B. S. Yeddyurappa
B.S. Yeddyurappa
25th Chief Minister of Karnataka
In office 30 May, 2008 – 31 July, 2011
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	D.V.Sadananda Gowda
Constituency	Shikaripur
24th Chief Minister of Karnataka
In office November 12, 2007 – November 19, 2007
Preceded by	H. D. Kumaraswamy
Succeeded by	President's rule
Personal details
Born	(1943-02-27) 27 February 1943 (age 69) Bookanakere, Mandya
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Late Mythradevi
Religion	Hinduism
Website	http://yeddyurappa.in
As of May 28, 2008 Source: [1]

Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yeddyurappa (Kannada: ಬೂಕನಕೆರೆ ಸಿದ್ಧಲಿಂಗಪ್ಪ ಯಡಿಯೂರಪ್ಪ, Born 27 February 1943^[1]) is an Indian politician and was the 25th Chief Minister of Karnataka. He is a popular leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and represents Shikaripura in the Karnataka legislative assembly. He became the Chief Minister of Karnataka after the BJP's hisctoric victory in the 2008 Karnataka Assembly election. He is the first person from the BJP to become the Chief Minister of a South Indian state.^[2] Yeddyurappa is a popular leader of the dominant Lingayat Community and is regarded as one of the very few leaders in Karnataka with a mass following^{[citation needed]}.

Personal life[link]

Yeddyurappa was born on 27 February 1943 in a village called Bookanakere in K.R.Pet taluk of Mandya district.^[3][4] His parents were Siddalingappa and Puttathayamma. They belonged to the Lingayat community. He was named after the presiding deity of a Shaivite temple built by the great saint Siddalingeshwara at Yediyur in Tumkur district.^[5] His mother died when he was four.^[2] He completed his Pre-University College education from PES college, Mandya.

In 1965, he was appointed as a first-division clerk in the social welfare department but instead shifted to Shikaripura where he joined as a clerk at Veerabhadra Shastri's Shankar rice mill. In 1967, Yeddyurappa married Mythradevi, the daughter of the rice mill owner.^[6] He later set up a hardware shop in Shimoga. Yeddyurappa has two sons, Raghavendra and Vijayendra and three daughters, Arunadevi, Padmavati and Umadevi.^[7] In 2004, his wife died due to cardiac arrest.^[8] In 2007, he changed the spelling of his name to its current spelling from the earlier "Yediyurappa" following the advice of his astrologers.^[9]

Political career[link]

Yeddyurappa's stint in public life began when he was appointed as Karyavaha (Secretary) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Shikaripur unit in 1970. In 1972, he was elected to the Shikaripura Town Municipality and was also appointed as the President of the Taluk unit of the Jana Sangh.^[7] In 1975, he was elected President of the Town Municipality of Shikaripura. He was imprisoned during the Emergency in India and lodged in the Bellary and Shimoga jails. In 1980, he was appointed President of the Shikaripura taluk unit of the BJP and later went on to become the president of BJP's Shimoga district unit in 1985. In 1988, he became the State President of the BJP in Karnataka. He was first elected to the lower house of the Karnataka Legislature in 1983 and has since represented the Shikaripura constituency six times. He has been a member of the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth and Thirteenth Legislative Assemblies (lower house) of Karnataka. Following the 1994 state assembly elections, he became the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. In 1999, he lost the elections but was nominated by the BJP to become a member of the legislative council (upper house) of Karnataka.^[1] Again, He was re-elected in 2004 and became the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly during the chief ministership of Dharam Singh.

His first stint in power was when he helped Janata Dal (Secular) leader H. D. Kumaraswamy to bring down the coalition government headed by Dharam Singh and form an alternative government with BJP. An agreement was made between the JD(S) and BJP, which specified that H. D. Kumaraswamy would be the Chief Minister for the first 20 months, after which Yeddyurappa would become the Chief Minister for the remaining 20 months. Yeddyurappa became the Deputy Chief Minister as well as the finance minister in Kumaraswamy's Government. He was credited with presenting good Budgets and for initiating various welfare programs such as Bhagyalakshmi scheme, Bicycles for students, Ban on arrack and Farm loan waiver.

However in October 2007, when it was Yeddyurappa's turn to become Chief Minister, Kumaraswamy relinquish his post. This forced Yeddyurappa and all the ministers from his party to resign and on 5 October, the BJP formally withdrew the support to the Kumaraswamy government. Karnataka came under President's rule which was revoked on 7th November as the JD(S) and the BJP decided to bury their differences and this paved the way for Yeddyurappa to become the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the 25th Chief Minister of Karnataka on 12 November 2007. However, JD(S) refused to support his government over disagreement on sharing of ministries which resulted in his resignation as Chief Minister on 19th November 2007.

