Modi talks of ‘conspiracies’ to hold Gujarat back, CM names Medha Patkar among ‘urban Naxals’

One of the projects was Smriti Van, a memorial to the victims of the devastating January 2001 earthquake with Kutch as its epicentre. Modi had been brought in as Chief Minister by the BJP months later to manage the aftermath.

The PM appeared to be referring to the condemnation his government faced in the wake of the 2002 Gujarat riots that followed soon after, in India as well as abroad. At the same time, Modi had also faced opposition from the Medha Patkar-led Narmada Bachao Andolan over his ambitious Sardar Sarovar Patel dam project.

Gujarat “left behind every conspiracy”, Modi said Sunday. “It brought in a new industrial policy and charted a new path of development and Kutch benefited the most from it… Today, Kutch is home to the world’s biggest cement plant, No. 2 in the world in welded pipes manufacturing… It is an example not only for India but for the entire world.”

In his speech, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said “urban Naxals” had opposed the Narmada dam project, specifically naming Medha Patkar.

Speaking after PM Modi had inaugurated the Bhuj-Mandvi Narmada branch canal, Patel said: “On this occasion, when Narmada water has reached Kutch, we should also remember who were those people who had deprived Kutch from getting this water for nearly five decades. We all know who those urban Naxals who had opposed the Narmada dam project were… One of those urban Naxals was Medha Patkar. We all know which political party these people were associated with.”

Without taking names, the CM added that a party had given her a ticket to fight parliamentary elections. Patkar had unsuccessfully fought the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Mumbai North East on an Aam Aadmi Party ticket.

“These people tried to bring the Naxal ideology to Gujarat by misguiding people of the state. But the smart people of Gujarat did not let them succeed,” Patel said.

AAP is trying to make inroads into Gujarat in the coming elections, and is threatening to give the BJP a stiff contest.

Patel said Modi had struggled hard against anti-Narmada and anti-Gujarat elements to bring water to Kutch. “As the Gujarat CM, he even sat on a fast against the then Central government (led by the UPA) to bring water to the dry regions of the state. Within 17 days of assuming the office of PM, he gave permission to install gates on the dam.”

Modi said he always had faith that Kutch would overcome the earthquake disaster. “I also said that what people see as desert, I see in it the gateway of India. What I had dreamed in that difficult situation in 2001-02, when Kutch was asleep under the shawl of death, has come true.”

Modi added that he dreams of a developed India by 2047, when the country will mark the diamond jubilee of Independence. “Those who have heard and seen me in Kutch (believe in it),” he said, adding that Kutch’s development post the 2001 quake was a subject of research across the world.

At the inauguration of the earthquake memorial, Modi said: “Many emotions went through my heart today… With all humility I may say that in commemorating the departed souls, the Smriti Van Memorial is at par with the 9/11 memorial in the US and the Hiroshima Memorial in Japan,” he said.

Modi said he had reached Kutch the day after the earthquake. “I was not the chief minister of Gujarat then, I was a simple party worker. I didn’t know in what way, and how many people I would be able to help. But I decided that I will be here among you all in that hour of grief. And when I became the chief minister, the experience of the service helped me a lot,” he said.