Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has denied that his department commissioned the report cited by the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday to say Gujarat is the most business-friendly state in India.
“My ministry has not awarded certificate or issued any such report on Gujarat’s land acquisition model,” Mr. Sharma told reporters here on Wednesday adding that the said report was brought out by a private consultancy firm. Stating that the report placed Gujarat ahead of other States on two of 14 parameters considered, he said “I want other States to know that they are also good and should not be mislead by Mr. Modi to believe they are not performing well.” “Mr. Modi should also apologise to voters for misleading them by saying my Ministry has issued a report saying Gujarat has the best land acquisition policy and distorting the facts to justify allocation of public land at throwaway prices to one businessmen.”
The Minister was responding to Mr. Modi’s comments on Tuesday followed by a BJP press statement on a report Best Practices to Improve the Business Environment Across States/UTs in India. Mr. Modi had in his address to a 3D rally, referring to this report said: “It is a report by your own government, and it states that in the whole country, only in Gujarat, will you find a development-friendly environment.” The press statement said that Mr. Modi had at the 3D rally “highlighted the findings of a report associated with the Commerce Ministry that lauds Gujarat for their land acquisition policy and asked the Congress leaders to read the report before insulting the 6 crore people of Gujarat.” Mr. Modi’s comments came soon after the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion uploaded the said report on its website.
