modi

Indian-Americans divided over invitation to Modi

rkm — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:40:50 -0400

NEW
YORK: The Indian-American groups across the United States are sharply divided
over invitation sent to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to attend the
second World Gujarati Conference to be held in New Jersey.

While some organisations are
working behind the scene mounting pressure on the US government to grant him
visa to attend the meet, the Coalition Against Genocide, an umbrella
organisation of some 25 bodies, has written a letter to Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice asking her to deny visa to the chief minister.

The invitation was sent by the
Association of Indian Americans in North America (AIANA), organisers of the
meet, but its President Sunil Nayak had said issuance of visa is a matter
between American authorities and Modi. However, he had expressed the hope that
Modi would be able to attend the three-day conference beginning from Aug 29 in
which some 50,000 Gujaratis from the world over are expected to participate.

Modi was denied visa to the
Gujarati Conference in 2005 in view of anti-Muslim riots in the state for which
some organisations had blamed him but he did talk to the delegates and press
through a video link.

In its
letter to Rice, the Coalition Against Genocide requested her not to allow Modi
to enter the United States "under any conditions" as, it said, circumstances
under which he was denied visa earlier remain "largely unchanged" and "minority
communities in the state continue face systematic human rights violations."

"Modi has not only expressed
no remorse for the 2002 violence; but he has continued to justify them, as he
has a spate of extra judicial killings by his police. And, the state continues
to persecute civil society groups who have been trying to speak up for the
victims under very difficult circumstances," said the letter.

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians_Abroad/Indian-Americans_...

RSS is the silent revolution of making men: Modi

ashish — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:29:55 -0400

Why has Gujarat become a laboratory of the Sangh Parivar? The answer lies in the book written by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in which he has depicted the lives of the leaders who built the Parivar in the state.

Modi, in his book Jyotipunj, written in Gujarati and released in Ahmedabad on Monday, has written on unsung heroes of the Sangh Parivar who worked in oblivion throughout their lives to build the organisation in Gujarat.

In his book, Modi says that he has obtained his sanskars from these RSS leaders. In the 200-page book, he has written about the lives of 16 leaders of the Sangh Parivar.

He has described in detail about their character, their strength, their skill in organistion building and above all their simplicity.

"The work of the Sangh Parivar is an open university in organisation building," Modi writes in the chapter on one such leader Keshavrao Deshmukh. He describes RSS as the, "silent revolution of making men".

Modi says, "The RSS model of making leaders needs to be studied in comparison to western models which is being taught in IIMs, Harvard and Stanford".

"The RSS has a unique culture in which they do not teach to impress, but they give importance to renunciation, dedication and hard work," he added.

Modi has described in detail the hard work done by these RSS leaders to build the organisation in the state. He said it is due to their work and work of other RSS volunteers that the Sangh Parivar has grown into a vat vrakush (a big tree).

"These people have given their life without expecting any rewards from the society. The society is unaware about the work done by them," he added.

"People will come to know about the work of the RSS by reading this book," Modi said.

He said in his book that it is a myth that Sangh Parivar is formed by upper caste Brahmins. "If we look at the development of RSS in the states, there are many leaders from lower rungs of the Hindu society, who have contributed to the development of Sangh Parivar in Gujarat," Modi said in the chapter on RSS leader Babjubhai Oza.

Oza, who came from other backward class community, held one of the top posts of RSS leadership in the state for a long time, Modi said.

Modi, who has been a RSS worker, has refrained to write about his relationship with the leaders on whom he has written in the book.

The Sangh Parivar leaders about whom Modi has written in his book are Dr P V Doshi, K K Shastri, Laxmanrao Inamdar, Madhukarao Bhagwat, Anantrao Kale, Keshavrao Deshmukh, Vasant Gajendragadkar, Dr Vishwanath Vanikar, Kashinath Bagwade, Nathalal Jaghda, Babubhai Oza, Bachubhai Bhagat, Vasudevrao Talavkar and Vasantrao Chilponkar

source : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/apr/15modi.htm

Sonia Gandhi's Gov't compliments Narendra Modi for good performance

sjain — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:33:46 -0400

Original Source: http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=131649

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia complimented the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for good performance. At a meeting, on Tuesday, to finalise the annual plan of the state, Ahluwalia said both fiscal and growth performance of Modi government is impressive. Growth rate of 10.4 per cent has been achieved in the Tenth Plan, which is better than the national average. The growth rate target for the state has been fixed at 11.2 per cent, which is achievable going, by the current trends.

The state was also complimented for encouraging public-private partnership in development of social infrastructure. Efforts to improve human development index and rural development strategy were also appreciated. The annual plan size for Gujarat for the year 2008-09 was agreed upon Rs. 21,000 crores.

But all was not well at the meeting. The Planning Commission members indicated that the funds allocation towards the SC/ST sections of society is only 5.8 per cent in Gujarat as against the target of 7 per cent. Modi immediately commented, “If the states don’t perform on this scale you tend to cut the funds, but what about the Center?” He said the central budget has ignored this seven per cent target.

Planning Commission members also indicated towards the rising drop out rate in higher studies in Gujarat. Modi replied, "Because the vocational courses are getting more popular."

Modi was of the view that instead of upgrading the Ahmedabad International airport, we should convert four airports of the state into international airports.

He said the Central government should make schemes more flexible so as to enable state governments to take full advantage and wanted more flexibility in rural development schemes. He said wind and solar energy should be accepted as lifestyle and disclosed that the state government proposes to make Gandhi Nagar, a solar city, for which a provision of Rs.100 crores has been made this year.

Gujarat also proposes to have a Children’s University, which would be first of its kind in the country. Modi advised the Plan panel members that there must be a national institute for teachers, so that teachers of international standard could be trained.