Sonia red-faced, but Modi gets A from Congress
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
Giving an A-grade to Gujarat Government for greater
economic freedom among Indian State has caused
considerable embarrassment to the Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation, headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The Foundation has now distanced itself from the
report which adjudged Gujarat as the best governed
States.
Based on the report, Gujarat Government put out full
page advertisement in a national daily on Wednesday
patting itself on the back for topping the score card
on individual and economic freedom, complete with a
beaming portrait of chief minister Narendra Modi. The
'higher-ups' at the Foundation are not amused at being
perceived to be giving a 'good work' certificate to
bete noire Mr Modi.
The Foundation has issued a clarification that it has
nothing to do with the study. Conveniently setting
aside the fact that its director, Mr Bibek Debroy, is
co-author of the report. The study is carried out by
the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies,
an independent think-tank within the Foundation and
comes with a views-are-personal footnote.
The Institute "publishes a range of studies on diverse
subjects for public debate and discussion, on the
clear understanding that the views expressed in its
publications are those of the authors, not the
Institute," the press release said.
Eager to not be seen as endorsing the policies of
political rivals of Ms Gandhi, the Foundation said
that the "Institutes recently published study on
Economic Freedom for States of India reflects he views
of the authors, not those of the Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation or its chairperson and trustees." The
clarification comes over three weeks after the study
was published and widely reported in the press.
The report said that Government interference was
minimum in production, distribution and consumption of
goods and services. Due to better law enforcement,
Gujarat enjoys highest level of safety of life and
property and lowest incidences of violent crimes in
the country. These words came as music to the ears of
Gujarat administration which has been on the defensive
since the riots broke out in 2002.
The report also commended the Gujarat police and
judiciary for speedy investgations and trials
completed. Both the arms of Gujarat administration has
been under intense mdia scrutiny for harbouring
religious bias.
The report commends the economic policy of the State
by keeping power subsidies low as well as those of
lockouts.
Earlier the State had bagged UN awards to
rehabilitation of the victims of the 2001 Kutch
earthquake.
__________________________________
Discover Yahoo!
Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news and more. Check it out!
http://discover.yahoo.com/mobile.html
_______________________________________________
Assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
Mailing list FAQ:
http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html
To unsubscribe or change options:
http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam
