Poush Shudha Chaturdashi
Chennai: "No one should preach us secularism and I don’t want any certificate from any part of the world." This was the reply from Gujarat chief Minister Narendra Modi to a query about the United States’ refusal to issue visa to him.
Interacting with investors at the state session at the seventh Pravasi Bhartiya Divas meet in Chennai, Modi said, "History says secularism is in our blood. We as a community never attack any one, any time, any where. We believe in harmony."
When a delegate queried about the Gujarat communal riots and the subsequent delay in their probe, Modi shot back saying: "Do you think the Centre would have left me like this if they had any proof against me? I have a government that is unfavourable at the Centre and their quietness says it all."
Gujarat is a revenue surplus state
Highlighting Gujarat’s progress, Modi said public-private partnership model, people’s involvem ent and friendly policies were the key factors for the success of his government.
On the judiciary front, there were only 22 lakh cases pending as on date against 45 lakh cases in 2005. By 2010, Gujarat’s golden jubilee year, the state aims to achieve zero pendency of cases, he added.
Focussing on the connectivity aspect of the state, Modi said Gujarat was the first in Asia to achieve broadband connectivity in all its 80,000 villages."
"The state was hoping to move towards a ‘Rurban model’. Villages to have the infrastructure facility as the cities and cities to have the human aspect of villages. Atma gaon ki magar business sheharon ki (soul of villages but business of cities)," he said.
Source: sify.com