In Karnataka's 2008 Assembly elections, Yeddyurappa contested from Shikaripura against former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa of the Samajwadi Party. The Indian National Congress and JD(S) backed Bangarappa, but despite this, Yeddyurappa won the seat by a of more than 45,000 votes. He also led the BJP to a historic victory in the state and Karnataka became the gateway for the BJP in south India. He took the oath of office as Chief Minister on 30th May 2008.^[10]

His Government undertook many developmental works and also initiated various welfare schemes. The Global Investors Meet in 2010 brought in commitments for investment of Rs. 5 Lakh Crore. He also, gave much preferance to Kannada culture and language and also conducted a successful "Vishwa Kannada Sammelana" in 2011. Yeddyurappa gave a huge boost to friendly ties with neighbouring states when he invited Tamil Nadu Chief minister Karunanidhi for unveiling the statue of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in Bangalore followed by the unveiling of the statue of Kannada poet Sarvajna in Chennai. In December 2008, Yeddyurappa was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by Saginaw Valley State University, USA.^[11][12][13]

Although he was a popular leader, he had to face numerous revolts from with his party over his style of functioning^{[citation needed]}. He was also criticised for generously giving away huge sums of public money to religious institutions and temples, which however earned for him the support of the seers and the devout.

In November 2010, Allegations surfaced against Yeddyurappa that he had used his position as Chief Minister to favour his sons in the allotment of prime land in Bangalore.^[14] In response, on 5 February 2011, Yeddyurappa publicly declared his assets, and then challenged the opposition parties to find any "black money".^[15] However, the Karnataka Lokayukta ^[16] investigating the illegal mining case submitted its report ^[17] indicting Yeddyurappa for illegally profiteering from land deals in Bangalore and Shimoga,^[18] and also in connection with the illegal iron ore export scam in Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka.^[19] Following much pressure from the BJP central leadership,^[20] he announced his decision to quit.^[21] Finally, He resigned on 31st July 2011.^[22]

Exonerated involvement in mining scam[link]

Allegations were made against him that he had used his official position to favour his sons in the allotment of land in Bangalore. One acre of land at Rachenahalli in Bangalore was purchased by his family for Rs 40 lakh (approx US$ 95,000) and was re-sold to a mining company for Rs. 20 crore ($ 4.8 million), resulting a significant profit. ^{[23][24][25][26][27][28] [29]} To refute the charges, Yeddyurappa declared his assets estimated at Rs. 11 crore ^[30] – including 2.5 kg of gold and 76 kg of silver – to show that neither he nor his family members were involved in any financial irregularities. His assets were declared to be Rs. 1.82 crore in 2008, indicating a 500 % increase in two years. ^[30][31]

Political drama continued in the State after he challenged his rival H.D.Kumaraswamy to swear in front of Lord Manjunatha at Dharmasthala over the graft issue when Kumaraswamy claimed that the Chief minister had tried to buy peace with him. Although Kumaraswamy accepted the challenge, the whole Dharmasthala show down turned out to be a flop show^{[32][33][34][35]} after Yeddyurappa backed of following the advice of his party national president, Nitin Gadkari, who was concerned with the mixing of temples with politics. ^[36]

In January 2011, two lawyers of the Karnataka High Court Sirajin Basha and K N Balraj approached the Governor seeking his permission to prosecute Chief minister Yeddyurappa and the Governor H.R. Bhardwaj sanctioned their request. ^[37]

The Lokayukta report submitted on 27 July 2011 stated that there is sufficient evidence to indict Yeddyurappa and recommended his prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act over various land deals.^[38] In addition, it also stated that there is evidence to prove that he had granted illegal mining licenses to mining companies and benefited through them. ^[39]

The Lokayuta Report caused demands from within his party for his resignation, which he initially resisted.^[20][40] However, Following the submission of the Lokayukta report, he resigned on 31st July 2011. ^[41]

After accepting the Lokayukta report, Governor Bhardwaj again approved the prosecution of Yeddyurappa ^[42] and the Karnataka High Court also allowed the police to question him. ^[43][44]

