 140 litres of petrol had been purchased as the part of what it said had been a conspiracy to burn the train carriage. Relief The report's findings contradict an earlier inquiry by retired Supreme Court judge Umesh Chandra Banerjee, who found that the coach fire was not deliberately started. He concluded in 2005 that the fire began by accident. He said there was evidence to suggest the blaze began inside the train, not that it was fire-bombed. Most accounts from the time and since said a Muslim mob threw petrol bombs at the train, starting the blaze which in turn triggered the riots. Correspondents say that the findings of the two-member inquiry will be a relief to Mr Modi, who has been accused of failing to halt some of the worst religious violence India has ever seen. His opponents say he indirectly egged on Hindu mobs who are believed to have led most of the attacks. But his supporters say he could have done little under the circumstances to prevent the violence.

Modi 'cleared' over Gujarat riots

2008-09-26T00:52:00.000+05:30

A commission set up by the government in the western Indian state of Gujarat has exonerated Chief Minister Narendra Modi over religious riots in 2002.

It said there was no evidence that he, his ministers or police were at fault. Gujarat's authorities were criticised for not doing enough to stop the riots.

At least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. Violence began after about 60 Hindus died in a fire on a train.

The commission's conclusions differ from those of an earlier inquiry.

'No evidence'

The incident which triggered the riots was the train fire, which occurred in the town of Godhra. It was allegedly started by a Muslim mob.

Justice GT Nanavati concluded in his report, which was presented in the state assembly on Thursday, that the train had been set on fire.

But the report said: "There is absolutely no evidence to show that either the chief minister or any of the ministers in his council or police officers played any role in the Godhra incident."

It concluded that there was also no evidence against him for the outbreak of the riots after the attack, and nothing to suggest that he and his administration did not provide relief and rehabilitation to riot victims.

The commission examined more than 1,000 witnesses during a six-year period.

It found that 140 litres of petrol had been purchased as the part of what it said had been a conspiracy to burn the train carriage.

Relief

The report's findings contradict an earlier inquiry by retired Supreme Court judge Umesh Chandra Banerjee, who found that the coach fire was not deliberately started.

He concluded in 2005 that the fire began by accident. He said there was evidence to suggest the blaze began inside the train, not that it was fire-bombed.

Most accounts from the time and since said a Muslim mob threw petrol bombs at the train, starting the blaze which in turn triggered the riots.

Correspondents say that the findings of the two-member inquiry will be a relief to Mr Modi, who has been accused of failing to halt some of the worst religious violence India has ever seen.

His opponents say he indirectly egged on Hindu mobs who are believed to have led most of the attacks.

But his supporters say he could have done little under the circumstances to prevent the violence.

Modi whips public sentiment for Gujarat terror act

2008-09-12T22:08:00.000+05:30

Narendra Modi has mastered the act of whipping up public sentiment and it appears he is gearing up to confront the centre yet again, this time over GUJCOC.

Despite being passed twice by the Gujarat Assembly, the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Act or GUJCOC has not been cleared by the centre .

The Union Home ministry, in reply to a petition in the Gujarat High Court, has said the legislation can't be cleared because it closely resembles the repealed POTA.

However, Chief Minister Narendra Modi is not deterred, he is trying his best to put pressure on the Centre

"I'm requesting the Gujarati community worldwide, send emails to the PM ask him to clear the bill. It's a good thing to do in a democracy," says Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi.

Elsewhere, he urged villagers to write postcards and letters to the PM, demanding that the central government clear the GUJCOC.

"All of you write letters to the PM. In Gujarati, Hindi, English. Whatever language you know and demand that this act be passed," he added

The NGO, Justice on Trial, which has filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court seeking to know why GUJCOC has not been cleared, says article 14 of the constitution is being violated.

"If such acts are in force in Andhra, Karnataka and other eight states of the country, then its an apparent breach of article 14 of the constitution. Equality is not just for people its for states as well," says Chairman, Justice on Trial, S M Soni.

GUJCOC Bill, as claimed is a tougher law against organized crime and terrorism.

Modi's Teacher's Day speech beamed live in schools

2008-09-05T21:16:00.000+05:30

In a Teacher's Day address made mandatory viewing in schools and colleges across Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi today (September 5) used the occasion to speak out against terrorism and rooted for an anti-terror law in the state.

In an unprecedented event where a Chief Minister delivered an address on Teacher's Day and beamed live state-wide, Modi also called upon students to take a pledge to take Gujarat to new heights during its Golden jubilee year in 2010.

The Live telecast of Modi's address to a gathering of students at Town hall in Ahmedabad was shown on Doordarshan's Gujarati channel for about 90 minutes.

Modi also took questions from the students one of whom asked him about his fight against terrorism.

"Keep a strict vigil on what is happening around us. Terrorists carry out their acts by being within the society. If we are vigilant, it would be difficult for them to carry their nefarious acts", he said.

Modi also wanted the Centre to quickly clear Gujcoca, an anti-terror law that has been passed by the Gujarat Assembly and waiting for the approval of the President. If there is a stringent law against terrorism, youngs boys from good families will not jump into terror activities, he said.

With Modi apparently wanting students to tune in to his Teacher's Day speech, a circular was issued by the state education department directing all the schools to make arrangements to show Modi's live speech.

Modi spoke in detail about various schemes that the state government has introduced for the welfare of children and also to improve education system in the country.

He told students about his "Kanya Kelavani Abhiyan", which aims at enrolment of all the girl students to the state for formal education.

Modi also said that his government aims to bring down the dropout rate to zero by the year 2010.

He stressed on the health of students and advised them to remain healthy and take part in government students' medical checkup scheme.

"Keep a strict vigil on what is happening around us because terrorists are hiding within the society and if we are vigilant we can catch them before its too late, Modi said in reply to a question of a student regarding tackling terrorism.

Talking about the advantage of learning English language, Modi said "It is a fact that teaching in mother tongue is most advantageous but the students are capable of learning more languages, so we are working on a project to teach English as a subordinate language."

He further said, "in the coming centuries, Asia will dominate the world and thus it is important for students to learn other Asian languages, like Chinese and Japanese, apart from English."

"With the invention of computers and other modern technologies of education burden of school bags on children is likely to be phased out soon," he added.

"I had made a suggestion that students should be allowed to sit in examinations with their text books but I am not an expert in the field of education," Modi added.

Kerala minister says Modi should not interfere in other state affairs

2008-09-05T21:15:00.000+05:30

Reacting sharply to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation that the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was active in nine states including Kerala, the state home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Friday said Modi should not interfere in affairs of other states.

Addressing a press conference here to explain his discussions with union home minister Shivraj Patil, Balakrishnan said Kerala police had the ‘capacity’ to prevent any type of violence including communal violence in the state.

A day earlier, Modi in Delhi stated that SIMI was well established in nine states including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

‘They (SIMI) could be there in other states too,’ Modi said in a press conference alongside the BJP prime ministerial candidate, L.K.Advani to show its tough face against terrorism.

Balakrishnan, who rejected Modi’s allegation, said: ‘Kerala police doesn’t have any information regarding the SIMI’s activities in the state.’

‘SIMI’s activities have been banned in the state. We will not allow any anti-national activities in the state,’ he said.

Balakrishnan said the central government had agreed in principle to sanction a marine police station in the state and this would come up over 100 acres of land near the Ezhimala naval academy in Kannur district.

Besides, the home ministry also gave permission to start eight coastal police stations in the state, he said.

The first coastal police station would start operation in Neendakara in Kollam district by October this year, the minister said.

Write emails to PM on GUJCOC: Modi tells NRGs

2008-09-03T20:35:00.000+05:30

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has requested all non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) to send an e-mail to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to approve the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill.

Addressing the World Gujarati Conference 2008 in New Jersey, USA, via video-conferencing early on Sunday, Modi said special laws like GUJCOC are needed to fight terrorism and safeguard the security of the people of the state.

Narendra Modi asked all the NRGs in the US and other countries to send an e-mail to the PM and request him to give sanction to the GUJCOC Bill, which has been approved twice by the elected representatives in the Gujarat Assembly.

The CM also said that he has already made a representation regarding GUJCOC to the PM and was hopeful of a positive response from the Central government.

Gujarat has always been a progressive state and perpetrators of terror cannot, in any manner, dent the spirit of a true Gujarati who has the unique ability to overcome all hardships that come in his way, Modi said.

Modi has been addressing the World Gujarati Conference via video-conferencing since 2005, when he was denied visa by the US government to attend the function.

Write postcards to PM for GUJCOC nod: Modi tells people

2008-09-03T08:32:00.000+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked the people to start a campaign in support of a proposed tough anti-organised crime law by writing postcards to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for its approval.

The Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill had been passed by the Legislative Assembly, but is waiting for Centre's nod.

"Each and every citizen of the state should write a postcard to the Prime Minister demanding approval for GUJCOC.

Approval for the GUJCOC should become a people's movement," Modi said at a function in Dhodhamba village in Panchmahals district.

Yesterday in his address to World Gujarati Conference from here via video conferencing, Modi had appealed to Non-Resident Gujaratis to write e-mail to the Prime Minister seeking nod for the proposed stringent law.

Modi said demand for GUJCOC's clearance has increased in wake of the July 26 Ahmedabad serial blasts that killed 55 people and injured hundreds other.

Narendra Modi to address ‘Chalo Gujarat’ in U.S. via satellite

2008-08-29T08:57:00.000+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will address Gujaratis in America on 31st of August, 2008 at 5.00 am Indian standard time via satellite video conferencing.

Around 35,000 Gujaratis are expected to assemble for three days (from 29th of August to 31st August) at ‘Chalo Gujarat’ convention in Edison, NJ based Raritan expo center . Narendra Modi who was invited to this function couple of months back had given his consent to address the convention via satellite video.

Accordingly, Modi will address valedictory part of ‘Chalo Gujarat’ international Gujarati convention via video conferencing from his Gandhinagar based residence.

Narendra Modi’s satellite speech will be simultaneously web-casted through internet (watch out updates on DeshGujarat.Com for more on this). Saurabh Patel, Energy Minister of Gujarat will represent Gujarat government in ‘Chalo Gujarat’ convention.

