In 2005, Modi announced in his typical “Feku” style, and with a lot of fanfare how GSPC had found gas worth ₹ 220,000 Crores in Krishna Godavari Basin, and that the nation would no longer need to import any gas by 2007. 10 years on, and after wasting ₹ 20,000 Crores against expert advice, the company was driven to a bankruptcy by Modi’s whims. GSPC misused its funds and allegedly formed join ventures with dodgy front companies with no experience in offshore drilling. [2] After 20,000 crore loss to Gujarat state exchequer, PM Modi forced ONGC to take over GSPC gas fields in order to cover up his massive misadventure. [3]

had found gas worth ₹ 220,000 Crores in Krishna Godavari Basin, and that the nation would no longer need to import any gas by 2007. 10 years on, and after wasting ₹ against expert advice, the company was driven to a bankruptcy by Modi’s whims. GSPC misused its funds and allegedly formed join ventures with dodgy front companies with no experience in offshore drilling. After 20,000 crore loss to Gujarat state exchequer, PM Modi forced ONGC to take over GSPC gas fields in order to cover up his massive misadventure. The ₹ 400 Crores fisheries scam . Contract were awarded to favourite parties without inviting tender. [4]

. Contract were awarded to favourite parties without inviting tender. Two bidders apparently formed a cartel and bid for supplying supplementary Nutrition Extruded Fortified Blended Food (EFBF) to Anganwadis with Government collusion. Contracts worth ₹ 500 Crores kept getting awarded to a handful of contractors, particularly Kota Dal Mills and Muruliwala Agrotech. The State continued to do this despite a 2006 Apex court warning to decentralise food production and a 2010 Gujarat High Court order which noted that the contracts were a violation of Supreme Court rulings. [5]

with Government collusion. Contracts worth ₹ kept getting awarded to a handful of contractors, particularly Kota Dal Mills and Muruliwala Agrotech. The State continued to do this despite a 2006 Apex court warning to decentralise food production and a 2010 Gujarat High Court order which noted that the contracts were a violation of Supreme Court rulings. The ₹500 crore Sujalam Sufalam Yojana Rice scam . The ₹6237.33 crore Sujalam Sufalam Yojana (SSY) announced in 2003 was to be completed by 2005. Public accounts Committee of Gujarat assembly unanimously prepared a report indicating a scam of over ₹500 crore, which was never tabled. The probe was delayed. [6]

. The ₹6237.33 crore Sujalam Sufalam Yojana (SSY) announced in 2003 was to be completed by 2005. Public accounts Committee of Gujarat assembly unanimously prepared a report indicating a scam of over ₹500 crore, which was never tabled. The probe was delayed. 49% of the shares of Pipavav Power Station of GSPC were sold to Swan Energy for a paltry sum of ₹ 381 Crores without inviting any tenders from other companies and obtaining the maximum price, thereby, avoiding fair competition. [7]

without inviting any tenders from other companies and obtaining the maximum price, thereby, avoiding fair competition. Loss of ₹580 crore to the exchequer by bestowing undue favours to Ford, L&T, Adani, Essar and Reliance in Gujarat, as per CAG report. [8]

Multiple scams with land deals:

Gujarat Government illegally allocated 422 acre land to Anantiben’s daughter ‘s partner at 92.5% discount in the Gir buffer zone. The allotment of 245 acres of land worth ₹ 145 crore was done for just ₹1.5 crore. [9] [10]

16,000 acres were allocated to Adani Group at ₹1-₹32 per sq meter whereas the average market price was ₹1100 per sq meter, and some even paid ₹6000 per sq meter. This is an undue benefit of ₹6,546 Crores . As an extensively researched article of the Forbes’ magazine said: [11]

“Adani has, over the years, leased 7,350 hectares–much of which he got from 2005 onward–from the government in an area called Mundra in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat. FORBES ASIA has copies of the agreements that show he got the 30-year, renewable leases for as little as one U.S. cent a square meter (the rate maxed out at 45 cents a square meter). He in turn has sublet this land to other companies, including state-owned Indian Oil Co., for as much as $11 a square meter.”

Modi and his propaganda claim that a single SMS message of “Suswagatam” from Mr Modi to Mr Ratan Tata convinced the Tatas to switch to Gujarat. Of course, no prudent businessman would be such a fool. The truth is, when Tatas were looking for an alternative location for Nano car plant , Modi bent over backwards to lure them. 1100 acres were given to TATA at ₹900 per sq meter whereas market price was much higher (note how this compares to other land deals). Tata Motors was also given a “Loan” of ₹456 Crores towards setting up the plant in Gujarat. Some estimates suggest a total subsidy of ₹33,000 Crores was given by the Gujarat Government to Tata Motors! [12] Mr Modi used this move of Tata heavily towards his own self-promotion, which was at Taxpayers’ expense. [13]

