I/II. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/across-the-aisle-the-sons-of-the-soil-of-gujarat-narendra-modi-amit-shah-vijay-rupani-4965199/
Across the aisle: The sons of the soil of Gujarat Mr Modi should speak on matters that concern all of India such as farmers’ distress, oppression of Dalits, discrimination against minorities,.. Even during a state election, Mr Narendra Modi should speak as the Prime Minister of India Written by P Chidambaram | Published: December 3, 2017 12:02 am Mr Modi is Prime Minister of India. He promised achche din (good days). He promised to bring back the black money stashed abroad and deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every person. He promised 2 crore jobs every year. He should speak on those promises. (Express photo/File) Ahead of PM Modi visit, Congress, BJP workers clash in Rajkot; 3 detainedAhead of PM Modi visit, Congress, BJP workers clash in Rajkot; 3 detained The Prime Minister began his election campaign in Bhuj, Gujarat, proclaiming that he was the ‘son of Gujarat’, and warned that any one who comes to Gujarat and levels allegations against the son of the soil will not be forgiven by the people of the state. The BJP has ruled Gujarat since 1995. Mr Modi became the chief minister in October 2001 and, after he vacated the office in 2014, the state has had two chief ministers hand-picked by him. The first (Mrs Anandiben Patel) was a disaster and the second (Mr Vijay Rupani) is a disappointment. Hence the need for Mr Modi to make himself the election issue and ask for votes in his name. I think it is unusual for a Prime Minister to do so. Gujarat Not Exceptional In the last 57 years, Gujarat, like other states, has made progress. It is one of the states that benefited from the liberalisation of 1991, but Gujarat is not exceptional. In September 2013, a committee under Dr Raghuram Rajan constructed an ‘Underdevelopment Index’ for 28 states for the purpose of evolving a method for allocation of Central funds. The least developed state was Odisha with an index of 0.79 and the most developed states were Goa (0.05) and Kerala (0.15). Gujarat got an index of 0.50, in the mid-point of the scale, and was almost on a par with Karnataka. On the Social Progress Index for 29 states, released by the Institute for Competitiveness and the Social Progress Imperative, Gujarat is plumb in the middle (rank 15) with 14 states above and 14 states below. Gujarat is in the top five on ‘Basic Human Needs’ but in the bottom five on ‘Foundations of Wellbeing’ and 9th from the bottom on ‘Opportunity’. People Have Grievances Like in every state, sections of the people of Gujarat are dissatisfied. The farmers are particularly unhappy. The Sardar Sarovar dam is an example of poor governance. Less than a quarter of the planned 18.45 lakh hectares receives water for irrigation. Over 30,000 km of canals are yet to be completed. Mr Tushaar Shah, a senior fellow at the International Water Management Institute, writes: “After 35 years in the works, Rs 48,000 crore in capex, 45,000 ousted families, 245 submerged villages and 250,000 hectares of land acquired, for Gujarat, the Sardar Sarovar dam project still remains just that, a promise.” Other sections of the people have their own grievances. The Patidars want reservation for their community in jobs and educational institutions. The Dalits and the Scheduled Tribes believe they have been neglected and are the victims of oppression and violence. The minorities believe they are discriminated against and a majoritarian agenda is being imposed upon them. There are voices in Gujarat in support of and against demonetisation. There are people who are tolerant of the flawed implementation of the GST as well as people — particularly in the SME sector, textile business and diamond trade — who are indignant at the faulty design and hasty implementation of the GST. New appointees among Gujarat’s government servants, including teachers, are contract employees on low, fixed salaries — a clear violation of Article 14. Such grievances are not peculiar to Gujarat. Movements, organisations and leaders will emerge to voice the grievances. That is the way a democracy works. Mr Hardik Patel, Mr Jignesh Mevani and Mr Alpesh Thakor have emerged as leaders. They are entitled to oppose the government of the day and to ask for the support of the people. They and the farmers, traders and government servants have not ‘come to Gujarat’ to level allegations against a son of the soil. They are as much sons of the soil as Mr Narendra Modi is. Real Issues Ignored Mr Modi is Prime Minister of India. He promised achche din (good days). He promised to bring back the black money stashed abroad and deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every person. He promised 2 crore jobs every year. He should speak on those promises. He should speak on the concerns of the people of Gujarat, on Sardar Sarovar dam, on Una, on the ghettoisation of towns and cities, on the financial condition of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, on the Nano car project, on malnourished children, on the sex ratio and on the flourishing illegal trade in liquor. He should speak on matters that concern all of India, such as farmers’ distress, oppression of Dalits, discrimination against minorities, deprivation of forest and other rights of the Scheduled Tribes, unemployment, price rise, plight of SMEs, reservation, majoritarianism, intolerance, vigilantism, the Rafale deal and the GDP growth rate. Nobody has hurt Gujarati asmita (pride). No one hates Gujarat or Gujaratis. Long before Mr Modi became chief minister, the Indian people and the Central governments (including Congress governments) had recognised the achievements of numerous Gujaratis, starting with Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji was an Indian and a son of Gujarat; he is revered as the Father of the Nation; and his chosen instrument to lead the freedom struggle was the Congress party. Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel were comrades-in-arms and remained so until the Sardar’s untimely death. Morarji Desai, Gulzarilal Nanda, Vikram Sarabhai, Jhaverchand Meghani, Tribhuvandas Patel, I G Patel and many others — besides Gujarati-speaking Parsis — were honoured and celebrated citizens. Even during a state election, Mr Narendra Modi should speak as the Prime Minister of India. II. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/gujarat-elections-2017-pm-narendra-modi-should-find-more-dignified-ways-to-seek-votes-says-manmohan-1782840 PM Should Find "More Dignified Ways" To Seek Votes, Says Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh said PM Narendra Modi was "denigrating the country" when claiming that the Congress party did nothing in 70 years. He also criticised the implementation of demonetisation and GST. All India | Edited by Divyanshu Dutta Roy | Updated: December 03, 2017 06:48 IST PM Should Find 'More Dignified Ways' To Seek Votes, Says Manmohan Singh Dr Manmohan Singh also criticised PM Narendra Modi's demonetisation and GST implementation. SURAT: HIGHLIGHTS Manmohan Singh addresses businessmen in Gujarat's Surat Criticises demonetisation, implementation of Goods and Services Tax Says not right for PM to say Congress did nothing in 70 years In a piercing attack on his successor, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said PM Narendra Modi had failed to understand the "pains" that demonetisation and the GST (Goods and Services Tax) were going to unleash on the people of his own home state. Calling demonetisation an "uninformed, half-baked crusade" and GST a "badly designed and hastily implemented" measure, Dr Singh also lamented the "low-level rhetoric" used by the ruling party. "I wish the prime minister would find more dignified ways of impressing upon the crowds and seeking their votes...," he said. "Just as you were recovering from one blow (of demonetisation), came the GST. Nobody consulted you or tried to understand how your business works," he told a gathering of members of the local business community in Surat. "The prime minister is from Gujarat, and he claims to understand Gujarat and the poor more than anyone else. How is it that he never understood the pains his decisions will unleash on you?" Dr Singh asked. "Your business works on trust and relationships. Without trust in each other, Surat will collapse. You extended this trust to the prime minister and his promise of 'acchhe din' (good days). The hope symbolised in those dreams now lies shattered," he said. In Surat alone, 89,000 powerlooms were sold as scrap and it led to a loss of 31,000 jobs, Dr Singh said. "There are countless such examples from industrial clusters and big mandis (markets) from across the country." China benefited from this situation, he claimed. "In FY 2016-17, India's imports from China stood at Rs. 1.96 lakh crore. During the same period in FY 2017-18, the imports from China increased to Rs. 2.41 lakh crore. This unprecedented increase in imports by more than Rs. 45,000 crore, a 23 per cent increase in a year, can be attributed largely to demonetisation and GST. On demonetisation, Dr Singh said, "This is an uninformed, half-baked crusade on black money where he (PM Modi) painted everyone as a thief, while real culprits have gotten away." "This attitude of suspecting everyone to be a thief or anti-national, the low-level rhetoric is damaging the democratic discourse and has real consequences for how we relate to one another as citizens. Political leaders must stick to the high road," he said. Dr Singh said on every social indicator, from infant and maternal mortality rates to female literacy, Gujarat has fallen behind the best performing states, including Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. pm modi Manmohan Singh criticised PM Modi's "attitude of suspecting everyone to be a thief or anti-national" He said the recent agitations by the youth cutting across different sections of the society was an indication of the deep dissatisfaction with the performance of successive BJP governments. Dr Singh also said PM Modi was "denigrating the country" when claiming that Congress party did nothing in 70 years. "I wish the prime minister would find more dignified ways of impressing upon the crowds and seeking their votes without resorting to statements which denigrate our country," he said. "...While denigrating the past, the prime minister also tends to exaggerate what he will do in future. He was recently quoted in the press as saying that India will become a developed country by 2022," Singh said, adding that to achieve that, India needed to grow at the rate of 35 per cent per year. The government should get out of the "culture of constant self-praise", Dr Singh said. "In the ten years of UPA-I and II, when I was the prime minister, we produced 7.8 per cent GDP growth on average. This includes the slow-down in the last two years of our government. When the present government took over, they said they would take growth to 8 to 10 per cent. Modi so far has produced an average of only 7.3 per cent in the first three years," he said. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. 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