How Modi govt behaved 'adversely' towards Gujarat PSU turnaround man

By Rajiv Shah

Despite triggering a major turnaround of the top state public sector undertaking, Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals (GSFC), during his stint as GSFC managing-director during 2003-06, ex-IAS bureaucrat Alexander K Luke was given “adverse remarks” in his Annual Confidential Report (ACR), which was written by his minister, Saurabh Patel (energy and petrochemicals), and approved by chief minister Narendra Modi for two years, 2004-05 and 2005-06, when he was with GSFC.

Revealing this in his latest book, “Passports of Gujarat: Hazardous Journeys”, Luke says that the reason for the two adverse CSRs he was given was “lack of respect for the elected representatives of the people and refusal to follow government instructions.”

Giving a glimpse of the turnaround to which he was instrumental, Luke says, the GSFC’s three years’ loss up to 2003 was Rs 680 crore. After he joined in, in 2003-04 the PSU made a profit of Rs 42 crore, followed by Rs 252 crore in 2004-05, and Rs 437 crore in 2005-2006.
The share price of GSFC was Rs 14 in April 2003, which went up to Rs 251 in May 2006 (14 times), as against the peers like Tata Chemicals, whose share price increased from Rs 68 to Rs 275 (four times), Coromandel from Rs 62 to Rs 114 (two times), and of RCF, a Central Government PSU, from Rs 22 to Rs 72, (three times).
Interestingly, in June 2006, during Modi’s visit to the GSFC to inaugurate a new plant, Luke suggests, things had already become abundantly clear” The chief minister described the turnaround he had triggered as “a third model”, without once mentioning him, “except light-heartedly” asking him to “pay back to the state government the financial help given to the PSU.”
Luke comments, listening to Modi, “one would have concluded the turnaround was an act of God or the result of the lavish financial help, close monitoring and guidance from the state government”.
Worse, during the function, the chief minister did not like Luke being presenting an identical memento which was given to Modi by the GSFC union leader for the turnaround. Even before the union leader could hand it over to him, he saw the chief minister angrily get up and leave the stage.
“It was curious behaviour from a leader who has himself been the recipient of such adulation from the public, adulation which he has done nothing to restrain. This was sometime in June 2006, four months before my departure”, comments Luke.
The adverse ACRs, which triggered Luke’s resignation from the IAS in November 2006, two years ahead of his retirement, came, suspects the author, because of several incidents of “petty in nature”.

While its beginning could be traced to Luke’s letter to his IAS colleagues during the 2002 riots to condemn the “bloodbath”, Luke says, the immediate reasons were his disagreement to certain “suggestions” of the chief minister.
Thus, Modi wanted the GSFC to give Rs 10 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and the transfer of an officer who was related to the minister for urban development – both of which Luke rejected.
Giving an account of his resignation, Luke says, he was hurriedly asked to leave GSFC on November 10, even though he was scheduled to hand charge on November 11, with clear indications that if did not do so then disciplinary action would be taken against him.
Pointing to how farcical things bcame, Luke says, on reaching the state capital, Gandhinagar, he was asked to meet the chief minister on November 13.
“When I met him, he said had not expected me to actually be leaving and was surprised at it. He said I ought to stay in Gujarat for the next 5 to 7 years”, Luke says.
Modi even went to the extent of asking him “not to give him an answer right then but to think it over for three days after which we could meet again”.
Yet, Modi signed the resignation file “the same evening, perhaps soon after I left his room.”
And, November 20, early morning, Luke and his wife “drove to the airport and an hour later saw Vadodara receding below.”

Comments

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Blurring the line between fiction and political narrative

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" does not wait to be remembered; it arrives almost on the heels of its predecessor, released on March 19, 2026, just months after the first film’s December 2025 debut. The speed of its arrival feels less like creative urgency and more like calculated timing—cinema responding not to storytelling rhythm but to the emotional climate of its audience. Director Aditya Dhar, along with actor Yami Gautam, appears acutely aware of this moment and how to harness it.

BJP accounts for 99% of political donations in Gujarat: Corporate giants dominate

By Jag Jivan An analysis of the official data on donations received by national parties from Gujarat during the Financial Year 2024-25 reveals a staggering concentration of funding, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for nearly the entirety of the contributions. The data, compiled in a document titled "National Parties donations received from Gujarat during FY-2024-25," lists thousands of transactions, painting a detailed picture of the financial backing for political parties from one of India’s most industrially significant states.

Alarming decline in India's repair culture threatens circular economy goals: Study

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive new study by environmental research and advocacy organisation Toxics Link has painted a worrying picture of India's fading repair culture, warning that the trend towards replacement over repair is accelerating the country's already critical e-waste crisis.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

Captains extraordinaire: Ranking cricket’s most influential skippers

By Harsh Thakor* Ranking the greatest cricket captains is a subjective exercise, often sparking passionate debate among fans. The following list is not merely a tally of wins and losses; it is an assessment of leadership’s deeper impact. My criteria fuse a captain’s playing record with their tactical skill, placing the highest consideration on their ability to reshape a team’s fortunes and inspire those around them. A captain who inherited a dominant empire is judged differently from one who resurrected a nation’s cricket from the doldrums. With that in mind, here is my perspective on the finest leaders the game has ever seen.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

‘No merit’ in Chakraborty’s claims: Personal ethics talk sans details raises questions

By Jag Jivan A recent opinion piece published in The Quint by Subhash Chandra Garg has raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty from HDFC Bank , with Garg stating that the exit “raises doubts about his own ‘ethics’.” Garg, currently Chief Policy Advisor at Subhanjali and former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, writes that the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) appears to find no substance in Chakraborty’s claims, noting, “It is clear the RBI sees no merit in Atanu Chakraborty’s wild and vague assertions.”

Search This Blog