Is the anti-Gujarat rhetoric from UPA centre gov now starting to do real damage to Gujarat and India?

[jairamesh]

Came across this interesting piece covering BJP's accusations that Congress led UPA government at centre persuing discriminatory economics and fiscal policies against the state of Gujarat and also how their failures and blunders has lowered the prestige of the county. some extracts from http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3509870.ece

A political resolution adopted on the first day of the two-day meeting of the State executive of the party said it was the Centre's "conspiracy" to allow continued devaluation of the rupee against dollar to ruin the country's economy despite the leadership of an economist as the Prime Minister.

Threatens agitation Alleging that the Centre was adopting step-motherly treatment to Gujarat just because the people in the State had voted the BJP to power, the resolution threatened to launch a State-wide agitation against the Centre's discriminatory tactics.

Listing the "injustices" to Gujarat by the Centre, the resolution claimed that construction of none of the national highways in the State announced by the national highway authority when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister, had been started by the UPA government even eight years after the NDA rule. The Centre had earned over Rs. 5,500 crore from the people of Gujarat from the road tax on petrol, but had given back only Rs. 1,400 crore while its contribution to Andhra Pradesh was over Rs. 4.200 crore and to Uttar Pradesh was over Rs. 10,000 crore.

Coastal security project The Rs. 392-crore coastal security project had been shelved for the last seven years despite Gujarat being a sensitive coastal State, it was also denying the State its due share of Rs. 3,525 crore against compensation from the Central Sales Tax levied from the people of Gujarat. Injustices was also being committed in respect of pricing of gas allocated to Gujarat compared to the charges levied in Mumbai, Delhi and some other major cities in the country and in respect of allocation of poor man's fuel, kerosene, the Centre imposed a 32 per cent cut on Gujarat's quota while the cut was a mere 0.66 per cent for Odisha, 0.15 per cent for Assam and 0.09 per cent for West Bengal. Though Gujarat was the first State to implement solar power projects, discrimination had been shown in allocation of the Central sector power between the BJP-ruled Gujarat and the Congress-ruled Rajasthan. While Rajasthan had been allocated 878 MW of power, Gujarat had been given a share of mere 20 MW, it regretted. Similar discriminatory tactics were also being adopted in respect of allocation of fertilizers, the Central assistance to the families living below the poverty line, and the Narmada dam project among other major issues facing the state, it said.

I don't know the credibility of these figures (will need do some digging up), but the best thing overall for the country is for these fast growing states like Gujarat and Karnataka to wean themselves off from any handouts from Centre and aim at self-sufficiency. Though can't help it (and abit unfair) if tax revenues contributions to Centre far exceeds the receipts from Central Government. As this will encourage "laziness" in governance in underperforming states who receive excessively more than they contribute. This will only lead to resources and capital being allocated to the least efficient states and hence negatively hampering India's overall economic progress (growth, energy, jobs, corruption, HDI etc..)

[surajmal]

We are heading for a federation if Congress continues on the same path. That is what MKG wanted in the first place and that is why I can't wrap my head around the fact that he chose chew tiya Nehru to lead the first government - the most centrist of congress' politicians.

[saneindian]

Each and every non congress governed state has its own tale. Most of the 10 JP loyalists serving as state governors use the Rajbhawan as Congress HQ, take orders from the high command and delay important bills passed by state assemblies. Thats the congress way of telling the people, if you don't vote for us this is what we can do to you. Not to say it didn't happen during NDA days, but it has become more belligerent in the last 2-3 years as the current central govt continues to sink further with each passing day.

[Stuge]

One thing I know that in bordering areas of Gujarat , Pakistani cell networks signals are free available (you just need a Pakistani SIM card ) ,when jammer should have been in place long time back to jam those signals . Same isn't the case with Rajasthan where they have put cell network Jammer .