Chief Minister of Gujarat (and favourite for Prime Minister of India) Narendra Modi’s state has lagged others in development
- From ’00-’08, Modi’s Gujarat ranked 15th out of states for growth in income – Gov of India 2011 report p26
- In 7y of Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat, between ’00-08, Gujarat ranked 17th state in India for improvement in its Human Development Index – Gov of India 2011 report p23
- In 2000, Gujarat was ranked 10th state in India by Human Development Index. After 7y of Modi, it dropped to 11th – Gov of India 2011 report
- ‘Among the industrial states, Gujarat has a very high incidence of malnutrition among SC and ST women’ – Gov of India 2011 report
Modi is not responsible for a ‘growth miracle’
- Gujarat’s high GDP growth rate pre-dates Modi, & its rise & fall have matched other industrialised states Source: Centre Left India
- Modi’s ‘Growth Engine of India’ Gujarat accounts for a paltry 2.4% of India’s FDI; Maharashtra accounts for 40%. Indeed, Gujarat’s share of FDI has fallen in the past year Source: DNA India
Modi’s administration is – at best – not good at business
- Modi adept @ biz? Giving 10% of a PSC to a paper-company for work that had to be repeated wd at best suggest no! Source: Tehelka
- Forbes: Billionaire Adani awarded ‘000s ha by Modi’s gov for $0.01-0.45/sqm; sublets @ $11/sqm Source: Forbes
. . . and is also downright corrupt and criminal
- Comptroller & Auditor General criticises Modi’s gov for losing cUSD100M by bestowing “undue” favours to corporations Source: Indian Express
- Modi kept anti-corruption obudsman post vacant 10y (Source: Indian Express) then undermined its powers Source: DNA India
- Despite his Minister Babu Bokhiria receiving a 3y sentence for corruption, Modi continues to keep him in his govt Source: Indian Express
- 57 Gujarati MLAs face criminal charges, including for murder & a sentenced but serving Minister. BJP 32, Congress 20 Source: The Hindu
Modi incites violence against Muslims
- “You tell me what to do with Sohrabuddin,” Modi asked. The crowd responded, “Kill him, kill him.” Source: Caravan Magazine
- The Economist: ‘[T]his newspaper cannot bring itself to back Mr Modi for India’s highest office [ . . . ] The reason begins with a Hindu rampage against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, in which at least 1,000 people were slaughtered [ . . . H]e made speeches early in his career that shamelessly whipped up Hindus against Muslims. In 2002 Mr Modi was chief minister and he was accused of allowing or even abetting the pogrom.
- Mr Modi’s defenders [ . . .] point to [ . . .] repeated investigations—including by the admirably independent Supreme Court—have found nothing to charge their man with. [. . . T]hat is too generous. One reason why the inquiries into the riots were inconclusive is that a great deal of evidence was lost or wilfully destroyed. And if the facts in 2002 are murky, so are Mr Modi’s views now. He could put the pogroms behind him by explaining what happened and apologising. Yet he refuses to answer questions about them. In a rare comment last year he said he regretted Muslims’ suffering as he would that of a puppy run over by a car. Amid the uproar, he said he meant only that Hindus care about all life. Muslims—and chauvinist Hindus—heard a different message. Unlike other BJP leaders, Mr Modi has refused to wear a Muslim skullcap and failed to condemn riots in Uttar Pradesh in 2013 when most of the victims were Muslim.’
energy and a just transition 