‘Chalo Gujarat 2008′ is organized by ‘Association of Indians in America(AIANA)’. AIANA was formed on the issue of America’s denial to grant visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in year 2005. It was AIANA that had organized Narendra Modi’s satellite video speech soon after America denied Modi a visa. AIANA had organized ‘Chalo Gujarati’ convention in year 2006 too which had got amazing response even in adverse weather.

Gujarati big wigs like Mukesh Ambani, Morari Bapu, Praful Patel, Gautam Adani, Parimal Nathwani, Sam Pitroda, Jagdish Bhagwati, Bakul Dholakia, Adhyatmanandaji, Madhavapriyadasji, cricketer Parthiv Patel, Shahbuddin Rathod, Bhikhudan Gadhvi, Falguni Pathak, Devang Patel, Divaliben Bhil, Hemant Chauhan, poet Suresh Dalal, poet Rajesh Vyas ‘Miskin’, poet and drama director Saumya Joshi, poet Harsh Brahmbhatt, vetern columnist Vinod Bhatt, Pankaj Udhas, Manhar Udhas, Arvind Trivedi(who played Ravan in Ramayan tv serial), Aishwarya Majmudar, Tushar Shukla, Dhvanit Thacker(Radio Mirchi), Purushottam Upadhyay, Gaurang Vyas, Shyamal-Saumil-Arti Munshi, Soli and Nisha Kapadia, Sanjay Oza, Parthiv Gohil, Alap Desai, Urvish-Vaishali are expected to participate in ‘Chalo Gujarat’.

Ahmedabad based builders and property developer group ‘GIHED’ is to participate in ‘Chalo Gujarat’ with it’s special gallery. Ahmedabad’s Rajwadu restaurant’s 40 cooks are going to cater special Gujarati traditional food in this convention. Ticket is priced at 30 dollars each for three days convention. Handicapped girls group ‘Manthan’ from Gandhinagar will perform a special dance. Porbandar’s Maher traditional dance group will perform warrior dance.

Narendra Modi watched film ‘A Wednesday’ with Anupam Kher

2008-08-28T23:47:00.001+05:30

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi watched special screening of UTV Motion Pictures’ forthcoming film ‘A Wednesday’ on Saturday afternoon at City pulse multiplex on Ahmedabad Gandhinagar highway. Modi praised the movie after watching it.

He said “This film has capacity to provide a new strength to humanitarian forces for their fight against terrorism.”

Speaking about terrorism he said “Supportive role of security agencies, political power, media and society all-together is necessary to counter terrorism successfully. All humanitarian forces should unite and should show strength to fight against terrorism in one voice employing all available capacity.”

Neeraj Pandey, the director of the film and Anupam Kher who plays the police commissioner in the film, were present at the venue to show the film to Modi.

Some ministers and police officers were also part of the audience at this show. When Modi arrived, Anupam Kher welcomed him. Kher accompanied Modi in the show.

Modi is not a movie buff but it was Bollywood’s veteran actor Anupam Kher who managed to convince him to watch this film. Kher plays Mumbai’s police commissioner in the movie. “Ahmedabad recently experienced terrorism through series of bomb blasts at public places on July 26, and I strongly felt that there were few aspects in the film that a leader of Modi’s stature should watch it. There is a need to spread awareness about terrorism. After Modi, we will approach chief ministers of other states as well. A big leader like Modi watching the movie will help us. Also, no film has talked about terrorism as this movie does and thats’ why we thought Modi was a perfect candidate to watch this movie first.”Anupam Kher said.

The movie, ‘A Wednesday’, tells the story of some events that unfold between 2 pm and 6 pm on one particular Wednesday in Mumbai. Mumbai’s commissioner of police Prakash Rathod(acted by Anupam Kher) gets a call demanding the release of four terrorists in exchange of information on locations of bombs planted in different areas of Mumbai. Although in a dilemma, Rathod doesn’t give up. He employs his all resources to track the caller(acted by Nasiruddin Shah).

Modi has earlier watched a Gujarati movie titled Karmabhoomi Gujarat Ni, based on his life. He has also watched Border, Gadar, Sardar, Kargil LOC, Veer Savarkar and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

L K Advani lauds Modi

2008-08-19T01:03:00.000+05:30

Congratulating the Modi government on “busting” the terrorist network responsible for the Ahmedabad blasts, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani on Saturday criticised the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre for its “lack of clarity.”

“This success shows what a government determined to deal firmly with the menace of terrorism can achieve... it stands in sharp contrast to the utter lack of clarity and willpower of the UPA government,” Mr. Advani said in a statement here.

The Gujarat government and the State police in particular came in for praise for “the important breakthrough.”

Mr. Advani spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on phone to congratulate him. “I take this opportunity to once again demand that the UPA government recommend immediate Presidential assent for the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Act which has been pending with the Centre since June 2004,” he said.

Modi renews call for tough terror law

2008-08-18T20:51:00.000+05:30

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has renewed his pitch for early green light for the Gujarat Organised Crime Control Act pending with the Centre, even as the BJP kept up its attack on railway minister Lalu Prasad for suggesting that those arrested by Gujarat police for the blasts in Ahmedabad, and possibly at other places, were victims of a frame-up.

Talking to TOI from Ahmedabad, Modi said that he would urge Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to allow early enactment of the legislation which, after being passed by the Gujarat assembly, was waiting for presidential assent to come into force.

The legislation, designed along the lines of the law in neighbouring Maharashtra, allows for the admissibility of wire intercepts as evidence and has rigorous bail provisions. "How can we have two laws within 50 km when the challenge cuts across borders, within the country as well as internationally," the chief minister said.

Even though his party has attributed the successful investigation to round-the-clock monitoring by a chief minister who values his "strong man" credentials, Modi said that Gujarat cops deserved all the credit. "It was because of their hard work that we could crack the case," he said, adding that the success in Gujarat would bolster the morale of cops across the country.

His colleagues in Delhi kept up the pressure on the railway minister. "Unable to rein in terror, certain UPA ministers are now talking in favour of those arrested at a time when Gujarat has shown the way," BJP's deputy leader in Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra said.

Registering strong objection to Lalu's purported comments on TV channels, Malhotra said the RJD chief's views were tantamount to "favouring" the terror outfit.

Lalu had reacted to the Gujarat arrests by telling TV channels that innocent people were being arrested and demanded evidence against them, saying nobody would defend the Students Islamic Movement of India if they (Gujarat police) gave specific evidence of its involvement in the blasts.

Though Lalu, along with SP, has repeatedly opposed the ban on SIMI, his comments came within days of his own government strongly arguing before the Supreme Court to continue the ban clamped on the jihadi outfit which is increasingly involved in terror attacks across the country. Appealing the order of the Unlawful Acticites Tribunal which turned down Centre's plea to keep the ban on SIMI in force, Centre had called the outfit a jihadi organisation and part of the anti-India terror campaign.

Importantly, its counsel — additional solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam — told the top court that contrary to the reason cited by the tribunal to lift the ban, Centre had provided a cache of strong evidence, fresh and specific, to support its plea to continue the ban.

Modi congratulates Gujarat police for cracking blasts case

2008-08-18T08:49:00.000+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the state police for cracking the July 26 Ahmedabad serial blasts case in less than three weeks of the attack.

"By arresting the terrorists behind the Ahmedabad serial blasts, Gujarat police have created a hope in the country that this menace can be fought," Modi told Gujarat police team led by DGP P C Pande who went to meet him in Gandhingar today.

"Terrorists have been striking at will in various parts of the country for last six years. Gujarat also became their target. All of us feel that terrorism should be uprooted from the country. Gujarat police have proved that success can be achieved in this regard," Modi said.

"Morale of terrorists is likely to be weakned by the success of Gujarat police," he said.

Modi said that he has asked the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clear Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill (GUJCOC), which is a tougher law to fight such crimes.

"The Central Government is yet to give its nod to the GUJCOC bill even after four years of Gujarat legislative assembly passing it," he added.

Gujarat students leave for space camp in US

2008-08-10T08:58:00.000+05:30

Seventeen schoolchildren from here will attend NASA’s special eight-day space training programme in the US. The children from HB Kapadia School were to leave from here Wednesday for the course held under the aegis of NASA’s Marshal Space Flight Center at US Rocket Space and Rocket Center Alabama.

The students met Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday on their way to the US.

Modi commended the students for their desire to know and learn more about space and rockets.

The students were regular visitors of Science City here igniting their young minds.

The students, aged between 9 and 18, will undergo an intensive training programme aimed at exposing them to the real world applications of the math, science, engineering and technology concepts that they study at school.

The Space Camp will feature three main tracks - Space Track, Robotics Track and the Aviation Track - involving children’s participation in realistic, interactive shuttle missions, rocket construction, astronaut simulators and other problem solving and team building exercises.

At least 1.2 million students from around the world have participated in the space camp. Last year, 200 children from six schools in Bangalore attended the programme.

Modi responsible for Surat bombs: Sankaracharya

2008-08-08T00:01:00.000+05:30

The Sankaracharya of Puri Swami Adhokssjananda Devtirth today alleged that all unexploded bombs found in Surat were alleged design of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Talking to newsmen here the Seer said he had reasons to believe that all these unexploded bombs were meant for spreading communal tension.

''For this I am accusing Mr Modi, who is working on an agenda to repeat Godhra kind of situation as the election is nearing. I appeal to the Central government to keep a vigil as Mr Modi is capable of doing anything,'' he said.

''He is the main culprit, otherwise you would not get so much of unexploded bombs from tree tops to the footpaths,'' said the Seer, who is visiting the North East.

According to him, Mr Modi is trying to polarize the Hindu vote with elections in the horizon. ''There may be an international and ISI angle to the exploded bombs but I doubt the story of recovery of 24 unexploded bombs in Surat,'' he added.

''The police and civil machinery are in collusion and Mr Modi is trying to utilise them in the name of religion. He has done it in the past and is capable of doing it again,'' he remarked.
He also alleged that some people were using religion for their political advantage.

''Islam's first responsibility is to protect and respect other's religion. The philosophy of Hinduism is based on tolerance. But Narendra Modi is opposed to it as he is master of using religion for political gains,'' he added.

Zadaphia files PIL against Modi government

2008-08-07T08:59:00.000+05:30

Accusing the Narendra Modi-government of illegally raising funds in the name of 'public participation ' for gala celebrations, former state home minister, Gordhan Zadaphia has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in Gujarat High Court.

