Gujarat's progress aimed at crony capitalists, says Congress

The Congress Tuesday targeted BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, citing a Gujarat government effort to contend that the so-called economic progress in the state was aimed at certain sections and crony capitalists favourable to him.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that Modi, the Gujarat chief minister, had built a balloon of lies through marketing.

Gujarat's state socio-economic review of 2012-13 exposes all "falsehoods".

Citing the report, Surjewala said that dividends of economic progress were yet to be translated into the improvement in the quality of the life of the people of the state.

"The so-called economic progress is aimed at certain sections, crony capitalists favourable to Gujarat chief minister," he said.

Surjewala said foodgrain production in Gujarat recorded a decrease of around 8 lakh tonnes in the year 2011-12 compared to the previous year. "During the year 2011-12, the state produced an estimated 92.57 lakh tonnes of foodgrains compared to 100.71 lakh tonnes in 2010-11," he said.

He said the report says that the area under foodgrains decreased.

The Congress leader said that the report mentions that despite an increase in the number of secondary and higher secondary schools between 2010-11 and 2011-12, the enrolment had decreased from 31 lakh to less than 30 lakh.

He said rhe report has laudatory references to the handling of Indian ecomomy in 2011-12 by the United Progressive Alliance government.