Sareshwala said that the Vibrant Gujarat Summit has been scaling new heights every time. It is held biennially. According to him, the pioneering step of attracting the interests of the Arab countries in Gujarat, will help India forge deeper business ties with the Arab world. He is also excited about the participation of nine Nobel laureates in the Summit.
According to the Government of Gujarat, the central focus of the Summit will be “Sustainable Economic and Social Development”. “It will bring together heads of states and governments, ministers, leaders from the corporate world, senior policy makers, heads of international institutions and academia from around the world to further the cause of development and to promote cooperation,” the government has said. Excerpts from the interview”
Q. This year is the eighth edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit. What will be its highlights?
A. Every time, the Vibrant Gujarat Summit scales new heights. This year will be the first time when nine Nobel laureates will participate in the summit. It is a very good step to invite them. Having them over will lead to knowledge explosion. It is nice to interact with such intelligent people. I have never seen so many come together.
This year will also be the first time when the Arab countries be a part of it. A large contingent from the Arab world is slated to participate in the summit. The bridges of co-operation have been strengthening since the time the Prime Minister visited Saudi Arabia. Till now, nobody had come to India. Recently, delegations were sent to the Arab countries to attract their attention to destination India. Rajiv Gupta led the delegation and I was a part of it. One delegation went to Saudi Arabia, another went to the UAE and Oman. I was a part of the delegation that went to Saudi Arabia. My brother was a part of the other delegation. Now, a huge contingent of UAE ministers has committed to visit the summit. From Saudi Arabia, 59 senior bureaucrats and heads of MNCs have also committed to come for the Summit. There will be a separate Saudi Arabia seminar in the Summit, which will focus on fields of their interest like chemicals, speciality chemicals, fertilisers. Their fields of interest are ports, infrastructure, construction companies. The officials of their Chamber of Commerce are also going to visit the Summit. I am going to host a reception in their honour there on the 11 January.
Q. Since such a high-powered delegation from the Arab world is going to visit the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, are there any estimates about how much investment they are likely to bring to the state?
A. It is just the beginning. It is very difficult to assess how much investments they will bring in here. The fact that they are coming is huge in itself. This is the beginning.
Q. Just a few months ago, Vijay Rupani replaced Anandiben Patel as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. What do you think will be the impact of this change in leadership?
A. There will hardly be any impact whatsoever. See, Narendra Modi has already created a template to the state during his chief ministership. Whoever may become the leader, there is a clear stamp of Narendra Modi in the state. He had brought the state up to a particular level. All that they (successive CMs) they have to do is to manage it. They have to just maintain and follow that template, which they are doing.
Q. Recently, thousands of farmers in Gujarat participated in the “Khedut Vedana Yatra” and walked 450 km for 20 days to talk against the woes faced due to demonetisation. You are yourself a businessman. How do you think demonetisation has affected everyone?
A. See, demonetisation was a monumental exercise, and it was required. Let me tell you, no other political leader worth his salt would have done this and come out unscathed. PM Modi has. Demonetisation was like a massive surgery. There are a lot of issues that people faced. But remember, the core of any country is its banking industry. Modi had inherited Rs 9 lakh crore in bad loans. Banks were in horrible condition. There was no money in the economy. What could the government have done? We can’t have a parallel economy. We should have an accounted economy. Right now, it will take four to six months to replenish money, because there is no cash in the banks. But after December, things have started improving. Now, the government will be sitting on a lot of cash. No government can survive without surplus money. Populous measures by bankrupt governments increase the burden. You can’t survive endlessly when you are making Re 1 and spending Rs 1.20.
Inflation is the biggest killer of farmers, marginalised section. Unless the government doesn’t have surplus, it can’t function. Now, a major amount has come in the system. Due to the demonetisation move, there has been a Rs 14 lakh crore windfall to the government. The Voluntary Disclosure Scheme has brought in an additional Rs 4-4.5 lakh crore. The balance sheet of the government is healthy now. It will get money to spend for people. For the past five-six years, infrastructure projects had stopped. Now, there will be a kickstart in the economy. The demand of steel, power, cement will increase. Jobs will go up in the private sector. There will be an economic boom. The economic cycle which had stopped, will start. Banks will reduce interest rates by another 1%. The disruptions we are seeing now, will be a thing of the past. After one year, there will be much difference. We can already see signs of improvement in crops, housing.
Taxes will decrease, people will have surplus in their hands. Corporate taxes will reduce. This will bring in more investments. Demonetisation has been successful.
Q. Very soon, Gujarat’s OBC leader Hardik Patel’s externment is going to get over. He is going to return to the state. How do you see his role in state politics in future?
A. I don’t understand what Hardik Patel is talking about. He is talking crap. Who is he? He should have been nipped in the bud. The Patels are the most powerful community in Gujarat. They are only 18% of the population, but have disproportionately higher representation everywhere. They have 30% representation in politics. In the ministry, there are seven Patel ministers. In everything else including land holding, doctors, education, they hold sway, 25% land is under them. They are powerful even in the SMEs and the industries sector. What is Hardik Patel talking about? If he is saying this, what should the Muslims do then?
See, this is clearly the end of agitation politics. The dynamics and demography are changing. There is no place for caste politics. People will ask about jobs, roads, water, electricity, health.
Q. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced that it will enter the political fray in the Gujarat Assembly elections to be held towards the end of 2017. Do you see them benefitting due to any anti-incumbency feeling in the state?
A. What has the AAP given till now? It has no existence at all. The voters are very smart today. They understand everything. What has AAP given in Delhi? What alternative are they going to offer in Gujarat? This is the period of positive politics. There is no space for negative politics. Any party which comes to power will have to say what better things it has to offer to the people. I am not a BJP man. But I haven’t seen a negative thing here. The people of Gujarat are facing what the entire nation is facing. At present, I do not see any anti-incumbency feeling in Gujarat.