 |
| Modi |
CHICAGO: A large number of Gujaratis and a
good number of well wishers of Gujarat and Chief Minister Narendra Modi flocked
to Bartlett Jain Mandir Hall to participate in a grand celebration of Gujarat
Day organized here on Friday May 19. The big attraction of the near three-hour
function attended by over 1500 Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRGs) and Non Resident
Indians (NRIs) was a live chat with and live televised address by Gujarat Chief
Minster Narendra Modi. The attendees were highly impressed with the progress of
Gujarat in the past decade under the leadership of Modi and the consensus was
that not only Gujarat but India needed a capable leader like Modi to notch big
progress and be a force to reckon with in the international community of
nations. Among non-Gujarati and non-Indian dignitaries attending the event was
William Joseph Walsh a Republican U.S. Representative for Illinois’ northwest
suburban 8th congressional district. He has served in Congress since January
2011 after defeating three-term incumbent Democrat Melissa Bean in a surprising
upset. Rep. Walsh is one of the top US political leaders who feels that denial
of visa to Modi is gross injustice. In his brief address, he praised Modi’s
leadership and presented congratulations to Gujarat and Gujaratis in USA and
across the world on Gujarat Day celebrations The program started with a welcome
address for a community activist Dr Bharat Barai followed by singing of Indian
and American national anthems by Meena Purohit, an India TV anchor. Bharati
Desai sang Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat followed by a cultural program by Northwestern
University students headed by Hetal Patel. Dr Indrajit Patel briefed about
Statue of Unity and Sardar Patel coins. Youth Yogi Divine Society presented
Atmiya Raas and Beena Patel presented Fast Track Gujarat 2012. Gujarati leader
Kanti Patel thanked sponsors while Bhailal Patel, former head of National FIA,
acknowledged presidents of 50 plus Gujarati associations for their support and
presence. This was followed with Subhash Bhatt organizing live conference call
with CM Narendra Modi. A front ranking Indian community leader Niranjan Shah
offered a well-knit introduction of CM Modi and this was followed with live
speech of Modi who dwelt on achievements of the State in the last 10 years during
his premiership in Gujarat. Modi’s oration left the audience spell bound. The
event was televised live in 12 US cities including Chicago, Florida, Houston,
Bay Area and even Canada and all across Gujarat. Modi stated that his Mantra is
the development of Gujarat for the development of India and added that whatever
Gujarat is today, the credit for it must go to 6 crore people of Gujarat who
have dreamt and worked hard to realize these dreams.
He affirmed that Gujarat had contributed in
both strands of the freedom struggle. If Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel led
the non-violent struggle, Gujarat is also home to Shyamji Krishnavarma who
inspired revolutionary nationalists. He also believed that Gujaratis are a
global community who imbibe cultures from all over the world. He dwelt at
length about the decade of peace and development in Gujarat. He brought out
that in 2001 Gujarat was facing a revenue deficit of Rs 6700 crore but in ten
years it has become a surplus state, that too without imposing additional taxes
on the people. The Chief Minister shared that Gujarat has achieved balanced
growth in all three sectors – Agriculture, Industry and Services. Talking about
agriculture, Shri Modi said that at a time when India’s agriculture is not
growing beyond 3%, Gujarat’s agriculture is growing at 11%. This despite the
fact that unlike the rest of the country, Gujarat is not blessed with perennial
rivers and is home to a vast Rann. While agricultural income was Rs. 14,700
crore a decade ago, it is now Rs. 96,000 crore and the money is going in the
pockets of the farmers. Gujarat’s milk production rose by 68% and so is cotton
production which stands at 1 crore 23 lakh bales of cotton, showing a near four
time surge. Potatoes from Gujarat are now being exported. Gujarat is surging
ahead in the manufacturing sector also and the state is all set to be Asia’s
auto-hub with all cars across the world having at least one part or another
made in the State. Gujarat is among the four governments in the world that have
a dedicated department for climate change and today the water table in Gujarat
has risen from 3m to 13m! Villages of Gujarat have 24/7 electricity and 18,000
villages enjoy broadband connectivity. On tourism front, it has notched
handsome gains. Tourism in India is growing at 10% while Gujarat has gains of
16%. The Government put focus on maternal health through initiatives such as
the Chiranjeevi Yojana and today, 98% of deliveries are held in hospitals thus
saving so many mothers and babies in Gujarat. The Gujarat Government has given
a renewed impetus to education. Drop out rates in Gujarat are now at 2% and
there is a cent percent enrolment rate in the state. He spoke about Gujarat’s
advances in solar energy and how it dedicated 600 MW to the nation while the
rest of the country is producing only 120 MW of solar energy. Gujarat has 1600
km coastline where the Government will develop ‘New Gujarat within Gujarat’.
Projects such as DMIC will change the face of Gujarat too, he said. While
concluding his speech, Shri Modi said that Gujarat is a land of Shanti,
Sadbhavana and Vikas. He expressed joy in the fact that people from all states
are working in Gujarat and living very happily. He stated that it is our
responsibility to make the dreams of our forefathers into a reality The speech
was followed with an eloquent tribute to a grean Gujarati poet Jhaverchand
Meghai whose most liked poem Kasumbi No Rang had audience nostalgic and
emotional. Naen Patel, head of Vishwa Gujarati Parishad, proposed a vote of
thanks and the event concluded with the singing of Vande Matram.
Original Article Here
No comments:
Post a Comment