In his petition moved by advocate BM Mangukiya, Zadaphia has claimed that for the purpose of celebrating Independence Day in Palanpur, the government officials have been given a 'target ' for raising funds.

The former BJP minister has contended that as per Bombay Civil Service Rules, the officials have to take consent from the state to raise money from people for such activity. Moreover, for celebration of such official events, the state government has to make budgetary provisions and must seek nod from the Assembly too.

Without constitutional provisions, the government cannot ask its officials to collect money from people. Also, for any kind of taxation, the state has to make laws.

Zadaphia has cited that some letters were sent from the Banaskantha collectorate to various heads of departments giving them targets for funds, and to deposit the amount by August 10.

"The letters contain instructions for officers to collect money from individuals, organizations, cooperative societies and educational institutes. This is sheer exploitation of the officers and misuse of power. How can a petrol pump owner deny money to a Mamlatdar?" he asked.

The petition seeks directions from the court to stop the practice of raising funds as public participation for such functions.

"My petition is in the interest of people and I am seeking constitutional remedy ," he said. This application will come up for the hearing before the acting Chief Justice MS Shah and Justice DH Waghela on Tuesday.

Parents demand fair probe into mystery deaths of students

2008-08-06T23:57:00.000+05:30

The failure of the Gujarat police to crack the case of the mystery deaths of two minor students of a residential school has forced the boys’ parents to launch a fresh campaign for fair probe into the case. The school is run by a popular religious leader.

The mutilated bodies of sons of Praful Vaghela and his brother Shantilal were found after they went missing on on July 3. The bodies were found on the riverbed near Asharam Bapu's sprawling retreat two days later. The parents will observe a 72-hour fast from Friday, followed by an indefinite people's movement.

The Vaghelas, who are backed by a committee of alert citizens, told newsmen that they had suspended their earlier agitation after Chief Minister Narendra Modi promised them that the culprits would be nabbed within 10 days but the deadline expired on Tuesday. The two asserted that they now wanted nothing short of a CBI probe.

The brothers are angry particularly because a similar case of the murder of two boys studying in the Asharam's hermitage in Madhya Pradesh had been solved within three days but the Gujarat police had been groping in the dark even after a month and the education department officials had not bothered to visit, what they called, Bapu's 'shady' campus.

While the parents say minors were killed for black magic, the forensic science reports revealed the two died of drowning, but it couldn't clarify why the internal parts of the boys' bodies were missing and their heads tonsured.

Modi's taunts on terror all over YouTube

2008-08-04T01:17:00.000+05:30

Atankvad ko Lalkar (Daring Terrorism) is just one of the 380 videos of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's live speeches posted on YouTube . Across the world, there is hardly a politician with so many videos of speeches uploaded on this popular website.

Many of these speeches deal with terror, calling terrorists maut ke saudagar , or merchants of death, a term which UPA chief Sonia Gandhi first used in the Gujarat Assembly election campaign in December 2007. While Sonia was trying to implicate the BJP rulers for killings in Gujarat riots of 2002, Modi was quick to turn the coinage on its head, directing it towards the war on terror which was his planned poll plank anyway.

Most of Modi's videos were hooked up to cyber-space during the last poll campaign by organizations supporting the BJP, like Vandegujarat and Sachogujarati. The effort was in sync with the BJP's advertisement campaign in print which had Modi with a clenched fist claiming that while terrorists had struck in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Ajmer and Amarnath, they had not been able to touch Gujarat.

Today, in the aftermath of the bomb blasts in Ahmedabad last Saturday, these hard-hitting speeches seem completely out of tune with the subdued reaction from Modi, now being described as a 'mature politician' because of the restraint he has shown.

The characteristic Modi is, however, still heard ranting in these videos that he was ready to die for the safety of five crore Gujaratis. With images of a heavily-guarded and seemingly shell-shocked Modi walking down a street in Surat which was littered with bombs earlier this week, that sounds hardly reassuring in the present context.

Though Modi has successfully projected himself as the Indian face of the war on terror with these videos, he finds himself rather hamstrung after the arrest of his spearhead in this mission, DIG DG Vanzara.

Besides, while POTA was abolished in 2004, Modi's bid to combat terror with the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill is still awaiting Presidential approval for the last four years.

Terrorists waging proxy war against economy, says Modi

2008-08-01T22:18:00.000+05:30

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday articulated the apprehensions nursed by most security experts, that the terrorists, by targeting cities such as Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Surat, were out to cripple the country’s economy by unleashing a ‘proxy war’.

Mr Modi, who undertook a visit to the diamond city of Surat on Wednesday morning, went round the places where 18 live bombs had been discovered, and defused, over the past three days. The Gujarat chief minister saw a distinctive pattern in the cities brought by the jihadis on their radar in the past two years. ``By selecting cities such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Surat for carrying out their gameplan, they wanted to cripple the financial activities of the country,’’ Mr Modi said.

In remarks widely hailed for their above-the-fray theme, unlike the brazenly partisan pitch of his party colleagues such as Ms Sushma Swaraj, Mr Modi pointed out that as many as 12 major terror attacks had taken place in various parts of the country in the last two years. ``We’re confronted with a proxy war, and it can be fought only by changing the rules of the game. One of the rules is that we should all speak in one voice on the issue,’’ Mr Modi contended.

Mr Modi’s remarks are certain to touch a favourable chord with the country’s security establishment, which has come to see the terror strikes in cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat and Bangalore as part of the larger mission of puncturing the newly-acquired financial muscle. The aim of such attacks, they argue, was as much to create an atmosphere of fear and terror as to dent the country’s economic prosperity.

Both Karnataka and Gujarat mirror the economic clout that the country has come to acquire in recent times. While the IT and pharmaceutical sectors have provided the main pull-factor for potential investors in Karnataka, especially Bangalore, for some time now, Gujarat, through its remarkable growth story scripted in the past decade, has emerged as a hot destination for investment in the manufacturing and power sectors.

Industrial production in Gujarat grew at 12.6% between 2003 and 2008. Investments in the state are to the tune of Rs 5.62 trillion and memoranda of understanding for another Rs 6.5 trillion worth of investments have been signed. The state received foreign direct investment to the tune of $5 billion between 1991 and 2007. The state government is now working on a new policy, which the chief minister hopes to unveil before international investors ahead of the global investors summit in January next. The focus of this new policy is on agri-businesses, textiles, gems and jewellery, mineral-based industries and ship-building. It is this economic growth that has now attracted the attention of the terror outfits.

Security experts believe that terrorists are now targeting commercial hubs to undermine economic activity and wreck India’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign investors. Such an understanding is not ruled out now. Security experts such B Raman, former RAW chief, have drawn parallels between the situation prevailing in Pakistan in the 1990s, when a spate of terror strikes in Karachi triggered a feeling of insecurity among foreign investors, resulting in their subsequent withdrawal. While these are early days yet, an uninterrupted run of blasts within a short span of time could lead to a similar re-think by domestic and foreign investors about the fate of their investments.

WEF invite eludes Modi…

2008-07-27T09:12:00.000+05:30

…though his office claims he has already been invited

Chief Minister Narendra Modi may not get to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) also known as Summer Davos, at Tianjin, China, on September 27 and 28.

However, while Modi's officials maintained that he has got an invite to attend the powerful forum of international business and political leaders, his name does not figure in the list of invitees put on the WEF website.

Modi had attended last year's Summer Davos held at Dalian, China on the invitation of WEF chief professor Charles Schwab. The annual meet is associated with high-powered interactions and deal making. The Modi administration had projected the earlier invites as a proof of the CM's acceptance in the business world.

However, this year, the list of invitees that goes under the name of "Ministers, Forward Thinking Leaders of Regions, and Mayors of Cities" has Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Union Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal as the only names from India. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is one of the mentors of the summit.

While officials involved in preparations for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit expressed ignorance about the invite, Modi's Principal Secretary K Kailasnathan said the CM had received an invite. However, he expressed his inability to confirm Modi’s attendance in the summit.

The second Summer Davos — being held in China for the second time — will bring together over 1,500 leaders from over 60 countries to Tianjin for two days of deliberations. It will focus on the next wave of growth in economy, politics, and technology.

Weatherman Modi: God, angry with UPA, is raining curses on Gujarat

2008-07-26T23:11:00.000+05:30

CM blasts Centre for providing Maharashtra with 500 MW of additional power and ignoring Gujarat

Chief Minister Narendra Modi sees God's ire on the UPA government for the delay in monsoons in Gujarat. The godly wrath, according to Modi, has resulted from the Congress-led UPA government's stand on the Amarnath and Ram Setu issues.

"The UPA government has angered Lord Amarnath and sinned by suggesting the demolition of the Ram Setu built by Lord Ram. This has displeased Mother Nature resulting in the delay in monsoons. And yet, this government is not willing to understand," Modi said while addressing residents of Jetpur, a small Saurashtra town in Rajkot district on Friday.

Interestingly, Modi has projected the good monsoons in the last five years as God's blessings on him.

Under pressure from a failing monsoon, Modi also lambasted the Centre for providing neighbouring Maharashtra with 500 Mega Watts (MW) of additional power despite both states having a similar drought-like situation.

"Gujarat and Maharashtra are facing similar power problems due to the delay in monsoons. Yet, Maharashtra has been given 500 MW of extra power. The UPA government would pay dearly for this step-motherly treatment meted out to Gujarat," Modi said.

However, unlike Maharashtra that has already declared parts of the state as drought-hit, the Modi government has been desisting from declaring any scarcity. During this week's Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the government decided to wait for another week before switching to the damage control mode.There have been reports of certain parts in Saurashtra and north Gujarat facing a shortage of water and fodder.

15 blasts rock Ahmedabad, 12 killed 25 injured

2008-07-26T23:01:00.000+05:30

Terror struck Gujarat capital when 15 serial blasts ripped across the city tonight leaving 12 killed and 30 injured sending a wave of panic, a day after multiple explosions rocked Bangalore in another BJP-ruled state.

The synchronised explosions in the space of 90 minutes in the eastern and western areas after the first blast hit Maninagar at 6.45 pm occured in 13 places. There were two blasts each in Maninagar--the constituency of Chief Minister Narendra Modi--and in Sarkej targetting a state transport CNG bus and Sangam theatre.

Significantly two hospitals were also the target of attack.

