Amid intense speculation that Gujarat may go to Assembly polls along with Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in early 2017—elections to the Vidhan Sabha are due by December 2017—Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, revived the ‘development mantra’ in a State he had led as its Chief Minister from 2001 to 2014, highlighting the achievement of the successive BJP Governments over the years.

After inaugurating the first of the four phases of the ambitious irrigation scheme Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation Yojana (SAUNI), at the Aji-3 dam near Rajkot, Modi addressed a huge crowd of farmers and residents of the nearby districts in the presence of former chief minister Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and state party chief Jitubhai Vaghani, besides a number of MLAs, MPs and local leaders. This was his first public rally in the State after assuming office at South Block.

With the Hardik Patel supporters demanding a meeting with the PM to submit a memorandum, the State Government had rounded up many district conveners of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) yesterday to ensure peace during the rally. But some of the agitators managed to raise slogans during the PM’s speech, despite tight security enforced by an over 2,000-strong security apparatus.

For the record, however, the new CM Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel blamed the Congress party and its UPA regime—besides Medha Patkar, and sundry “anti-Gujarat” elements—for the delay in bringing Narmada waters, etc.

Flanked by his successor as CM, Anandiben Patel, and her own successor (Rupani)---minus BJP President Amit Shah—the PM skirted all burning issues of importance at the global, national and state-levels—focusing only on development—while stressing that he would, henceforth, be available more to Gujarat. “I was busy in New Delhi so far. Now I will listen to you more and you wouldn’t complain that I was unavailable. Gujarat will get from the Centre all that this state deserves,” he assured the audience in his first-ever 40-minute-long public address in Gujarati after taking over as the PM in May 2014. Earlier, in January 2015, he had addressed the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

Quota issue

Not once did he mention the issue of atrocities against the Dalits that, apparently, necessitated a hasty change of guard in Gujarat only 23 days ago. But added that among the poor provided free LPG connections in Uttar Pradesh, as many as 45% were Dalits.

Speaking more like a CM, he also mentioned elections once: “A poll can be won with crumbs. But nobody can win Gujarat with crumbs…I will not do anything that brings a bad name to Gujarat, and work with all my might for the good of India.”

“Whatever I learnt here (as CM) in Gujarat, I put in practice for the welfare of 125 crore people of India.

Water management

Modi, sticking to Gujarat and development, stressed upon the steps taken by the State’s BJP Government over the years and how it has benefited the people. “We conceived the scheme on the Deendayal Upadhyaya Jayanti on September 25, 2007, launched it in 2012 and began work in January 2014. Thanks to our water management, 70,000 tons of Kesar mangoes were exported from Kutch. Our micro, drip and sprinkler irrigation schemes brought water to lakhs of hectares.”

Applauding the Gujarat farmers, he said: “I am grateful to them for listening to my advice about water management. I was able to persuade them on this.”

The PM also narrated how effective water management had increased production of cotton, groundnut and wheat, in Gujarat and how the availability of Neem-coated urea has been eased in the country since he took over, the benefits of the Prime Minister’s crop insurance, micro-irrigation and rural roads schemes, that Gujarat topped among the states in implementing the Ujjwala scheme of LED bulbs. He also spoke about the cleanliness drive and the Beti Bachao Campaign, first launched in Gujarat. “See how our daughters have won us laurels in the Olympics. Our daughters are the real strength of our society.”

Referring to the World Bank, IMF and rating agencies, Modi also claimed that India has been the fastest growing economy in the world, despite global downturns.

Still a long way to go

It was rather amusing that the PM would inaugurate a minor achievement of a project he had himself, as CM, launched four years ago—and while Modi’s event was held amid a downpour! Even in the first phase of Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation Yojana (SAUNI), less than 10% of the total work has been completed, despite the deadline for the entire project being 2017. Out of the 1,126-km-long pipeline envisaged in the ambitious scheme, only 57.67 kms of pipeline network has been completed so far. Similarly, only Rs1,561 crore have been spent so far, out of the total project outlay of nearly Rs.12,000 crore.

Clearly, more than SAUNI, the BJP may be more worried about the next year’s Assembly elections, what with its support base shrinking strikingly since the Patels launched their agitation in July 2015. By having Modi inaugurate the first phase of an irrigation project in the all-important Saurashtra region, the ruling party appeared to be trying to control some of the political damage, and, may be, provide a spur to the incumbent Chief Minister (Rupani), who has less than two years’ experience as an MLA and just 25 days’ as a CM!

Rupani also likened Modi, for bringing Narmada waters to Gujarat, with the mythological sage Bhagirath, who is believed to have brought the Ganges down to the earth.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW