Author: Gujarat Government
Publication: India Today
Date: May 6, 2002
Introduction: The ongoing smear
campaign run by divisive elements against the Gujarat Government lies exposed
in the face of facts.
After 58 passengers aboard the Sabarmati
Express died in Godhra on February 27, the entire state of Gujarat was
tense. On March 1, over 2,000 people in Sanjeli, a village of 8,000 in
tribal-dominated Dahod district, were attacked by a violent mob. However,
the police managed to pull them out of Sanjeli amidst the raging attack.
District Superintendent of Police A. K. Jadeja himself suffered serious
injuries but he put his revolver to effective use before managing to take
the affected people to the safety of Dahod city. In an equally valiant
rescue effort, the Vadodara police saved the lives of 5,000 people in Bodeli
by preventing a large crowd of nearly 7,000 from marching to the town.
Admits Abdul Majid of Sanjeli, who was among the 2,200-odd people whose
lives were saved by police: 'But for the timely and bold intervention of
the police we would all have perished on that fateful day.'
Effective Steps
These episodes, which prove the
sincerity of the Gujarat Government in tackling the riots from day one,
are just two of the many cases in which the police saved thousands of people.
Yet a smear campaign is being run against the Gujarat Government by divisive
elements. This is best proved by the fact that the courageous rescue efforts
of the Gujarat Police, which took place in the initial phase of the riots,
did not find much of a mention anywhere. For had they been taken into account
by the self-styled judges of the Gujarat situation, their "Narendra Modi
hatao" campaign would have been dented.
An impression is being created that
the whole of Gujarat is burning. But the facts amply demonstrate that except
in the initial phase, violence has been restricted to some parts of Ahmedabad
city and that too because certain vested interests, keen to serve their
nefarious designs, are bent upon keeping the pot boiling by instigating
low-key violence with the connivance of fundamentalist elements. In other
words, except for some parts of Ahmedabad, life in almost the entire state
is normal. Says Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi: "There hasn't been
a greater conspiracy to defame a democratically elected government of a
progressive state in the annals of independent India. The fact-sheet damns
the lies of the conspirators."
Just how the state Government reacted
to the challenge that came its way after the February 27 killing of Ramsevaks
is best demonstrated by the steps it took. Effective action against elements
violating peace has been taken. Up till now the police have fired 8, 465
rounds of bullets and 11,690 rounds of tear-gas shells. As many as 98 people
died in police firing in the first three days alone, demonstrating the
resolve of the police in controlling the riots. As many as 168 persons
have died in police firing so far, the highest in Gujarat's history. Police
arrested 33,563 people, the highest in riots in the history of Gujarat,
a state marked by communal disturbances.
That the Government allowed the
situation to drift is just one part of this campaign aimed at spreading
innuendoes. Accusing the state Government of leaving riots victims to fend
for themselves at the relief camps is another.
But the facts nail the lies. At
the rate of Rs 30 per person, the Government is spending Rs 35 lakh a day
on providing foodgrains to the 1.1 lakh inmates of the 99-odd relief camps
in the state, 47 of them in Ahmedabad.
The relief operations at the camps
are being directly looked after by IAS officers of the rank of secretary
to the state Government.
The camps in Ahmedabad have been
divided into six groups. Each group is being monitored by a bureaucrat
of the rank of secretary. The secretaries have been looking after the minutest
problems of the inmates. Teachers were deputed in each camp to help the
children prepare for the exams and the state Health Department has been
taking special steps to look after the well being of the inmates. In order
to rehabilitate the rural inmates, the Government has floated the Sant
Kabir Awas Yojana as per the directions of Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee.
The scheme will enable the inmates to build houses.
Minimal Economic Loss
A smear campaign is also on to prove
that the post-February 27 events have caused unimaginable economic losses
to the state and that foreign investment in Gujarat has greatly suffered
as a result. As they stand, the facts prove this to be a white lie. The
American automobile giant General Motors, which already has a unit in Gujarat,
has now come up with a Rs 500-crore expansion plan. But the greatest indicator
is the figures of industrial production. It is clear that production in
Gujarat hasn't suffered any loss due to the riots. In many cases, industrial
output went up in March 2002. The production of soda ash by the corporate
giant Nirma increased by 18 per cent from February to March.
The state continues to attract large
foreign investment. The concession agreement signed between Gujarat and
Royal Dutch Shell for Hazira Port would bring in an investment of Rs 2,500
crore, the second-highest foreign investment in the country so far. Industrial
giants like the Indian Petrochemical Corporation limited too haven't suffered
any loss of production. Also, claims worth Rs 158 crore have been lodged
with the four main insurance companies-far less than the projected economic
losses. "The riot scenario in the state is being wilfully magnified by
some elements who don't want Gujarat to progress or are the beneficiaries
of the magnified projection of economic damage to Gujarat," says Shankarbhai
Patel, industrialist and former president of the Vatva Industry Association
which represents the largest industrial estate in Gujarat. 'The fact is
that the damage to the industrial scene in the state on account of the
riots is much lower than what is being sought to be projected.'