Mangled remains of a bus, cycles, motorcycles and an autorickshaw were seen at the blast sites which was splattered with blood and panic spread as people ran for their lives.

Doctors at Vadilal Sarabhai hospital said 12 people died while there were several seriously injured persons receiving treatment.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has convened a high level meeting tomorrow morning to review the security situation throughout the country.

Maninagar, constituency of Chief Minister Modi worst affected in blasts

2008-07-26T22:41:00.000+05:30

Four blasts in the constituency of Chief Minister Narendra Modi shows that terrorists wanted to send a strong message to Modi. By now eight persons have been killed and scores injured in the serial blasts that have taken place in the eastern part of the city.

The first blast took place at 5.45 pm in Jawahar chowk in Modi’s constituency and soon three other parts of the constituency also had blasts. These spots were Maninagar bus stop, LG Hospital and Maninagar chaar raasta. In LG hospital incident the explosive was operated from a car in the parking. The wall of the hospital was badly damaged in the incident.

At all places, terrorist used explosive in a blue plastic bag. These plastic bags were in black bags. Two persons died in an explosion in an AMTS bus near Sarkhej. The bus was on route number 150. Four dead bodies were brought to the VS hospital and four to the LG hospital.

Terrorists attacked hospitals to create scare among victims. LG and the VS are the two hospitals where most of the victims were taken. Terrorists used these hospitals as a well designed strategy.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi has convened an emergency meeting of the cabinet to discuss the situation.

Asharam Bapu Ashram deaths: CID begins probe

2008-07-26T17:08:00.001+05:30

The CID (Crime) investigators, after taking over probe into the mystery deaths of Dipesh and Abhishek Vaghela, visited Asaram Ashram and Sabarmati riverbank where the bodies had been found on July 5.

The two boys had gone missing from Asaram Gurukul on July 3. After the boys' fathers on Tuesday broke their indefinite fast pressing for an impartial probe and justice, the investigations were shifted from Sabarmati police station to the CID (Crime). A judicial team, headed by a retired high court judge will also probe the incident.

On Wednesday, it was the third visit the police and forensic investigators have paid to the spot. But, like the previous one, swirling and rising waters of Sabarmati prevented the investigators from getting close to the exact spot where the boys' bodies were found.

Family members of the two deceased were also taken for inspection. But, with the Sabarmati overflowing, the spot was submerged. Ahmedabad city police, even after 20 days of the bodies being found, have no progress to show.

Besides, the deceased's father staged an agitation demanding CBI investigation. The state government had then handed over the investigation to CID (Crime).

CID officials on Wednesday enquired with the Sabarmati police station officials about the sequence of events from boys' disappearance on July 3 to the bodies being found on July 5. The fathers, who had demanded for a CBI enquiry, had been on an indefinite fast for nine days. The two broke fast by going to the CMO in Gandhinagar, which left many of their supporters feeling betrayed.

Stand ‘Modi’fied: Chief Minister now gives grieving parents probe options

2008-07-26T15:07:00.000+05:30

After a fortnight of govt silence, Modi sends his messenger to boys’ families

A Fortnight after bodies of two students of the Asaram Ashram-run gurukul were found from the Sabarmati riverbed, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday gave the grieving families options to choose from a CID ora special committee inquiry.

This comes a day after the state government announced a judicial probe into the mysterious deaths. While the state observed a bandh, Modi sent a messenger to the families of both the boys in this regard. The Vaghelas, however, have sought an assurance in person from the Chief Minister himself.

Palanpur MLA Govind Prajapati, who belongs to the Kadia community like the Vaghelas, spent over half an hour with Prafulbhai Vaghela, father of Dipesh — one of the deceased boys — at Madhavpura Chowk. Prafulbhai and other family members have been on a hunger strike for eight days now, demanding a free and fair investigation.

"If the family does not have faith in the CID, the state government is ready to appoint a special committee comprising state CID (crime) officials and a panel of lawyers and doctors selected by the Vaghelas to ensure a fair probe," Prajapati told Newsline.

Prafulbhai has asked for some time to think over the matter. Besides, he demanded that Modi visit him in two days to end his fast and make a public announcement for a free and fair investigation.

Prajapati, who couldn't give assurance about CM making a personal visit, said that state DGP P C Pande and District Collector will visit the family.

Meanwhile, rebel BJP leader and former home minister Gordhan Zadafia also visited the family. Demanding a CBI inquiry in this case, he also called for extending the scope of judicial inquiry into the missing complaints of around 300 children in the state.

Vaghelas end maun vrat after meeting Modi, sympathisers feel betrayed

2008-07-26T03:53:00.000+05:30

The father of the two boys who died under mysterious circumstances at the Asaram Ashram early this month, disappointed many of their supporters on Tuesday when they met Chief Minister Narendra Modi and broke their maun vrat. The state government has proudly claimed all credit for the end of fast in a press release, although the Vaghelas have maintained that they have only ended their silent protest and it was their own call to end it.

An official press release on Tuesday stated that the Vaghelas broke their fast and maun vrat at the bungalow of Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, Director General of Police P C Pande and Additional Secretary of the CM, G C Murmu. The CM himself handed a glass of lemonade to the Vaghelas, the release added.

The Vaghelas were on an indefinite fast and maun vrat since July 14 to protest the mysterious deaths of their sons after they went missing from the Asaram Ashram run gurukul on July 3. The two boys were found from the Sabarmati riverbed near the ashram on July 5. The Vaghelas have been alleging that the police, at the behest of the Asaram Ashram authorities, are hushing up the investigation in the case.

Praful Vaghela told Newsline at his residence on Tuesday afternoon that they have broken the fast after meeting the CM at his residence, and that he has assured them a free and fair investigation in the case.

Praful, who has been demanding a CBI probe into the case, said: “After the CM's assurance, we have dropped the demand for a CBI probe. But if we notice any foul play during the investigation, we will again demand for the same.”

But for their supporters, who came from far-flung areas including Mumbai, it seemed like an act of betrayal. When Praful went to Akhbarnagar Circle to ask his sympathisers to end their fast after his return from the CM's residence, he was greeted with anger.

He was gheraoed by angry sympathisers who felt betrayed by the compromising act.

Praful tried to pacify them saying that he had only broken the ‘Maun Vrat,’ and not the fast. He told them that he had gone to meet the CM after persistent pressure from Palanpur MLA Govind Prajapati, Home Minister Amit Shah and the Director General of Police, P C Pande.

Vinod Sonkusare, a Mumbaikar, who is on a fast since the last three days at the Akhbarnagar Circle, said that the Vaghelas should have consulted the people associated with the movement before arriving at any decision. “We are feeling betrayed. I do not know what exactly happened. I am worried about the people who have been arrested while protesting in favour of the Vaghelas,” said Sonkusare.

Many of the residents living in the vicinity of Madhavbaug Society where the Vaghelas live, have alleged that the decision to call off the fast was taken under the CM's pressure and that money seems to have exchanged hands to hasten the process. Meanwhile, Praful Vaghela has been reportedly admitted to a private hospital on Tuesday after his health deteriorated in the night. His family members did not respond to the calls enquiring about his health.

Investigation handed over to the CID, Crime
According to a press release by the PRO of the Director General of Police, Gandhinagar, the state government has handed over the investigation of the case to the CID (Crime) with immediate effect.

Asaram Bapu saved from media by Modi's black magic

2008-07-25T07:56:00.002+05:30

The parents claim they ended their ‘fast-unto-death’ after Modi assured them any culpability of Asaram Ashram in the death of their sons will be fairly probed. The media is angry at their not dying to provide sensational news and terms it ‘betrayal’!.

PRAFUL AND Shantilal Vaghela, fathers of two cousins – pre-teen inmates of Asaram Gurukul in Ahmedabad, whose corpses were found in Sabarmati river on July 5 – decided on July 22 against getting ‘martyred’ to serve the cause of all-knowing ‘rationalists’ in society! Refusing to be coerced by unscrupulous elements in politics and media, they went to chief minister Narendra Modi’s residence at Gandhinagar. Later, they announced that their ‘fast-unto-death’ was off.

In other words, Modi triumphed over ‘Jagega Gujarat Sangarsh Samity’ (Crusading committee for Gujarat’s awakening) without moving from his seat! Thus came abruptly to an end the epicentre of the disgrace that Ahmedabad (and Gujarat) suffered for a fortnight. JGSS is a dubious outfit hyped by the paparazzi and electronic media of the city as ‘civil society organisations’. Perhaps, he must have performed some bizarre tantric ritual to achieve his ‘evil’ goal!

JGSS spearheaded an agitation, formally sponsored by Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, to destroy the image of Gujaratis as one of the most hospitable people in the country. Its strategy was to confront and harass more than one lakh followers of the noted evangelist Asaram Bapu, thronging to his ashram on Guru Purnima day (July 18). This was apparently the only way they could think of to dislodge Modi.

The conspiracy targetting the globe-trotting spiritual Guru had succeeded in instigating the unfortunate parents to denounce and denigrate him. It was not a difficult job to push them to insanity, given the extreme grief that could be exploited by ‘clever’ elite. The Vaghelas did not accept the possibility that the boys could have sneaked out of the hostel to have some fun at Rath Yatra. They refused to believe that their sons could possess a sense of adventurism, not unusual in boys of that age, and got drowned. They alleged that the boys were killed by tantriks as part of witchcraft being practiced at the ashram.

Even as police investigations, including forensic analyses, to verify the charge were on, the all-knowing paparazzi mounted a deadly assault on the state government. Modi was accused of hushing up the ‘mystery’ and shielding the ashram. An ‘agitation for justice’ was launched. JGSS converted the outrage in the neighbourhood at the tragedy into anger and hate by organising shutdowns. As is inevitable in any ‘bandh’, tensions built up in the area. Unscrupulous elements in the media stoked passions to incite violence by telecasting and publishing incendiary reports. Adding fuel to the incited violence, Praful refused to share with the investigators any information in his possession that point to human sacrifice. He went on a ‘moun vrat’ (vow of silence) and then compounded it with a ‘fast unto death’ demanding justice. JGSS and the local media interpreted ‘justice’ as the closing down of the ashram in existence since 30 years.

