Jharkhand is endowed with rich natural and human resources and yet it has remained poor despite 13 years since the new state came into being, Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said today.
Addressing a public rally here, Modi said if a survey report was submitted to the leading economists of the world, they would certainly say that the state would have been among the most prosperous regions in the world, if the resources were properly utilised.
"Why is Jharkhand is still poor and poverty is growing even if it has rich resources?" Modi wondered and then gave the answer himself: "I would say the party in whose hands the reins were in since Independence should reply."
He said that the people of the region had been demanding a separate state for a long time to determine their own destiny, but the "sultanate" in Delhi did not hear and rejected the demand.
"It was former prime minister A B Vajpayee who understood the aspirations and dreams of the people of the region and created the state along with Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh," Modi said.
"The new state was created accepting that it will be 'progressive', but why has it not happened in 13 years?" Modi wondered, comparing the state with Chhattisgarh which, he said, had "sped away on the path of development".
He attributed Chhattisgarh's "success" to the people's desire for development and for the BJP.
He said the next five years would be crucial for the state.
Referring to a sick PSU here, he stated how he had revived Gujarat Fertiliser Corporation which was on the verge of closure by ensuring professionalism and technological upgradation and above all putting a cap on unnecessary expenditure.
