[Reader-list] Modi being the great CM

[Rakesh Iyer]

Dear all

This is neither a criticism of Modi, nor a praise for him from my side. This
article is about the man known as the 'most efficient CM' of India as per
different surveys conducted by different agencies.

http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090202&fname=Good+for+India+(F)&sid=2

*It's An Iron Hand In An Iron Glove*  *Narendra Modi may have many
middle-class admirers who believe he's the most efficient chief minister in
the country. But there's another side to him.*  R.K.
Misra<http://outlookindia.com/author.asp?name=R%2EK%2E+Misra>
*Blood Diamond* The beleaguered diamond cutting and polishing industry
(annual turnover Rs 80,000 crore) expected a bailout when Modi came to Surat
to inaugurate an international exhibition of gems and jewellery on December
26. Instead, it got a dressing down. "When you were making huge profits, you
gave nothing to the state. Now, when there's a crisis, you want help," Modi
thundered. He then warned the industry against any layoffs.

Despite his expression of solidarity, 35 diamond workers or their next of
kin have committed suicide since the meltdown began. The most recent
incident: Haresh Ramani, 22, from Lilapur village, Rajkot district, killed
himself on January 20.

*This Is No Break* When a delegation of shipbreakers from Alang called on
him with a list of grievances, they were shown the door. The CM didn't want
to hear them out. When a national newspaper ran a campaign on the
appointment of a Modi favourite as the new Ahmedabad police commissioner,
expressing the view that the city was not in safe hands, sedition charges
were slapped on it.

*Retaliation Begins At Home* VHP leader Ashwin Patel was arrested on October
27 on sedition charges for circulating an anti-CM SMS. Other charges
included forgery and inciting communal violence. It was a month before he
obtained bail. Upbraiding the police, Justice Z.K. Saiyed of the Gujarat
High Court said, "Have you read the section describing sedition?" Sunil Oza,
now with the Mahagujarat Janata Party, was expelled from the BJP in 2007
after Modi suspected that he had leaked details of irregularities in the
Sujalam-Sufalam irrigation project to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Says Oza: "It is plain and simple political terrorism practised by a chief
minister with a dictatorial streak."

*No Advice Please, I'm Modi* Last September, bureaucrats heading state
public sector corporations and then chief secretary Manjula Subramaniam
tried in vain to dissuade Modi from diverting 30 per cent of profit before
tax from PSES for social causes. Subramaniam even pointed out that funds
could be sourced from unlisted PSES but listed PSES, where private investors
have put in money, should be left alone. An adamant Modi went ahead, sending
share prices dipping.

At the behest of the Modi government, the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd
(SSNNL) prematurely redeemed its 20-year bonds. Priced Rs 3,600 each, the
bonds had been issued 1993 and were to bring investors Rs 1.11 lakh in 20
years, though investors had the option to redeem them in the seventh,
eleventh, or fifteenth year. But SSNNL did not have the right to
unilaterally call back the bonds, so the government legislated in 2008 to
allow premature redemption. Petitions challenging the validity of such a
legislation are pending in high court.

>From my side:

>From what I understand, first of all Modi allowed violence to take place
after Godhra (and if his party's allegation that Muslims burnt the train is
true, it's a double whammy, as he and his govt. failed to protect karsevaks
belonging to sister organizations of his party). On top of that, his
economic policies, in the manner they have been implemented, have been under
severe criticism. On the social sector, the dipping of the sex ratio
(females per 1000 males), if true, could be another disaster in the making.

Modi has ditched his own parivar, after using them to the hilt in 2002
Gujarat elections. He has forgotten those who then campaigned with him (of
course for a wrong motive). Now, his govt in the last year was in the
forefront of demolishing temples in the name of removing encroachments.

This kind of working may lead to social and economic disasters. After all,
it's always better to listen to different voices before making the decision,
for which Modi can definitely claim as his own. And what these instances
point out is that while Modi is totally hard or firm in whatever he does, it
also means that Modi may just take a wrong decision like George Bush used to
do, and then people elsewhere may have to suffer for it. And remember,
America has an Obama, who do we have?

Regards

Rakesh