Asaram, who arrived in the city on the eve of Guru Purnima, personally went to Vaghela’s residence to offer condolences to the bereaved family, where he was insulted. The humiliation was covered gleefully by the paparazzi with beaming headlines, ’Asharam Bapu forced to run as public anger spills over’. The report gloated, "he was barely there for three minutes before he was booed away... (Vaghela) ordered that all the things Asharam Bapu had touched be burnt. Even the wooden mat he sat on was set ablaze."

It is not difficult for a couple of hundred hooligans, supported by sinister elements in the media and polity, to disrupt normal life of four million people. They ‘achieved’ it on Guru Purnima Day by declaring a grand ‘bandh’. Lakhs of devotees were stranded far from the ashram. Dozens of vehicles were damaged and those walking down the distance were brutally attacked.

The police were having a tough job already, controlling the milling crowds of the day. The media slammed the police for being ineffective, when it decided not to interfere prematurely in scuffles between the harassed devotees and the local goons. Lawlessness was blown up in the media, particularly the cheap TV channels. Ahmedabad city Congress took an active part in the ‘agitation for justice’ with general secretary Naginbhai Desai stealing the limelight. Overzealous journos, who were vying for sensational footage and willingly putting themselves at risk, got manhandled.

At this, a mob of 500, led by some journalists, took out a noisy procession. They carried placards reading ’The freedom of press is immortal’, ’Journalists condemn the attack on fourth estate’, and ’Stop gagging the press’ and wanted to hand over a memorandum over alleged ’goondaism’ let loose by Asaram’s followers. They were stopped from barging in. The mob indulged in arson and was dispersed. About two dozen of those, describing themselves as scribes, were taken to police station and later let off. Journos, who were trying their best to transform rowdyism into communal riots, greeted the action with cries of ’repression of media’.

In fact, a ‘national daily’ published a report titled ’Agitation turns communal in old city’. All major communal riots in Gujarat are typically triggered with such ‘hair raising’ reports, to incite unruly elements in society. Obviously, the government is keen that the issue does not snowball into riots manipulated by big-time criminals.

In the light of the refusal of Vaghelas, at the instance of powerful riot operators, to cooperate with the police, a CID probe and a judicial commission has been ordered. There appears to be nothing more that could be done by the government to ‘ensure justice’, which does not happen overnight. On July 21, a community leader and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Govind Prajapati went to Praful’s house and impressed him on this. Praful was reported by the media as insisting that the chief minister must come and request him. Media gods chided Prajapati as insensitive when he said, "Vaghelas should not ask the CM to meet them for this petty issue. Otherwise it will become a trend."

Vaghelas seem to have realised rather late in the day that their farce had only brought misery to themselves and numerous others. Countless children had to miss valuable academic days and a lot of public property has been destroyed. Praful claimed to have got a call from Gandinagar and gone to CM’s residence to break his fast. He said he has been satisfied with Modi’s assurance that any culpability of Asaram ashram in the death of the boys will be fairly probed. There has been no confirmation or denial of the reports from Gandhinagar.

To the sensationalist media, keen on a hatchet in preparation for elections, Vaghelas’ move came as a shocker. A newspaper reported disappointingly, ’After meeting the chief minister, without informing any of their supporters, Praful and his brother Shanti broke their fast’.

A sensation-mongering tabloid belonging to a ‘national’ media house, which has become typical for hatchet job journalism, carried a huge headline proclaiming, ’betrayal’. It described Praful’s action as ’blatant attempt to shield the real culprits’, as if its journos have already identified them! The tabloid added, "All those who supported Dipesh and Abhishek’s fathers in their fight against Asaram felt let down after the compromise with the govt!"

The omniscient journos quoted one Suresh Vaghela, supposed to be the ‘third brother’, as saying that it was not enough for the CM to meet them. He needed to come before the media to announce that a judicial inquiry had been instituted. ’If that was not done, the protests over the deaths continue’. A woman Jayshree, supposed to be Praful’s sister, was reported as opining, "People who had supported them in the protest over the deaths have been let down badly.

They were shortchanged!" as if she wanted her brother to become a martyr!

In a signed central editorial comment on July 22, a mass circulation newspaper had even dismissed Asaram’s followers as ’a sect with roots in the Sindhi community, especially among petty shopkeepers and traders’, adding that the ’children who died did not belong to the main community’. The ‘venerable and secular’ journalist had vowed to ’pursue this (inciting of violence) regardless of threat force or intimidation’.

It is tragic that Gujarat is burdened with this type of paparazzi and irresponsible media. Is there no punishment for indulging in such criminal activities to the worthies claiming to be ‘fourth estate’ and claiming to be even more sacred than ‘sects’?

Modi orders probe into Ahmedabad violence, attack on media

2008-07-20T08:52:00.000+05:30

A day after protests against Asaram Bapu in Ahmedabad turned violent, in which some media persons were attacked by supporters of spiritual guru Asaram Bapu, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Also, Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah has assured that the persons involved in attacking the media during Asaram Bapu rally will be punished.

Earlier in the day media persons took out a protest march against yesterday’s attack. However, sensing further trouble the police detained the protesting journalists today.

On Friday, violence erupted in Ranip area following mysterious death two boys studying in a Gurukul run by Asaram Bapu on July 5. Their decomposed bodies were found on the banks of Sabarmati near Sardar Patel stadium, about 2.5 km from Asharam Bapu Gurukul in Motera, Gandhinagar.

Incidents of stone pelting on Ahmedabad Municipal Trasport Service (AMTS) buses were reported from the Nirnaynagar and Sabarmati area of the city. Several journalists were also beaten up allegedly by Asharam supporters and their equipment damaged when they were shooting the clashes between Ashram supporters and the residents.

In Maninagar, the constituency of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, irate mob had tried to block the roads in the area. Police had to resort to lathicharge in Maninagar to disperse the angry mob, in which, many people were injured also.

Don't issue visa to Narendra Modi: US lawmaker to State Dept

2008-07-19T07:31:00.001+05:30

A US lawmaker has asked the State Department not to grant visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of violating right to religious freedom.

"Granting a visa to Narendra Modi would be contradictory to international law and would only serve to validate the Chief Minister's abhorrent policies and actions," Congresswoman Betty McCollum wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The Democratic lawmaker from Minnesota serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State Department and Foreign Operations and the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs.

"Denying Modi a visa to enter the US not only will uphold the law but will send the important message that Modi's reprehensible statements, policies and actions are abhorrent to the laws and values of the United States," the letter dated July 3, 2008 said.

GSPC to invest $1 billion in KG basin

2008-07-18T19:29:00.001+05:30

HUGE POTENTIAL: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at KG-22 oil and gas exploration rig in Deendayal Block of Krishna-Godavari basin on Thursday.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) would invest Rs. 4,100 crore ($1 billion) to bring the eastern offshore Krishna Godavari basin gas field into production by 2011. He ruled out going public to fund the project.

GSPC, which is close to receiving government approvals for development plans for the KG-8 gas field, had struck more gas in the block KG-OSN-2001/3, Mr. Modi announced to media persons here through video conferencing from the discovery well KG-22 in the Bay of Bengal. “KG-22 alone holds three trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas,” he said adding that the entire block in his assessment holds more than 20 tcf of reserves.

Mr. Modi said from 2011 GSPC would pump 8-10 million standard cubic meters a day (mscmd) of gas from the block where they made the first of the five gas discoveries in June 2005 in the KG-8 well. “We have taken capacity in Reliance Industries’ East-West (Kakinada to Baruch) pipeline to transport gas to Gujarat,” he remarked. KG-8, according to the development plan submitted to oil regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), holds a minimum of 2.6 tcf and a maximum of 5.6 tcf recoverable reserves and can produce about 6 mscmd gas.

Gujarat Energy Minister Saurabh Patel, who was present during the interaction in Delhi, said the State Government, which owns 100 per cent in GSPC, had put on back burner the plans to sell 30 per cent stake to a foreign strategic partner like Chevron Corporation. He said the Government was looking at an IPO, a statement that was contradicted by Mr. Modi who said there were no plans for IPO. “We are a surplus State and do not need any financial support. We are financially sound and do not need to go to market,” Mr. Modi remarked.

Mr. Patel said that while the KG-8 well had in 2005 flowed 10 mscfd during testing, the KG-22 well flowed 27.3 mscfd. GSPC has till now discovered gas in three wells KG-8, 15 and 16. It had so far drilled 11 wells, with the last well encountering technical problems. The development plan submitted to the DGH was only for 15 sq. km. out of the 95 sq. km. shallow water block KG-OSN-2001/3, which had been since re-named as Deendayal.

Japan may partner Vibrant Gujarat summit

2008-07-18T09:28:00.000+05:30

CII nudges out FICCI to become event partner.

Vibrant Gujarat is set to have a global partner. For the first time ever, Gujarat is close to roping in Japan government as partners for the bi-annual Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit to be held early next year.

With the state government focusing on Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor in a big way –the DMIC will be an important agenda in the upcoming summit—Japan, which is actively involved in the project, is open to partnering with Gujarat.

"We have approached Japan to join the summit as partners. They are positive about the proposal," said a senior official in the state government.

Some time back, a delegation from Japan government-supported Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) had visited Gujarat to discuss potential investment sites along the DMIC.

The state government has even offered to earmark land for country-specific special economic zones (SEZs) for countries like Japan. And, it's not just Japan which is showing interest in the summit.

Even the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has had a comparatively strained relationship with the state government following remarks by senior CII officials in the wake of the Godhra riots, has joined the summit as a partner. FICCI has been partnering the the past two summits held in 2005 and 2007.

CII had fallen out of favour following remarks by Rahul Bajaj and Jamshyd Godrej over Gujarat's law and order situation. This was followed by demonstrations by some NGOs against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi at a CII event in February 2003.

As a reaction, a group of Gujarat industrialists floated a body Resurgent Gujarat to take on the CII. And, it was only after a senior CII office bearers called on Modi and tendered an apology over the events that the situation calmed down.

"CII could not partner Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summits (VGGIS) in 2005 and 2007. But now, the presence of Mr K V Kamath at the helm has changed the situation. CII is going to partner VGGIS '09," said a senior government official.

Modi has lost moral right to rule Gujarat: Congress

2008-07-17T20:27:00.000+05:30

BJP and Chief Minister Narendra Modi have lost "all moral right" to rule Gujarat in the light of the dismissal of an application filed by the state government seeking review of its order in the Best Bakery case, Congress said on Friday.

