The Hindu : Gujarat events `painful' but won't hit investments: PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 09, 2002

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Gujarat events `painful' but won't hit investments: PM

By Amit Baruah

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, with his Singapore counterpart, Goh Chok Tong, before their meeting on Monday.— AP

SINGAPORE April 8. The communal incidents in Gujarat are a "very painful event'' but these would not have any impact on India's investment climate, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said today.

Addressing members of the Indian community at a reception here, Mr. Vajpayee said that India wanted to advance rapidly, but sometimes "in between'' an incident took place causing concern.

"Gujarat ke bare me aap bahut padthe honge. Badi dukhdai ghatna thi. (You must have read about Gujarat. It was a very painful event),'' the Prime Minister said in Hindi.

Clearly, while the Prime Minister was grappling with foreign policy issues in Singapore, his mind was focussed on developments back home. He specifically referred to the attack on journalists in Gujarat on Sunday, but described it as a "small'' incident. The situation in Gujarat was now under control, but he asked why such events should take place at all. "We need to think deeply about this,'' he said.

The Prime Minister said that India, as the world's largest democracy, a democracy that inspired progress and respect for human values, also faced difficulties. These difficulties had to be overcome.

``Gujarat ke sthiti par ab kaboo pa liya gaya hai. Lekin kal vahan patrakaron ko lekar koi ghatna ho gayi (The situation in Gujarat has now been brought under control. But yesterday (on Sunday), there was some incident relating to journalists),'' Mr. Vajpayee said.

``Journalists report the news about others, but now they are becoming the news themselves,'' the Prime Minister said in Hindi, adding quickly that a "probe'' had been ordered and one police officer removed.

Taking another view, Mr. Vajpayee said that before coming to the reception he saw on television a debate on the pros and cons of the officer's removal. "Yeh shayad achcha kam kar raha tha, is liye usko hataya (perhaps he was doing a good job that's why he was removed),'' the Prime Minister said about the contents of the television debate. Referring to the incident involving journalists in Gujarat (Mr. Vajpayee did not use the world attack), the Prime Minister told the gathering that such incidents were small and had to be seen in the context of a 100-crore strong nation, a vast country with an ancient past. All in all, he said, India was looking to the future and the country was moving ahead on the path of progress.

Asked whether the investment climate was shaky after the Gujarat incidents, he said at the reception that there was "no difference'' as far as the investment climate was concerned.

The complaints about the investment environment were old. These related to time delays, for which it was explained that the procedures had been shortened. ``Investment ke liye to achcha climate hai (the investment climate is good), he said. So the investment climate has not been affected despite the killings of so many people? Prime Minister: "Uska asar bhartiyon par zada hai (the impact is more on Indians)''.

In his address to the Indian community, Mr. Vajpayee said that the progress made by Singapore was a miracle. This made him wonder why India could not do the same.

This did not mean that India had not made progress, but it was slow. India had maintained its economic growth despite the economic slowdown that had affected other countries in the region.

The country was ending the "quota-permit raj'' and a new chapter had been opened in its economic relationship.

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