28 September 2013, 01:58 PM IST
The BJP's most charismatic face Atal Behari Vajpayee while speaking from Shimla soon after the NDA's debacle went on record to state that the only reason the NDA was voted out of power in 2004 was owing to its failure to act against Narendra Modi soon after the Gujarat riots of 2002. A polarizing and menacing figure, Modi was singularly responsible for the BJP's resounding nation-wide defeat even as chief minister of the relatively unimportant state of Gujarat - how then did he claw his way into becoming the Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP in less than 10 years?
Gujarat, since it is the land of the Mahatma, follows prohibition. Yet, in Gujarat today, the finest liquor brands are available and door delivered to anybody who wishes to have a drink or two. Can one estimate the size of the revenues it would have brought to the government, if prohibition were not in place- just compare it to another state which has a population similar to that of Gujarat. Karnataka, with a population of 61130704 is closest to Gujarat which has a population of 62700003. Karnataka, despite its low tax rates on liquor earns a whopping Rs 11500 crore as revenue from liquor sales.
Gujarat is a state which tops all states in the nation where the maximum number of cases for corruption are registered against police officers. It is these police officers who man prohibition and other prohibited activity. Only a close confidante like Amit Shah is entrusted with the home portfolio. It is well established that liquor flows like water in Gujarat. Now, who posts these officers to their positions? The state government, of course. The most lucrative positions in the police department are auctioned off to the highest bidder, and that fetches a conservative figure of Rs 10,000 crore to those that man prohibition in Gujarat.
With a treasure-chest of Rs 10,000 crore annually, it is not difficult to replicate the dreams of Gali Janardhana Reddy who with a war-chest of just Rs 3000 crore had made intricate plans to install his own choice Smt. Sushma Swaraj as Prime Minister. Mrs. Swaraj too happily enough partook in the Varamahalakshmi festival organized by the Reddy brothers for a record 9 years!
Now, is there anybody who takes action against corrupt officers in Gujarat? It is the state vigilance department- at the head of which is the State DGP who also reports to the chief minister. Gujarat has had no Lokayukta even since 2003. Considering that it was the Lokayukta who first blew the whistle on Yedyurappa, as a manner of speaking, if BS Yeddyurappa had followed Narendra Modi's example of not appointing a Lokayukta, he would arguably still have been the chief minister of Karnataka with an extraordinary reputation for honesty- a reputation which Modi enjoys among those who support his case for Prime Ministership.
It is this money that seamlessly made way for Modi's grand entry onto the national stage. It is this money that draws huge crowds for Modi's rallies. It is this money that silences Advani into submission and it is this money that funds APCO international which funds pro-Modi online material and creates trolls batting for Modi online.
But does money win elections? In India, money is important, but if money alone won elections, the richest men would have been Parliamentarians and Ministers. Modi is a deeply divisive personality and that alone is the main impediment for him to cross the bar.
Now, for the second best kept secret, BJP's mega claim that they were primarily responsible for creating massive infrastructure in the national highways. A news article too claimed that the BJP had in fact created a far greater length of roads than the UPA despite only remaining in power for 6 years as compared to UPA's 9!
Details received from the Union Ministry of roads and Highways disclose that, the length of roads completed during UPA rule is roughly 5 times that completed during the NDA years and total investment being roughly 9 times that of the investments made during the NDA years.
| ROAD PROJECTS AWARDED AND COMPLETED DURING 1998 - MAY, 2004 AND JUNE, 2004 - JULY, 2013 | ||
| Particulars | 1998-May 2004 | 1st June 2004 - 31st July, 2013 |
| Awarded Contracts | 171 contracts of total length 6233 km with cost of RS. 30409.04 cr. | 359 contracts of total length 26301 km with cost of Rs. 221540 cr. |
| Length completed | 3630 km | 17602 km |
| Investment | 19685 cr. Govt. Fund | 118711 cr. Govt. Fund |
| 3463 cr. Private Sector | 95632 cr. Private Sector | |
| 23148 cr. Total | 214343 cr. Total | |
| from April 1999 to March 2004 | from April 2004 to July 2013 | |
With these two out of the way, in the days to come, many more of the nation's best kept secrets will tumble out, which will help the voters make up their minds on who their vote in 2014 should go to.
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