Prithviraj Chavan

minister

minister of state

Prime Minister

home minister

Rajiv Gandhi

Congress

PM of India

Devendra Fadnavis

state government

Supreme Court

Former chiefPrithviraj Chavan has lambasted the NDA government at the Centre, accusing it of nepotism and promoting only Gujaratispeaking IAS officers at the top. Chavan, who served asat the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) accusedNarendra Modi of taking unilateral decisions, often even without consulting theor the minister handling the particular portfolio.“Earlier, IAS officers would be selected for their respective posts on the basis of merit. But it now happens on the instructions of Modi. Only Gujarati- speaking officers are handling the PMO’s office now. The appointment committee of cabinet (ACC) no longer appoints meritorious officers. Modi and a chosen few alone take any strategic decision,” said Chavan, who was in the city on Thursday to attend a programme in honour of former Prime Minister’s death anniversary.At the event, held atBhavan, Chavan said Modi should remember he is the, not just of Gujarat, further calling his actions a threat to the integrity of the nation. He also drew parallels between Modi at the Centre focusing on Gujarat and chief ministerdoing so with Nagpur. “Be it Pune Metro or the IIM, Pune has been discriminated against by the. Fadnavis is not the CM of Nagpur alone. It’s similar to the way Modi is demoting Mumbai’s financial importance by moving projects to Ahmedabad,” he said.Chavan claimed that while Modi visited 18 nations in the last one year, he had been carrying a cheque book to distribute money in the form of an aid. “Such a tour is meant to get more investment from abroad. But here, everything is adverse and there are no strategic objectives,” he said.Citing the Ganga cleaning project, Chavan said, “Within one year, the ambitious plans have turned into nothing. Other projects will also meet with a similar end. Even thehas raised doubts over the quality of work that has been completed in one year, following which the deadline was extended by three years.”He added that most of the projects the NDA government is taking credit for were actually launched by the previous UPA regime. “Like the ‘photo opportunist’ Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The schemes were already launched by the UPA, but the BJP is merely changing the name and seeking credit for it,” he said.