‘Vibrant Gujarat’ a gimmick: Pilot
Minister of state for corporate affairs Sachin Pilot interacts with family members and other relatives of Neeraj Bhadana
Taking a jibe at Narendra Modi and his “marketing gimmicks,” Union minister Sachin Pilot says that the Gujarat leader is capable of taking credit for even the businesses set up by Gujaratis across the world over the past many decades.
He also dubbed the state government’s investor summit, “Vibrant Gujarat”, a marketing blitz with “exaggerated numbers”, and said that Mr Modi should understand that “taking credit and delivering are different things.”
“It (Vibrant Gujarat) is just a marketing gimmick,” Mr Pilot, the corporate affairs minister, told PTI in an interview.
When asked whether he would ask for an enquiry by the ministry into how many of these announcements have actually materialised into actual investments, Mr Pilot however said: “I am not here to do a witch-hunt on who has done what and not. But, if a complaint comes, I will look into it.”
Mr Pilot, however, flayed the hype created around Mr Modi himself and about the state’s economic prowess, saying that most of these things were orchestrated.
“The marketing, PR machinery and the media blitz, these are all orchestrated. Full credit goes to Modi for organising the media blitz,” the corporate affairs minister said.
Noting that Gujarat has been a progressive entrepreneurial state since 1950s, he said there are Gujaratis living who live in Africa and who have done wonders in the business community.
“There are also Gujaratis in Canada and the United States from the 1950s. Let Modi take credit for that also that all Gujaratis who have built hotels and factories in Africa and all over the world,” Mr Pilot said.
He said that there has been exaggeration in numbers about certain developmental parameters of Gujarat. “... Gujarat has been industrially much better place than say Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, it is a fact of history. But by taking credit for everything that is happening, I think that is more political than natural but it is for people to see what is claim and what is delivered,” the corporate affairs minister said.
According to him, on many indices, Gujarat is not so dominant as it is shown to be.
“I am not saying it is bad, the numbers are great but there are certain parameters where there is exaggeration of numbers,” he added.
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