Gujarat didn't grow because of Modi

India International Times Correspondent

INSIGHT

Also, most of the development claims of Gujarat government are unsustainable.

AHMEDABAD: The official website of the Gujarat government says that when Narendra Modi took over the reigns of the state by becoming chief minister in 2001, growth in various sectors was "stagnant and infrastructure was in shambles, but Modi's efforts put the state back on the road to progress and prosperity'' .

The statement aims at hijacking the credit for the development of the state and gives it to Modi. But, one who is acquainted with the economic and industrial history of Gujarat will never accept it. He or she will only laugh at it.

However, it is true that the gross domestic product (GDP) of Gujarat has touched the double digit figure of 11 per cent in the last few years that is during Modi's rule. Gujarat is further aiming to achieve a GDP figure of 14 per cent in the next couple of years..

But the credit for it can certainly not be given to Modi, or anyone leader of a political party because development is not a process to be achieved within a period of five or 10 years rule of an individual. It takes decades.

In fact, it is the enterprising spirit of Gujaratis which deserves the credit for the development of the state. The reality is that Gujarat would have been what it is today, with or without Modi.

Everyone, even a layman, knows that when Modi was not on the political scene of the state, Gujarat was having the largest number of cooperative banks, 352 in all, reflecting the saving habits of Gujaratis and accumulating capital, a vital ingredient for industrial and economic growth.

But the same cooperative banks that played a key role in the state's industrial and economic growth by making capital available to small-and medium-scale entrepreneurs, began collapsing as soon as Modi took over political power in 2001, owing to huge scams involving political leaders, mostly belonging to BJP.

Some of these leaders have been rewarded by Modi by fielding them for April 30 Lok Sabha elections, though they deserved to have been pushed into political oblivion for their offences. They are, Prabhatsinh Chauhan from Panchmahals seat, C R Patil from Navsari seat and Deepak Saathi from Anand seat.

Figures

According to figures available with the state cooperative department, as many as 62 cooperative banks have collapsed in the last seven years, with the state's investors losing over Rs. 2,000 crore and only 264 banks remaining operational now. Another success story of cooperative movement in the state was the "White Revolution", making the country self-dependent in milk requirements. However, the architect of this revolution, Dr. Verghese Kurien was removed ignominiously from Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) under Modi's rule.

In fact, the foundation for the present industrial and economic growth being witnessed by Gujarat was laid several decades ago when neither Modi nor his saffron outfit Bharatiya Janata Party was anywhere on the political scene of the state.

Nobody, not even Modi can deny that all the big projects in the state, including the Indian Oil Corporation' s Gujarat Refinery at Vadodara, the biggest refinery in the public sector, Gujarat State Fertiliser Company(GSFC) at Vadodara, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertiliser Company (GNFC)at Bharuch and Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited(IPCL) in Vadodara that worked as the foundation for industrial revolution in the state and made it the country's biggest chemical and petro-chemical hub were conceived and set up decades ago when the Congress and other non-BJP parties were in power in this west Indian state.

The foundation stone of the Gujarat Refinery, which alone contributes 40 per cent of the state's GDP, was laid by India's first prime minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. The GSFC, with an annual turn over of Rs. 3,000 crore was set up in 1983, and the GNFC, with an annual turn over of Rs. 2,000 crore came into existence in 1986. The Narmada Dam, described as the lifeline of Gujarat, that transformed the face of agriculture ever since its waters started reaching agricultural farms three and a half years ago, was conceived within 10 years of India's independence and its foundation was also laid by Pt. Nehru.

When harsh conditions were put by the World Bank to finance the project in 1993, then chief minister Chimanbhai Patel snubbed the WB refusing to take the loan and floated Narmada "Deep Discount Bonds" to finance the project. He succeeded in it.

However, it is merely a coincidence that the dam got completed during Modi's rule, and he is now taking credit for it.

It was again Chimanbhai Patel who cleared the proposals for Jamnagar-based Reliance Refinery, one of the biggest refineries in the world. Even world class Expressway linking Ahmedabad to Vadodara was conceived, and its implementation begun, during BJP's Keshubhai Patel regime, not Modi's.

Gujarat also became the hub of the world's diamond cutting and polishing industry in 1970s when Modi was not known to the world. According to industry sources, 80-90 per cent of world's diamond is polished in Gujarat, employing an estimated 10 lakh workers directly, with an annual export turn over reported to be Rs. 50,000 crore. Gujarat also got the title "Manchester of the East" for its textile industry before Modi or his party came to power in the state.

