Gates visit a dream come true for Naidu
Friday, 15 November 2002, 20:30 IST
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HYDERABAD: As the special aircraft touched base here carrying a celebrity guest, a dream began to come true for another man. Waiting to receive Microsoft chairman Bill Gates Wednesday night, on his maiden visit to Hyderabad, was IT savvy Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu has once again hit the headlines by bringing the world's richest man to this fast developing southern city. In the past, Hyderabad has attracted world leaders like former U.S. president Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Word Bank President James Wolfensohn. So when Gates also decided to come and spend more time here than in Bangalore and Mumbai, it was a victory of sorts for Naidu. And he even broke protocol to personally receive Gates at the airport. That the treatment being given to Gates is on a par with that meted out to a head of state is not surprising, considering that Naidu is greatly inspired by the man, his vision and his philanthropic activities. Five years ago when Gates first visited India, Naidu was the only chief minister to meet the man whose net worth is more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of many countries. At that time Gates seemed to be impressed with the tech-savvy Naidu, who made a power point presentation, and they met again when Gates came to India two years ago. "Today there is a competition among chief ministers to meet him," said Naidu. Under Naidu's leadership, Hyderabad during the last seven years has emerged as a top IT destination in India. The pro-reforms politician expects that the visit by the Microsoft chairman will boost the image of the city. Notwithstanding a scathing attack launched by opposition parties for rolling out the red carpet to Gates when the state was reeling under the worst drought in three decades, Naidu is using the occasion to push forward his agenda for using technology for leapfrog development. "It is time you change. I am inviting you to Mr Gates' address on e-governance so that you also learn something," he told Leader of Opposition Rajasekhar Reddy on Wednesday night in the state assembly during a daylong discussion on drought. "If you have objections to Gates' visit, why did chief ministers belonging to your party in other states meet him?" asked Naidu referring to the meetings the chief ministers of Karanataka, Maharashtra and Uttaranchal had with the IT czar. Naidu had also faced strong protests from left parties when Clinton and Wolfensohn visited Hyderabad. He was accused of selling the state to capitalists. But such criticism had little effect on Naidu, who wants to borrow not just the money but also the technology and the best practices in the world to develop this state of 76 million. Neither has it halted the stream of foreign dignitaries to this city. Heads of state and government from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Indonesia and several other countries, besides dozen of business delegations, have visited Hyderabad in last few years. Naidu hopes that with Gates' visit thd flow of foreign dignitaries to Hyderabad will increase.
Source: IANS
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