The apex Court expressed strong displeasure over the filing of the application by the State Government asking for a review of the order, party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

"BJP and its Chief Minister Narendra Modi have lost all moral rights to rule Gujarat," he said.

"Such an application only shows a reckless attitude and mental approach of the Gujarat Government," Singhvi said.

Assailing the BJP for the "misuse" of position by constitutional functionaries appointed by it, he cited a pamphlet in which the Chairman of the Minorities Commission Tarlochan Singh had made an appeal for supporting the South Delhi candidate V K Malhotra in the May ten Lok Sabha polls.

Singh's appeal comes close on the suggestions made by Haryana and Rajasthan Governors Babu Parmanand and Madan Lal Khurana for support to BJP candidates in elections, he said.

These constitutional authorities were "shamelessly" coming out openly in support of BJP candidates, he said, adding "We strongly condemn this and we will take action under the law."

Modi Refuses to Seek US Visa

2008-07-17T00:04:00.000+05:30

N.G.Os canvassing against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. have claimed that the B.J.P. leader’s decision not to seek visa to attend an upcoming conference in the country was a victory for “secular” forces.

Modi was invited by the organisers of a major Gujarati world conference being held in New Jersey in August. The United States had denied him visa to attend the last conference in 2005 and he had addressed the delegates through a video link.

In a statement, Coordinator of Coalition against Genocide Shiak Ubaid said their aim now is to expose the organizations in the United States controlled or influenced by “Hindutva fascists.”

The Indian America groups across the United States are sharply divided over the invitation sent to Narendra Modi.

While some organizations are working behind the scene mounting pressure on the US government to grant him visa to attend the meet, the Coalition Against Genocide, an umbrella organization of some 25 bodies, has written a letter to Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice asking her to deny visa to the Chief Minister.

The invitation was sent by the Association of Indian Americans in North America (AIANA), organizers of the meet, but its President Sunil Nayak had said issuance of visa is a matter between American authorities and Modi. However, he had expressed the hope that Modi would be able to attend the three-day conference beginning from Aug 29 in which some 50,000 Gurajatis from the world over are expected to participate.

In its letter to Rice, the Coalition Against Genocide requested her not to allow Modi to enter the United States “under any conditions” as, it said, circumstances under which he was denied visa earlier remain “largely unchanged” and “minority communities in the state face systematic human rights violations.” “Modi has not only expressed no remorse for the 2002 violence; but he has continued to justify them, as he has a spate of extra judicial killings by his police. And, the state continues to persecute civil society groups who have been trying to speak up for the victims under very difficult circumstances,” said the letter.

Gujaratis invite Modi to US but panel says block him

2008-07-16T12:12:00.000+05:30

A US-based organisation has asked its government to deny visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The delegation of the Association of Indian Americans in North America, which visited Gujarat recently, has invited Chief Minister Narendra Modi to be the chief guest at the World Gujarati Conference in New Jersey in August.

The US Congress mandated body has asked the State Department to deny Modi a visa. The immigrant Gujarati community, however, still wants Modi as their chief guest.

In the past two years, Modi addressed the gathering through a video-link. The move to bring him to the US, this year, has however angered the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

"We want him to get a visa. It is not just Modi's insult. It is an insult to all the Gujaratis. After all, thousands of people will gather there to hear him,” says President AIANA, Sunil Nayak.

The BJP says this is just another attempt to malign the Chief Minister. Modi was denied a US visa in 2005, for failing to control the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots.

"The truth is that, after 2005, Narendra Modi has not sought a US visa at all. Those who are saying this are defaming the people of Gujarat and CM Narendra Modi,” says Spokesperson, Gujarat BJP, IK Jadeja.

Meanwhile, it seems that it suits Modi's interests best that he is denied a US visa. It will only help him garner more sympathy, as he readies himself for a larger role in Indian politics.

US panel still against granting visa to Gujarat CM Narendar Modi

2008-07-16T00:02:00.000+05:30

In the wake of a fresh invitation to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from the Gujarati-Americans, to attend a culture conference in New Jersey, a US government advisory body has reportedly urged the State Department not to reverse its earlier decision to deny a tourist visa to Modi for allegedly abetting human rights violations during the 2002 Godhra riots.

Chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, Felice D Gaer said that still no changes were witnessed in Modis demeanour that would bring about a change in the US earlier policy regarding granting visa to him.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom again urges the State Department to announce Modi’’s ineligibility for a visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). We have not seen changes that would warrant a policy reversal, The News quoted Gaer as saying.

This would be second occasion when the US would deny visa to Modi. Earlier, he was denied the visa in 2005 to attend the same conference for the same reason.

Around 2000 people, most of whom were Muslims, were killed in the Godhra riots, worst ever communal riots in Indian history. The riots spread across the state after some Muslim fundamentalists allegedly burnt alive 59 Hindus on board a train at the Godhra railway station.

Meanwhile, the senior BJP leader has said that he would not apply for visa until he was assured that his application would not be turned down by US authorities.

Modi's detractors claim victory at refusal to seek US visa

2008-07-06T18:35:00.000+05:30

NGOs canvassing against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US have claimed that the BJP leader's decision not to seek visa to attend an upcoming conference in the country was a victory for "secular" forces.

Modi was invited by the organisers of a major Gujarati world conference being held in New Jersey in August. The United States had denied him visa to attend the last conference in 2005 and he had addressed the delegates through a video link.

In a statement, Coordinator of Coalition against Genocide Shiak Ubaid said their aim now is to expose the organisations in the United States controlled or influenced by "Hindutva fascists."

The Indian American groups across the United States are sharply divided over the invitation to Modi.

While some organisations are working behind the scene mounting pressure on the US government to grant him visa to attend the meet, the Coalition Against Genocide, an umbrella organisation of some 25 bodies, has written a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking her to deny visa to the chief minister.

Modi comes calling to Kutch in Swaranim Rath

2008-07-06T18:34:00.000+05:30

Chief Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Rapar on Friday as part of the Swaranim Jyoti Rath Yatra. The entire district administration was present to welcome the Yatra. The gathering included the minister in charge of the district, Narottam Patel; the only Kutchi minister, Vasan Gopal Ahir; the entire district MLAs including the lone Congressman, Babubhai Meghaji Shah; and a host of top district officers headed by the District Collector.

The day also marked the Kutchi New Year (Ashaadi Beej), which is itself a big socio-religious event. The Chief Minister sent his special New Year message to the people of Kutch all over the world, saying that once the most backward district, the post-quake Kutch has become a role model for the country.

A full-page ad in a prominent local daily carried Modi's big picture in a Kutchi turban, congratulating the people on their New Year. The ad also quoted development figures in Kutch. The government also announced a few water-related projects: a Rs. 28 crore balancing water reservoir near Malia to store 1920 million litres to last more than a week in the wake of a supply problem in the feeding Narmada canal, and new check dams worth Rs 21 crore.

The Swaranim function had people adopting a pro-Modi rhetoric, calling him the only savior of Gujarat. Both ministers, Patel and Ahir, said that the border district was progressing fast and by 2010 would become quite developed. Interestingly, Congress leaders with their elected MLA (Shah) attended the function and praised the yatra as well as the development in Rapar taluka. It is worth mentioning that the Congress rules the Rapar municipality.

The Swaranim Rath Yatra entered Kutch for the fourth time ever since it was flagged off on the formation day of the state on May 1. Political pundits believe that Modi has come again and again to the district in a bid to win over the hearts of the Kutchis. Earlier, the yatra visited Gandhidham. Bhachau and Anjar. It will continue to visit Kutch and other districts till 2010 to mark the Golden Jubilee of the state. It will also visit all taluka headquarters and municipal areas once every month.

"There is no doubt that Modi is trying to keep his popularity intact by this new Rath Yatra. The border district is 500 km from one end to the other. What is the point in sending the rath to the same district again and again when the district itself is internally so wide and petrol and diesel so pricey? This is unnecessary government expenditure," said Methaji Motharia, former MLA and state vice president of the Congress.

Ahmed Patel asks Modi to change his parochial approach, ‘filmy dialogues’

2008-07-01T08:21:00.000+05:30

Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel has advised Chief Minister Narendra Modi not to indulge in parochialism and steadfastly accusing the Centre of adopting a step-motherly attitude towards Gujarat.

“The ruling party chief must stop using these filmy dialogues. They have become very old and need to be changed,” said Patel.

He added: “If such ideas are propagated where the states want to be relieved from the Centre, then a day will come when there will be further fragmentation. Districts will refuse to pay taxes to the state government. In return, the states will not seek any help from the Centre, but call for autonomy and eventually freedom.”

This, he said, will break the nation, which “Sardar Patel had forged as a united India from 565 semi autonomous princely states”.

He said there are a lot of other local issues and requirements that need to be immediately addressed.

Making indirect references to Modi's development claims, Patel said: “Whosever is making these claims need to understand that the real architect of the nation's growth was former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.”

Patel said it was completely wrong to say that the UPA doesn't want Gujarat to become prosperous.

“Nobody is going to hang him or cut him into pieces as Modi claims. But for the state's development, he needs to work in tandem with the Centre and vice versa. The nation's growth is not possible if there is a vacuum between the state and the Centre,” he said.

He further said the Centre is demanding 600 acres of land to develop a domestic airport at Bharuch, but the state government is reluctant.

Patel said the plan is pending for seven years now and nothing has been done so far. If 1,500 acres of land are allotted then an international standards airport can be made, he said.

Advani banks on Modi model

2008-06-29T19:46:00.001+05:30

Narendra Modi had said: “Jeetega Gujarat”. L.K. Advani now says: “Jeetega Bhajpa, Jeetega Bharat”.

The BJP’s shadow Prime Minister has turned to the Gujarat model to try and win the Delhi crown.

As he launched his poll campaign from this Uttar Pradesh city today, Advani took a leaf out of the Gujarat chief minister’s book by seeking to identify the BJP with India. Modi had used this trick – merging the BJP’s and his state’s identities through his Gujarat asmita (pride) slogan -- to great effect in the 2002 and 2007 Assembly polls.