However, it is true that the diamond industry is facing the biggest crisis in its history now, with Modi as the chief minister of the state and having done so far nothing to bring the industry back on the rails. According to industry sources, over 8 lakh diamond workers have lost their jobs in the last one year and more than 70 committed suicide.

Data obtained under RTI have also blasted Modi's claims of 63.5 per cent implementation of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed during 2003, 2005 and 2007 "Vibrant Gujarat" summits.

The data furnished by state government officials say that only 25.25 per cent of MoUs signed during these summits were implemented. And figures available from Union commerce ministry say that only 16 to 17 per cent of MoUs signed in Gujarat were implemented.

It may be pointed out that Gujarat moved on to the path of industrial development when there was no economic liberalisation and the country faced extreme cash crunch. However, Modi's take over of political power in the state coincided with an era of economic boom in the country. Gujarat, with its strong industrial foundation built in previous decades as also its strategic location like being a coastal state and location on Mumbai-Delhi route, got maximum advantage of it..

For instance, 40 per cent of Rs. 50,000 crore Delhi Mumbai Integrated Corridor(DMIC) project being developed exclusively by the central government at its own expense falls within Gujarat. Thus Gujarat would have been what it is today even if Modi was not there.

Yet, there are huge imbalances in the development of various regions of the state. While western Gujarat and parts of central and southern Gujarat have prospered with most industries, big and small, located in these regions, the eastern tribal belt spread over 14 districts, accounting for 16 per cent of the population, are comparable with the most backward regions of the country.

The agricultural scenario is depressing. More than 500 farmers have committed suicide in the last five years due to the dismal agrarian situation.

According to Reserve Bank of India, Gujarat ranked 17^th among the 18 large states in India in terms of spending on social sector, which was just 31.6 per cent of the budgetary expenditure, much less than other states.

Muslim pockets in the state have virtually been reduced to slums with no amenities, infrastructure facilities, hospitals or schools being set up there. Gujarat is also among the most indebted states of the country.

But the firebrand Hindutva leader in Modi, who won two assembly elections in December 2002 and December 2007, riding on a wave of communal tension sweeping across the state following 2002 post-Godhra communal riots and kept alive by Modi and his supporters during the last six years, is going whole hog to project himself as a 'development man' with a view to improving his image of 2002.

Modi, in fact, launched a campaign to improve his image after the United States declined to issue him a visit visa in 2005 and, subsequently, the European Union declared him a persona non grata on account of human right violations under his rule in Gujarat.

According to political analysts, as Modi is aspiring to become the prime minister in future on the basis of his popularity in the party, he knows well that his image of a Hindu hardliner will not be useful in fulfilling his ambitions. It was perhaps for this reason that his mentor and senior party leader L K Advani visited Mohammed Ali Jinnah's tomb during his tour of Pakistan to show himself to the world as a secular leader and made a statement about Pakistan's founder which was just opposite the Sangh Parivar's. In fact, it was the rigid hardliner image of Advani that prevented him from becoming the prime minister because of opposition of BJP allies and Atal Behari Vajpayee was anointed as prime minister though Advani had emerged as the "most popular leader" among the vocal sections of society for his leading role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992.

Modi is well aware that he may not get the support of his party's political allies with his image as a hardliner unable to take all religious and ethnic groups with him. Even if he manages to win the support of his allies, today's world has become a global village and he may face resistance from world powers who have been interfering everywhere, including India. The challenge before Modi is to shed his anti-minority image and project himself as a man of development if he wants to play a role at the national level and become acceptable to people of different classes, castes and creeds.

Modi welcoming Ratan Tata to shift his Nano car project from Singur to Sanand, 40 km from Ahmedabad, is no surprise even though the state government had to give concessions to Tatas better than those offered by West Bengal. While Tata's small car project is just worth Rs. 2,200 crore, the state government, according to media reports, has agreed to give a loan of Rs. 32,000 crore at 0.1 per cent of interest with repayment to begin after a period of 20 years. A master strategist and adept at the art of propaganda, Modi received wide publicity for it all over the country.

But whatever Modi may do to improve his image, he will always be remembered for his crimes of mass killing of Muslims in 2002, like a miniature Adolf Hitler who is remembered for the Holocaust, killing of Jews in gas chambers, and not for his "administrative acumen" for which he got praise from German industrialists in the 1930s