, Modi bent over backwards to lure them. 1100 acres were given to TATA at ₹900 per sq meter whereas market price was much higher (note how this compares to other land deals). Tata Motors was also given a “Loan” of ₹456 Crores towards setting up the plant in Gujarat. Some estimates suggest a total subsidy of was given by the Gujarat Government to Tata Motors! Mr Modi used this move of Tata heavily towards his own self-promotion, which was at Taxpayers’ expense. Indigold refineries land scam – After having alloted cheap land to it for a refinery, the State government allowed Indigold Refinery to sell 200,000 sq. meter of land to Alumina Refinery rather than taking its possession. The deal is allegedly estimated to have cost the state exchequer around ₹40 crore . [14]

land scam – After having alloted cheap land to it for a refinery, the State government allowed Indigold Refinery to sell 200,000 sq. meter of land to Alumina Refinery rather than taking its possession. The deal is allegedly estimated to have cost the state exchequer around . 16 acres of prime University land in the centre of Ahmedabad was sold to a Hotel through a rigged tender. Deal was said to be brokered by the CM himself. [15]

Now, a bhakt may say, so what if this smells of Crony Capitalism? This is a CM working hard to get more investments into his state. So what if he is wasting taxpayers’ money in favours to his crony friends, at least some of these, such as a the Tata plant, will be beneficial for the State in the long run.

Firstly, these actions of undue favours to attract investments by bending over backwards, only show that the claims of “Gujarat Model” were themselves fake. Other states were able to attract more investments than Gujarat without such freebies. Had 14 years of “Vibrant Gujarat” really been so successful, there should have been people queuing up to invest and setup factories in Gujarat at any cost, without the government having to grant them so many favours. Majority of these announcements, done with much fanfare, have turned out to be damp squibs.

Secondly, if Modi really was “incorruptible”, he would not have left the post of Lokayukta vacant for over a decade between 2003 and 2013 [16] Further, he would have ensured these allegations were investigated with full sincerity, and punished the officials or ministers involved. If he could spare 10 police officers to snoop on a girl, how was he unaware of his close colleague and successor, Anandiben’s land deals?

Also, keep in mind that the same “Army lover” and “Nationalist” Mr Modi allocated 93 acres of land to Raheja Group at ₹470 per sq meter [17] and charged South-West Air Command (SWAC) of the Indian Air Force ₹1100 per sq meter for 100 acres land. This clearly shows that the crony capitalists are more important to Mr Modi than our Armed Forces. [18]

The Birth of Symbiotic Oligarchy in Gujarat

Among Mr Modi’s close crony capitalist friends, one name is the most prominent – that of Mr Gautam Adani. With humble origins and success from Diamond trading in Mumbai, Mr Adani had moved to Gujarat during mid 90s, and grown impressively. Yet, as Modi was sworn in as the CM on October 6th 2001, Adani was still a relatively modest player with a turnover of around ₹3000 Crores, its market value was 1/500th of the Reliance Group at the time. [19]

Between 1995 and 2001, Gujarat politics in general and the state BJP in particular went through a period of great churn. With elections scheduled for Gujarat in 2003, LK Advani replaced Keshubhai Patel with Modi, a political novice then, choosing him over senior state leaders. Advani was planning to make a run for PM and Gujarat was a key state for the BJP. To make sure he controlled Gujarat, he wanted an outsider in charge of Gujarat who would be dependent on the party’s high command for his legitimacy.

Modi took charge of Gujarat in 2001, knowing he would have to win the state elections. He did not want to depend on Pramod Mahajan, who was managing the BJP’s finances. Modi wanted his own source of funds, but this was not easy. Industry was suspicious of this RSS pracharak. Modi was suspicious of industry. In his first year, Modi kept all businessmen at an arm’s length. Modi distrusted Adani due to his rapid rise and thought he was too close to rival Keshubhai. It took Adani a year, from October 2001 to September 2002 to find his way into Modi’s inner circle.

It was the Gujarat genocide of 2002, that changed the fortunes of both men.

The religious polarization of the violence was en-cashed shamelessly by BJP and Modi. They helped BJP win the 2002 elections with massive gains. Modi, the relatively unknown pracharak, captured the imagination of the Sangh, and was able to mount a coup against even Prime Minister Vajpayee.

However, the violence had cost the industry ₹20,000 Crores, making local and foreign investors jittery about their prospects in Gujarat. New investment inflows had all but dried up by September 2002. In February 2003, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)—the country’s biggest and most important business trade association—held a special session at its auditorium in New Delhi: “Meeting with Narendra Modi, the New Chief Minister of Gujarat”. The meeting was organised on a special request from Modi.

During this event, doyens of Indian Industry, such as Mr Godrej and Mr Bajaj, publicly expressed concerns about Gujarat again. Mr Modi was furious. “You and your pseudo-secular friends,” Modi roared at the leaders of Indian industry, “can come to Gujarat if you want an answer.” Modi asked Godrej and Bajaj: “Others have vested interest in maligning Gujarat. What is your interest?”[20]

Modi carried his fury back to Gujarat. Within a few days, a group of Gujarati businessmen close to Modi—including Gautam Adani of Adani Group, Indravadan Modi of Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Karsan Patel of Nirma Group, and Anil Bakeri of Bakeri Engineers—had established a rival organisation, which they called the Resurgent Group of Gujarat (RGG), all of whose members threatened to withdraw from the CII on the grounds that it had humiliated and insulted Modi and all Gujaratis.