Advani has steadfastly refused to accept that the Gujarat model was just about communalism. Amid pouring rain he told the Vijay Sankalp rally: “Vijay sankalp (resolve of victory) is not just for a political party. We want India to be victorious among the comity of nations. You should think about how to make India victorious, how to help India attain supreme glory. The BJP is only the medium.”

He carried on the effort to wrest from the Congress its traditional planks of nationalism and political morality.

“The BJP has achieved its first target of turning India’s polity into a bi-polar system,” he said. “The other two goals are to make India strong and to cleanse the political system. We want politicians’ image to improve and become what it was during Gandhi’s and Nehru’s days.”

He recalled the recent terror strikes in the country and accused the government of lacking the political will to counter the danger. But his reluctance to enter the nuclear debate was more than evident.

“There are several burning issues. People are in deep distress owing to inflation, farmers are committing suicide, terrorists are striking at will... but the government is wasting its time fighting with the Left on the nuclear deal.”

Advani made it clear that if the Left withdrew support, the BJP would want a trust vote to take place immediately.

He drew the loudest cheers when he said the BJP wanted a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. But he avoided communal rhetoric and quickly added: “We also want to make a Rashtra mandir in which everybody will be equal, everybody will get security and justice, everybody will get food, healthcare and education.”

Advani presented a development-oriented agenda, different from what the Sangh parivar would have expected.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which too is holding its central committee meeting here, has turned the Amarnath shrine controversy into a big issue. It yesterday threatened to demonstrate at mosques and Haj houses across the country.

Advani’s show was devoid of such belligerence. Amid streams of drenched people trooping in and out of the venue, he presented his agenda of good governance to offset the “dysfunctional government” of Manmohan Singh.

Sonia Gandhi had ousted the BJP in 2004 with the slogan “Congress ka haath, aam aadmi ke saath.” Advani sought to turn the tables: “Congress ka haath, aam aadmi se vishwasghat (treachery).”

Advani to contest from Gujarat: Modi

2008-06-18T21:39:00.002+05:30

'State will play a crucial role in polls'.

When it comes to fighting difficult battles, the saffron brigade has always chosen to fall back on its most trusted battleground. So, as the BJP gears up for the Lok Sabha polls next year, Gujarat is set to play an important role.

So much so that BJP's prime ministerial candidate LK Advani hopes to continue his dream run with this western state, often referred to as the Hindutva laboratory. In an exclusive interview to Business Standard, Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat and a close Advani aide, said, "The next PM will be from Gujarat. Advaniji will contest the coming Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar."

It may be recalled that BJP had fared very badly in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections as it ended up getting only 14 of the 26 seats—down from its tally of 22 in 1999.

"This time around it will be different. Gujarat will shine in the coming elections and will put up a great show," said Modi, who is set to play a vital role in the coming polls.

Advani had won from Gandhinagar with a thumping majority of over 2 lakh votes in the previous polls.

The announcement comes amid speculations in the wake of new delimitation that Advani may not contest from Gujarat this time around. Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar have been bifurcated into three constituencies namely Gandhinagar, Western Ahmedabad and Eastern Ahmedabad.

As per the new delimitation, Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat includes assembly segments such as Kalol, Sanand, Ghatlodia, Vejalpur, Naranpura and Sabarmati. These segments are considered to be traditional BJP bastions—the party has a fared well in these areas in the 2007 assembly elections.

It has been debated that three MPs including Advani—the others being union textiles minister Shankersinh Vaghela and BJP MP Ratilal Varma— would face problems after the constituencies were redefined. Varma, who represents Dhandhuka constituency was a SC seat (now it's an open seat) while Vaghela's stronghold Kapadwanj seat has been bifurcated into two seats. Congress sources say Vaghela may fight from Panchamahals this time around.

Similarly, BJP's sitting MP and former union minister Harin Pathak will be forced to contest from the eastern Ahmedabad seat, where he has already started the preliminary groundwork.

Will Narendra Modi get US visa this time?

2008-06-17T21:15:00.002+05:30

Will Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi be second time lucky? His supporters here want the US to grant him a visa to enable his participation in a world Gujarati meet though he was denied visa three years ago thanks to the controversy over his handling of communal violence in 2002.

"It is not just a question of one individual getting the visa. The prestige of a state is at stake," said Sunil Nayak, president of the Association of Indian Americans of North America (AIANA), which is hosting the conference.

"Unless the US consulate gives a surety that it will grant Modi the visa, he will not apply," Nayak told IANS.

Chandru Bhambhra, president of the Friends of Overseas BJP (FOBJP) and a close confidante, said: "Modi told me some months ago that he was not going to apply for a US visa since he faces the risk of denial, which could hurt his reputation."

But if the government of a state like New Jersey invites him, then it will be a different matter, he added.

Modi was denied a visa to visit the US after his allegedly biased handling of the communal violence in Gujarat in 2002. As many as 1,169 people, a majority of them Muslims, were killed in the violence that, rights organisations say, could have been averted.

He has since been forced to address gatherings of his supporters and the Gujarati diaspora in the US through video conferencing or live telecast.

Nayak of AIANA is hopeful that some breakthrough in the visa situation will be made in the two and a half months before the Aug 29-31 non-political conference.

"Modi is helping the state and its culture. His presence here will help people reconnect with their cultural roots in Gujarat. If he is not able to come in person, we will think of an alternative, which will certainly be better than mere video conferencing," he said.

Modi spoke to his supporters in the US via satellite TV in February at an event in New Jersey, organised by FOBJP, marking his Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the Gujarat assembly elections in December 2007.

Rajesh Shukla, the coordinator of the event, had then castigated the US administration for denying the visa to an "elected leader of a big Indian state, while tinpot dictators and murderers are welcomed". It is for Gujarat and Gujaratis to decide what is good or bad for them, he said.

The second World Gujarati Conference, called Chaalo Gujarat, is a major three-day event in Edison, organised by immigrants in the US to reconnect the younger generation with their place of origin. Thirty-five thousand people from India and the Gujarati diaspora are expected to attend.

Prominent invitees other than Modi include industrialist brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, technocrat Sam Pitroda, religious leader Morari Bapu, economist Jagdish Bhagwati, singer Pankaj Udhas and cricketers Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel.

Programmes include a multi-screen film on Gujarat, a gallery on the legends of Gujarat and a 3-D exhibition of famous places in the state. Several seminars on issues including health, immigration, investments and art and literature will also be held.

Religious discourses, trade shows, fashion shows, celebrity performances, traditional dances including tribal dances and a poet's conclave will be organised as part of the event.

The first Chaalo Gujarat event was held in 2006 and drew Gujaratis from all over the world.

Hang me if you can: Modi dares Congress

2008-06-17T09:45:00.000+05:30

A week after daring the Centre to remove Gujarat from the list of centrally-assisted states, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has hit out at the Congress again.
"I invite the whole Congress regime, please do not waste a single day, book me for sedition today and hang me. Let me see how they can," he said while addressing a public function here on Sunday.

"But how can they? They have not been able to hang Afzal Guru," he added referring to the man convicted for terror attack on Parliament in 2001.

Modi has been playing political rhetoric again in recent days. At a function in Vadodara last week, he said Gujarat gives Rs 40,000 crore as taxes to the Centre and receives only 2.5 per cent of it in return.

He asked the government to stop collecting taxes from Gujarat and also stop aid to the state. The Congress questioned Modi's remarks and said they were "nothing less than an assault on the idea of India."

During recent Gujarat elections, Modi's controversial statements reaped rich dividends for him. He had taken on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for calling him a 'maut ka saudagar'(merchant of death). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks at itself at the only party strong enough to deal with terror and is not leaving any opportunity to hit out at the Congress.

Modi has kick-started the BJP's new campaign before general elections due next year. And he is looking ahead to a larger role in national politics.

PTI

Modi tours villages to promote Girl Child’s Education

2008-06-16T10:53:00.000+05:30

Taking a drive to promote girl child education to villages, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Saturday toured parts of Dangs district and urged villagers to send their young daughters to school. Modi toured villages in tribal-dominated Dangs district in south Gujarat and escorted children to school and anganvadis or daytime child care and health centres. Handing out sweets and chocolates to the children he enrolled them in schools for the new academic year. He also handed over Vidya Lakshmi bonds to girl students.

“We have resolved to make Gujarat free from the bane of illiteracy and malnutrition. And seeing the response of the people to the statewide Kanya Kelavani Mahotsav (girl child education festival) it is clear the ‘yagna’ of education has been very successful and the movement is bound to gain rapid popularity,” Modi said on the concluding day of the campaign.

Urging tribal people to conserve forest cover, Modi said the declining rainfall in the district was a matter of grave concern. “Unless we conserve and maintain our forest cover the future would indeed be bleak for all of us,” he said.

Addressing another meeting, Modi told a gathering of women: “First education and then marriage. Education is the most powerful tool to achieve the goal of women’s empowerment. Educate your girl child before you marry them.”

What TN politicos can learn from Modi's 'sedition'

2008-06-14T07:03:00.000+05:30

POLITICAL PUNDITS and media analysts have been projecting Narendra Modi, the longest serving chief minister (CM) of Gujarat as the ’Hindu Hriday Samrat’ (ruler of Hindu hearts). Whenever Modi takes a break from the affairs of the state to visit some other place, they see him as a strong contender for a larger role in national politics of India.

Whether it was his ’friendly interaction’ with J Jayalalithaa, former Tamilnadu CM, or a couple of election addresses in the recent Karnataka Assembly elections, all his engagements outside Gujarat are viewed through tinted glasses. To them, they seem to betray his big ’ambition’ to become part of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) top brass in New Delhi.

In India and even globally, Modi is portrayed as a messiah of the doctrine of BJP hardliners – advocates of a barbaric brand of ’pure’ Hindutva. He is taken to be an ardent follower of hawks like of LK Advani, rejecting the moderate line advocated by the likes of Atal Behari Vajpayee. Even the Congress adopted this cliché as its campaign strategy during the 2007 assembly polls. It painted him as ’maut ka saudagar’ (merchant of death), who used the state police for murdering people in cold blood. As it happened, Modi had to retaliate when Congress president Sonia Gandhi called him so. He turned the charge around to blame the Congress-ruled Centre for not hanging Afzal Guru—a tragic issue that Saffron hardliners have emotionalised and sensationalised.

