Congress was allergic to Gujarat: Saurabh Patel

Claiming that the Congress was "allergic" to it, a Gujarat minister has said the previous UPA government had a "discriminatory" attitude towards the state which hampered its growth prospects and prevented it from performing better than it had done.

Gujarat's Finance Minister Saurabh Patel said clearances to a large number of programmes and proposals besides other dues of the state were denied to it during the Manmohan Singh government and things have started to change since the Narendra Modi dispensation took over three months ago.

"I can tell you, there were environment issues which we were not getting permission from the Centre from ages....Look at everything, the revenues, oil royalty. What happened? Rs 10,000 crore they did not give us," said he.

Patel, who earlier served in the Modi Cabinet in Gujarat, said the state was getting oil royalty at the rate which the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had formulated, resulting in big revenues for the state.

Suggesting that that decision had been altered by the previous UPA government, Patel said, "How can you change the Cabinet note, a Cabinet decision by an administrative order? And that administrative order has cost the government of Gujarat Rs 10,000 crore. Who was listening to us? Nobody was listening to us."

Giving another example, he said, "GNFC (Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited) produces urea. It is in excess. We told them please allow us to have industrial area. You will save foreign exchange. They were not listening... The existing minister, in two days, he gave it (permission)."

Patel said, "In spite of this resistance, we have touched the double-digit growth."

Asked whether he was suggesting that the former Congress-led government had discriminated against Gujarat and it had hampered the growth prospects of the state, he said, "There is no doubt about it."

Patel, who also holds a number of other portfolios like Energy, Petrochemicals, Mines and Minerals, sought to justify this comment, by mentioning denial of environmental clearances.

He said with Modi government taking over, "whatever issues with the Centre are, they are picked up."

On the contention by critics that the Gujarat model of development is flawed and not as good as projected, Patel said, "See, one thing is very clear. You should not be allergic to the word 'Gujarat'.

That is more important. Unfortunately, what has happened is Congress is allergic to the word Gujarat.

"Now elections are over. Suppose if we have done something good. Have a look at it. If you can value to it, add value and give it to the country. But just because the initial proposal was from the state of Gujarat, you are not going to touch it. That is not fair," he said.