Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the then Central Congress government of non-cooperation in turning Gujarat into a vibrant state. The PM was attending an event organised to mark 20 years of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit at Science City here. He said, “20 years is a very long time, today’s young generation would not know the condition of Gujarat after the earthquake! In the years before 2001, frequent water droughts and subsequent earthquakes destroyed thousands of homes, leaving millions destitute.” The Prime Minister said that the difficult situation did not stop here, the closure of Madhavpura Mercantile Bank affected 133 other co-operative banks. In a way, there was turmoil in the economic life of Gujarat.He said that he has unwavering faith that Gujarat will come out of this serious situation. “People with anti-Gujarat agenda used to analyse every incident and try to defame Gujarat. Such people used to say that youth, industries, businessmen will all run away from Gujarat, Gujarat will be ruined and will become a burden on the country. The people conspiring to defame created an atmosphere of despair and said that Gujarat will never recover,” the PM said.
In this context, the Prime Minister said that at a time of such crisis, he resolved to take Gujarat forward from any situation, it was with this idea that the Vibrant Summit was started and the government started working for the development of Gujarat. State to rebuild not only Gujarat but also for the coming decades. Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit has become the vehicle for this long-term development. When the tradition of Vibrant Summit started, the then central government was not showing any interest in the development of Gujarat. But as a result of good, fair and transparent governance, policy-driven state and equitable system of development, industries from within the country and abroad came to Gujarat.
The Prime Minister said: “When we started the Vibrant Summit, our aim was to make Gujarat the growth engine of the country’s development. The entire country has seen this vision come true.” The PM said when he assumed leadership at the Centre in 2014, he pledged to make India the world’s growth engine. India is the fastest growing economy in the world today and is on its way to becoming a global economic power. He said, now we have to make India one of the top three economies of the world.
Prime Minister Modi said that in the 20th century, Gujarat’s image was that of traders, in the 21st century it has changed its identity as a trade as well as agricultural power house, financial hub, industry and manufacturing ecosystem. This also strengthened the commercial identity of Gujarat. All this is the credit for the success of Vibrant Gujarat, Idea. To act as an incubator of new ideas and industries.
Addressing the Summit of Success organized in Ahmedabad on the occasion of completion of 20 years of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, PM Modi said that the small seed sown two decades ago has today become a huge and vibrant banyan tree. Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit has transformed from a one-time event to an institution. He said that every time the summit is touching new heights of success.
Describing the mantra of success of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, the PM said that the success of Vibrant Summit includes the basic elements like ideation, imagination and implementation. He said that through a vibrant summit, Gujarat has shown the world how a proper decision-making process and a focused approach can bring about change. Vibrant Summit has become a medium to showcase the talent and potential of Gujaratis in various fields to the world. This vibrant summit has become a medium to introduce the country’s talent to the world and showcase the divinity, grandeur and cultural heritage of Gujarat.
The PM called upon the invitees and industry leaders from India and abroad to identify areas where India can strengthen its position with new growth prospects and brainstorm on the same in the upcoming Vibrant Summit.
Recalling Swami Vivekananda, the Prime Minister said that a good work has to go through three stages, ridicule, opposition and then acceptance. When the tradition of Vibrant Summit started it was said that it was just a branding event. But the success of Vibrant Summit proved to the world that it is not an event of branding but of connecting. Every series of Vibrant Summits in the last 20 years has been successful due to the strength and affection of the seven crore citizens of Gujarat.
Citing the two decades of success of the Vibrant Summit, the PM said that in 2003, a few hundreds of participants had come and now over 40,000 participants attend this summit. Fewer countries became participants in 2003, whereas now more than 135 countries participate in the Vibrant Summit. About 30 exhibitors attended in 2003 while now over 2000 exhibitors use the summit as a suitable platform. Gujarat thought differently. “When no one had thought of making a developed country a partner country in the Vibrant Summit, Gujarat did this. With the same officers and the same resources, Gujarat has done what no one had thought. He said now is not the time for a break. The next 20 years are more important than the last 20 years. Celebrating 40 years of success, the Vibrant Summit aims to present the country to the world as a developed-self-reliant India.”