The Credit's Misplaced.

The Credit's Misplaced.

I refer to Mr Dipankar Gupta's article with the above caption (TOI Jan 31). He has marshalled the points well to justify the conclusion that the previous governments had done most of the ground work with little for Modi to brash about. It is true that Gujarat maintained its lead among Indian states by 1990 in infrastructure development. Power generation hike by 35 per cent, 49 per cent of India's petroleum processing, housing the largest shipyard in Bhavnagar and the giant Reliance Refineries in Jamnagar are facts to be conceded as pre-Modi events. But it is to Modi's credit that he sustained a 12 per cent growth rate while India's overall growth rate was rated as 8 per cent during 06-07. Modi's highly personalised executive style and superfast delivery rate on important matters need mention. The jet-speed with which he managed the Nano-shelter for Tatas with all its clearances and the holding of spectacular business conclave to attract heavy investments have few parallels in India. The Godhra past and BJP tag need to be delinked while assessing the spectacular gain through Modi's inventing the Gujarat's golden wheel. I hasten to add that I am not a sympathiser of BJP.


A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 1:09