Dropped, Gujarat govt's most industry-friendly face refuses to tweet congrats after new CM Rupani takes over

Modi, Saurabh Patel, Mukesh Ambani

By Rajiv Shah
In a surprise move, Saurabh Patel, long considered the most industry-friendly face, has failed to find place in the new Cabinet. There is no official explanation why Saurabh, who was in charge of three most important portfolios in the Cabinet minister, finance, industry and energy and petrochemicals in the Cabinet, was humbled.
While speculation is rife among well-informed circles in Gujarat that Saurabh was long “tipped” to be part of the Government of India, and stage had been set for it, those who met him at the swearing-in ceremony of Rupani and his ministerial colleagues on Sunday say he was “put off” and “disturbed.”
Saurabh's official Twitter handle, @saurabhpatelguj, shows that while he would tweet almost daily without fail about the “developmental” activities under the last Anandiben Patel government as also the Modi government at the centre on issues related with the departments he headed, the last time he did this was on August 5.
On August 5, Saurabh tweeted complimenting Rupani on being announced as the new chief minister. Not only did he refuse to put in any go on Twitter on August 6, even the on the day Rupani formally took over after taking oath, August 7, there was no tweet from Saurabh congratulating the new chief minister.
While those around him admit that he was "axed" because he has failed to build political base, others say, he is out of favour. According to a top political observer, with knowledge of goings-on in the power circles, Saurabh was “out of favour” of Anandiben Patel. On the other hand, he failed to establish any rapport rapport with all-India BJP president Amit Shah, who is said to have called the shots in the formation of the new Cabinet under Rupani.
A person without any saffron background, Saurabh is son-in-law of Ramniklal Ambani, brother of top tycoon late Dhirubhai Ambani, and maintains good relations with Mukesh Ambani, Reliance chairman. With no RSS background, he has not allowed himself to be coloured with the saffron ideology. Yet, his closeness to Modi, under whom he served in Gujarat government after 2002, was never in doubt.

Last tweet by Saurabh Patel on Aug 5, which congratulated Rupani for

being chosen as Gujarat CM. No such tweet after Rupani was sworn

in as CM on Aug 7

The only minister in the previous Anandiben Patel government who could communicate with ease in English, he is known to be a key organizer of the biennial Vibrant Gujarat world business summits ever since 2003. He had unmatched understanding of finance, too, and was a key minister to have created an atmosphere of support for goods and services tax (GST) for Modi, sitting in Gandhinagar.
While he was expected to play a key role in the 2017 Vibrant Gujarat summit, scheduled for January 11-12, a senior official said, “He was found not so indispensable. When Modi would be here for the summit, the entire Government of India machinery would go out to make the summit a great success.”
No doubt, Modi would need him. In the 2012 Gujarat state assembly elections, Modi shifted him from Botad, his constituency, where he was on slippery grounds, to Vadodara, a safe BJP seat. Said a senior leader, “Anandiben Patel and Amit Shah may not like him, but Saurabh remains in good books of Modi, one reason why there is a view that he might be taken to the Centre.”
Many say, Saurabh appears to have been “axed” because of his overt ambitions. He began to see himself as the next chief ministerial, virtually ran a parallel administration in the three departments he held, finance, industry and energy and petrochemicals, something his boss, Anandiben Patel, never liked.
Operating under him, controversy began surrounding the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC), which has an accumulated debt of Rs 20,000 crore, with complete inability of the top PSU to deliver any gas from its KG Basin exploration; the announced 20 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas in KG, the largest ever by an Indian company, proved to be a hoax.
Soon after Anandiben Patel resigned on August 2, comments started appearing in influential sections of the media that Saurabh was the “fittest person” to become Gujarat's chief minister, and he never denied any of it. In fact, he was heard telling someone, he had the “capacity of doing which is work equal to a dozen bureaucrats.”
It is still not clear whether Saurabh, who played an important role in the empowered group of ministers of finance ministers in campaign for GST, would be "rescued" by Modi. “Rajya Sabha elections are a year away. So, he would have to wait to be shifted toDelhi”, commented a senior leader.

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

What's behind Donald Trump's 'narco-state' accusation against Venezuela

By Manolo De Los Santos The US government has revived its campaign to label Venezuela a "narco-state", accusing its top leadership of drug trafficking and slapping hefty bounties on their heads for capture. This campaign, which only momentarily took a backseat, is a strategic fabrication, not a factual assessment. This accusation, particularly amplified under the Trump Administration, is a calculated smokescreen to justify a long-standing agenda: the overthrow of the Venezuelan government and the seizure of its vast oil and mineral resources. A closer examination of the facts reveals a country that has actively fought drug trafficking on its own terms and a US government with a clear and consistent history of destabilizing independent countries in Latin America.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman* Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”

Counterview

Search This Blog