Modi’s challenge on June 8 to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-led Central government exposes this image to be a piece of fiction. The stereotype has been created by people unaware of the ground realities in the Gujarat. “I tell the Central government, Gujarat gives you Rs 40,000 crores in taxes, but how much do you give back to us? Don’t give us money—let us see how this arrangement works in one year,”" he declared at an inauguration function in Vadodara. The CM was at his oratorical best when he accused New Delhi of going all the way out to help the state government in West Bengal, while ’discriminating against Gujarat’.

The Congress has gleefully found in the remark a brand new campaign plank. What a chance to beat the iconic leader, who has of late started sermonising the Central government on every issue like energy conservation and controlling terror, with his own stick! State Congress leaders, have started to brand him a ‘rashtra drohi’ (traitor), guilty of sedition.

Congress high command, however, apparently wants to take a cautious stand, fearing that he might stage a repeat of turning the tables. It has tentatively pushed a relatively small timer – All india Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Manish Tiwari – to the front to take on Modi. Tiwari called the statement treasonous. “It is an assault on India. It is an irresponsible statement. A case of sedition should be filed against Modi,” he thundered. He continued, “In the history of independent India, never has any chief minister of a state has said that it should not give taxes to the Centre.” Claiming that there is no system of computing how much tax a state gives to the Centre, Tiwari teased the BJP, “Is it your dream of ‘Akhand Bharat’ (greater India)?”

The spokesperson, however, beat around the bush, saying, “The Congress never hesitated in taking any step in national interest,” to a specific question whether his party would dare initiate a sedition case. BJP too has downplayed the assertion of Modi, demanding for Gujarat its due. Party leader Venkaiah Naidu clarified, “He (Modi) was just expressing his anxiety on the Centre’s attitude towards BJP-ruled states… his expression was one of agony over the step-motherly treatment meted out to the state. It was not a policy statement.”

That Gujarat has been treated only as a milch cow all these years is a stark truth. It has hardly any Central government project worth mentioning, except in the oil sector. That too was because Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) had made onshore discoveries in the state. While the ONGC wells rob the farmers of big chunks of scarce land, the royalty remained a pittance for long. The state has the same grievance as Assam, being forced to pay more than others for its own gas. Contrast this with say Tamilnadu, where numerous Central government projects were got sanctioned in the past by leaders like Venkatraman and Kamaraj to make it number one in industrial development those days.

In this context, it is worth recalling Narendra Modi’s reaction, after his hand-picked candidates secured just short of two-thirds majority in the last assembly elections. They had trounced not only the Congress but several BJP stalwarts, who fought as rebels after being denied tickets by the state unit of BJP. Many of them enjoyed patronage from the party’s Delhi bosses.

“I want to thank 5-1/2 crore people of Gujarat for this victory,” Modi said at the felicitation function and added, “This is the fifth time we have won in Gujarat and most of the times, we have won with a two-thirds majority. This vote is a positive vote to bring back the government. All the negative propaganda used in the campaign has been rejected by the people.” Modi was referring to the high-profile campaign that had been mounted by ‘outsiders’ against ’Gujaratis’. He declared, “The people of Gujarat have focussed only on development. They have once again approved the work done by the government and have positively voted for continued growth and development. People have rejected anti-development mentality and have defeated the forces, out to defame Gujarat…. The agenda for this election was not set by any political party but by the people.”

Modi made it clear that the credit for the triumph did not belong to him or the BJP, but to the 5-1/2 crore ‘Gujaratis’. However, sensationalists and people with preconceived notions and the media only highlighted the peripheral portion of the speech: “This historical verdict of people of Gujarat will bring qualitative change in the prevailing Indian politics. I have been assigned a special responsibility and will continue to fulfill the expectations of people.”

The ground reality about Gujarat is this: While it is true that Narendra Modi did come to occupy power via BJP, riding on the communal wave, the blot has been virtually forgotten. The high command of BJP and their rhetoric have no takers in the state. Despite undercurrents of hurt psyche, the Muslims in the state enjoy a better life than most other states in India. Of note, there has been no exodus of minorities from the state.

’Moditva’, if something like that exists, deserves to win in every other state. But, the term should be taken to mean ’crusading for the people of the region’, while not antagonising other regions and the Centre. After all, the Centre cannot siphon off resources and wealth of one region, in the guise of ‘national interests’, indiscriminately. That cannot be the concept of ’national identity’. When it is done beyond reasonable limits, it will only de-motivate good performers and promote inefficiency in the backward regions. When politicians of every state draw lessons from Moditva, it can lead to prosperity of all Indians.

Dravidian politicians of Tamilnadu (TN), particularly, need to emulate the Gujarat CM. Visionary leaders like EVR Naicker, CN Annadorai etc of TN had crusaded for true federalism, like Modi is doing today. But, present-day TN leaders of umpteen splinters of their self-respect movement have betrayed the interests of Tamils. These politicians are more interested in framing up and harassing one another, using New Delhi, instead of working for Tamils’ interests.

For example, while everyone pays lip service to the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Tamil politicians remain mute spectators when New Delhi abets Colombo’s anti-Tamil policies. Succumbing to the interests of New Delhi is justified with the argument of ‘iraiyanmai’ (loyalty to sovereign overlordship) even while Tamils are massacred. This is worth contrasting with Gujarat’s attitude Gujaratis overseas.

Modi anger with Centre justified: BJP

2008-06-14T07:01:00.000+05:30

Even as Gujarat CM Narendra Modi on Thursday dared the Centre to slap sedition charges against him for his remark that the Centre should not collect taxes from his state since it was getting back little from the Union government, his party on Thursday tread cautiously on the issue.

Expressing solidarity with Modi, a BJP leader said it reflected the view among the chief ministers of BJP-ruled states who are being discriminated against since they felt the pinch most with Delhi not sending required resources to their states. But at the national level, the party was not taking up the cause in the manner that Modi had taken.

Modi recently said that Gujarat gave Rs 40,000 crore as taxes to the national exchequer when the Centre was giving back only 2.5% of that amount to the state. He even suggested that the state not pay taxes to the Centre for a year and see how it worked out. The Congress had reacted sharply to Modi's comment and said that he can be liable to treason

Erring teacher? Just drop a postcard to Modi

2008-06-14T07:00:00.000+05:30

If a school teacher in a Gujarat village is neglecting his or her duty, villagers now know what to do: Just drop a postcard to Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Launching a campaign to promote the girl-child education from Porbandar district, Modi appealed to the villagers to write a postcard to him if the schoolteacher was not regular in taking his classes.

"If an engineer commits a mistake, a project or scheme is affected, but if a teacher commits a mistake a whole generation is affected," he said.

"Once I receive a complaint, necessary action against the erring teacher would be initiated," he assured the gathering.

Narendra Modi launches girl child education campaign

2008-06-14T06:57:00.001+05:30

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Thursday inaugurated a three-day 'girl child education festival' from five villages of Porbandar district in Saurashtra.

The campaign, including rallies through villages, aims at enrolling girl students between six to 14 years in schools and checking dropouts at the primary level.

'After the Independence, education has remained neglected. Gujarat is going to celebrate the golden jubilee of its statehood in 2010. We will remove the scourge of illiteracy,' Modi said at the launch of the function.

The state government was fully committed to achieve the goal of 100 percent girl child literacy, he added.

The campaign will cover as many as 32,530 schools in 225 sub-districts of 25 districts.

Gujarat cuts VAT on petrol, diesel and LPG

2008-06-12T11:19:00.000+05:30

The Gujarat government has reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol, diesel and cooking gas(LPG) to provide some relief to the consumers in the State.

Announcing this here on Tuesday, the Health Minister and the cabinet spokesman, Jaynarayan Vyas, and the Minister of State for power, Saurabh Patel, said the VAT on petrol and diesel had been reduced by three per cent each while the entire four per cent VAT on cooking gas was withdrawn by the State government.

Mr. Vyas said the tax cut would make petrol cheaper by Rs. 1.38 per litre and diesel by one rupee per litre, while the cooking gas would now cost Rs. 13.05 less per cylinder. He said the State government decided to provide some relief to the people despite itself shouldering an additional burden of over Rs. 1,450 crore due to the price rise of petrol and other petroleum products imposed by the the Centre.

In response to the appeal by the BJP national president, Rajnath Singh, to the BJP-ruled States, the Narendra Modi government had appointed a four-member cabinet sub-committee under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala to recommend measures to provide some relief to the people from the “back-breaking” hike in the petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices. The sub-committee’s report was considered at the State cabinet meeting held here on Tuesday under Mr. Modi’s chairmanship and approved the VAT cuts on petrol, diesel and cooking gas.

Analysing the economic impact on the State government caused by the UPA government’s “faulty policies” on petrol and petroleum products, Mr. Vyas said besides the Rs. 530-crore loss due to the reduction of VAT on the three products, the State would suffer a notional loss of Rs. 470 crore due to reduction in share of customs and central excise from the Central pool. It would suffer an additional Rs. 450-crore burden as a consumer of petrol and diesel to carry out developmental activities.

Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmad Bukhari: Modi is terrorist No. 1

2008-06-03T22:20:00.000+05:30

Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmad Bukhari launched a sharp attack on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi labelling him as "terrorist number one" in the country.

"Narendra Modi is the terrorist number one in the country. He is unleashing state-sponsored terrorism in Gujarat. In the name to curbing terrorism, innocent people are arrested and harassed," said Imam Bukhari at an international conference against terrorism organised by the Jama Masjid United Forum.

"Gujarat riots took place as per the instruction of Modi. He is still in power. The victims of the riot do not have any expectation for justice as long as he is in power," he said.

Talking about the domestic component of terrorism the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid claimed people were resorting to terrorism to take revenge against forces which harass them. "When a boy sees his family members being brutally killed and does not get justice, what will he do? Will he not become violent when he grows up?," he asked.

"All those who have been victimised should get justice, otherwise terrorism will not end in this country," said Imam Bukhari.

Stating that some other forces are unleashing terror in the name of "Jihad" and killing innocent people in Jammu and Kashmir, Imam Bukhari said, "We condemn such acts. Islam does not allow these things."

Agreeing that the disunity among the Muslim leaders and organisations is responsible for the ignominy and the humiliation faced by the community, Imam Bukhari said no sincere efforts have been made in the country so far to stop the continuous progression of the causes of terrorism like injustice, exploitation and oppression. "We are busy treating the disease without its diagnosis," he said.