Why my vote is for Modi ?
Not because he started his life as a chaiwala, though it is a tribute to the Indian democracy that it gives opportunity to a humble tea-vendor to rise up to occupy the top job in the country. Credit also goes to Bharatiya Janata Party for grooming an ordinary worker to go up the ladder through hard work. Work experience is more important than a degree from Harvard. Actually, Harvard studies successful hard work by entrepreneurs to teach their management students.
Why my vote is for Modi ?
Not because he has obtained ' a clean chit ' from the SIT (Special Investigation Team) appointed by the Supreme Court on the riots that killed hundreds of people, both Muslim and Hindu, after the burning the karsevaks in the train in Godhra in 2002. But because he showed determination to stand up to the denigration from so called liberals, both Indian and international, who have hounded him for the last 12 years while ignoring many riots including the one in 1984 when almost 3000 Sikhs were massacred, which have defaced the Congress regime in the last 67 years of our freedom..
Why my vote is for Modi ?
Because Narendra Modi has changed the face of Gujarat in the last ten years and one can be certain that he would change the face of India in coming years - building a strong and prosperous India. His mantra is 'good governance and development'. And his slogan is ' India First'.
Four most notable features of Narendra Modi's regime in Gujarat are : (a) 24-hours of electricity to all the 18,000 villages and the farmers; (b) To make a mostly arid state bloom with agriculture – almost 10 percent annual compound growth for ten years; (c) Attract industry, especially automobile industry, to provide job opportunities to people; (d) promotion of arid Kutch region as a tourist destination giving a boost to the local handicrafts and provide livelihood to the people of the area through Kutch Festival.
(a) Power sector : The massive losses of the Gujarat State Electricity Board (GSEB) have been turned into surplus in a matter of a few years by reorganising GSEB into a holding company, a power generating company, a power transmission company and four distribution companies. This ensured cheaper prices from power plants and enabled GSEB to stop leakages in distribution. Now all the villages in the state have uninterrupted power supply. Under Jyotigram Yojana, there is a separate power supply line for agriculture. Today, Gujarat has surplus power, a profitable power sector and flourishing agriculture.
(b) Agriculture : Gujarat state has about 70 percent arid and semi-arid land. It was never known for agriculture except groundnut and its oil. Modi government promoted water accumulation and conservation methods such as dams, check dams ( 113,738 in numbers) and inter-linking of rivers to provide adequate water to the farmers. Sardar Sarover canals have taken water to the far corners of the state. The government also gave impetus to micro-irrigation projects and scientific agriculture. The government engaged the services of micro-irrigation companies to teach farmers how to increase yield by drip irrigation and proper application of fertilizers. These measures have increased the income of farmers. Abundant supply of water has helped cotton farmers in Gujarat to reap better yields with the new GM seeds.
( c ) Industry : Earlier Gujarat was famous for diamond, chemical and petro-chemical industries. Modi government has now attracted automobile industry as well to the state. This happened due to the initiative of the Chief Minister Modi. When Ratan Tata was not able to start his Nano plant in West Bengal, Modi sent him an sms inviting him to Gujarat. Modi was able to give land for the factory within three days. Now other car manufacturing companies are also flocking to Gujarat. This has provided employment opportunities to the locals as well as others from all over the country. The local land -owners have become millionaires and suppliers of various requirements of the auto industry.
( d) Kutch, a new tourist centre : Making the Runn of Kutch a tourist destination is a remarkable feat of imagination and marketing. This has created livelihood to the poor artisans and other local people. His government has turned the Rs.35-crore kite industry into Rs.500-crore industry in a matter of a few years through a Kite Festival. He has roped in Amitabh Bachchan to attract tourists to Gujarat to see many temples, palaces, forts and the famous Gir Lions.
Narendra Modi has been more a CEO than a CM of Gujarat. He takes initiatives, he is imaginative, he promotes enterprise. He exudes hope and promise.
Modi has promoted solar energy in a big way. He has even started covering the Sardar Sarovar canals with solar panels to provide electricity to the villages around the canal and reduce evaporation of canal water. He has a scheme to encourage people to use solar panels on the roof of houses and sell it to GSEB.
The BJP manifesto reflects his thoughts. The highlights are : 100 smart cities; houses for every family with piped water supply and electricity; diamond quadrilateral, a network of high-speed bullet trains; Sagar mala, ports all over India's coast; Team India – PMO to CMs to develop India together; Rurban, a programme to provide urban amenities to rural areas; PM Gram Sinchayee Yojana to reduce farmers' dependence on rain; Infrastructure development in border areas. These are all feasible programmes. They will increase employment to our growing young men and women. They will generate income and wealth for all people.
Modi and BJP deserve to be given a chance to implement these programmes for the welfare of the people of the country. That is why my vote is for Modi.
April 25, 2014.
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