Industrialists should not praise Modi: Congress

Thursday, 15 January 2009, 15:14 IST
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New Delhi: Terming "Vibrant Gujarat" a "myth", the Congress party Wednesday asked captains of industry to desist from praising Chief Minister Narendra Modi. "Vibrant Gujarat is a myth, it is a creation of Modi and the (ruling) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Reality is that Gujarat is one of the most indebted states of India," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters here. His comments came after the two-day annual Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit in Ahemdabad that saw a total of 8,500 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) being signed, promising an investment worth a whopping 12 trillion (120,000 crore) in the state. At the event, several industrialists including Anil Ambani praised Modi's leadership. "In 2007, the indebtedness of Gujarat stood at 94,000 crore (940 billion) which makes it one of the most indebted states in India. In the last 11 months, 62,000 small and medium industries have shut down in the state," Tewari said. He also pointed out "lots of discrepancies" in the agreements signed at the meet. Referring to the praise for Modi, Tewari said: "I would like to tell the captains of industry that before handing over a character certificate, please understand the reality of Gujarat and be careful in showering praises on someone whose edifice stands on the lives of thousands of innocent people." He said industrialists' praise for Modi reminded him of German industrialists supporting Adolf Hitler in the early 1930s.
Source: IANS