Yeddyurappa was arrested^[45] on the evening of 15th Oct 2011, hours after an arrest warrant in two cases of corruption for illegally denotifying land in and around Bangalore.^[46][47] Later, He was granted bail on 8th November 2011 after spending 23 days in jail.^[48]

However in March 2012,the High Court of Karnataka quashed the FIR registered against him regarding the Mining scam. A division bench comprising Justices Bhakstavatsala and Govindaraju passed the order stating that "Suspicion cannot be a ground to tarnish the image and reputation of a person who is holding a Constitutional post. Even during the course of argument, a specific question was put to Lokayukta counsel to produce any material to connect the petitioner for alleged offences, but he was mum and did not indicate any favours shown by Yeddyurappa as the chief minister to any mining company".^[49] In May 2012, the Supreme Court, temporarily stayed the case on this matter and ordered an official CBI enquiry, to be completed within three months.^[50]

See also[link]

• List of Chief Ministers of Karnataka
• List of politicians in India charged with corruption

References[link]

External links[link]

• Yeddyurappa's personal Website

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Ananth Kumar, (born 22 July 1959) is a member of the 15th Lok Sabha. ^[1] He represents the Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency of Karnataka^[1] and is an influential leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka.^[1]

Early life[link]

Ananth Kumar was born on 22 July 1959 in Bangalore, Karnataka to Sri.H.N. Narayan Sastry and Smt.Girija.^[2] He hails from a traditional Telugu speaking Brahmin family of the Mulukanadu subcaste.^[3] He graduated in the faculty of Arts (B.A) from K.S.Arts College at Hubli which is affiliated to the Karnatak University and later, completed his bachelors in law (L.L.B) from J.S.S. Law College affiliated to the Mysore University. He married Smt.Tejaswini and the couple have 2 daughters - Aishwarya, who is an accomplished law student currently pursuing law in Pune and Vijeta.

Public Life[link]

Having been influenced by the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh from his childhood, he naturally chose Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students wing of the Sangh Parivar to begin his public life. As an important office bearer of the ABVP, he became one of the most popular and influential Student's union leader in Karnataka. During the Emergency, he was imprisoned along with thousands of other student activists. Very early in his life, he was elected as the State Secretary of the ABVP and later, became its National Secretary in 1985.

Later, He moved from the ABVP and joined its political counterpart the Bharatiya Janata Party. His first important role in politics was when he was nominated as the State President of BJP Yuva Morcha. He then, increased his activity in the national politics and was soon made the National Secretary of the party in 1996. He was one of the most important leaders of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in Karnataka.

He rose to prominence when he was elected from the Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996. In 1998 he was re elected with a higher margin and was inducted into the Union Cabinet headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Minister for Civil Aviation. In 1999, he was re elected to a 3rd Consecutive term and became one of the most important Cabinet ministers in the NDA government. He handled various ministries like Tourism, Sports & Youth Affairs, Culture, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation. He did a commendable job as Cabinet minister and was praised for his achievements in the field of Urban development.

He became the President of the Karnataka state unit of BJP in 2003 and was widely credited with the good performance of the BJP in the 2004 general elections in Karnataka. In that elections, the BJP not only won a large number of Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka but also emerged as the single largest party in the State assembly. In 2004, he was appointed as the National General Secretary of the BJP and has held that post ever since. He is recognised as a good organiser and has handled various assignments given to him with a good track record.

A good orator, He played a major role in transforming the BJP from a party on the fringes to become the ruling party in the state. He is often referred to as one of the two most important leaders and pillars of the BJP in Karnataka, the other being B.S. Yeddyurappa.

Controversies[link]

In August 2005, the Centre for Public Interest Litigation had alleged that as the Urban Development Minister, Ananth Kumar misused the funds for paying his mobile bills and other private affairs.^[4][5] The actions of Mr. Anantha Kumar had caused considerable loss to the public exchequer. The petitioner Prashant Bhushan submitted that he wanted to bring to the notice of the Court, the mala fide and arbitrary use of power and sanctioning of loans by HUDCO to the tune of Rs. 14,500 crores and release of Rs. 8,500 crores subscription in privately placed debentures of Rs. 1,250 crores and writing off of Rs. 550 crores in 2002-2003 resulting in grave loss to the exchequer.^[6]

Positions held[link]

• Secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarathi Parishad (A.B.V.P.), Karnataka : 1982-85^[7]
• National Secretary, A.B.V.P. : 1985-87^[7]
• Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.), Karnataka : 1987-88^[7]
• General Secretary, B.J.P., Karnataka : 1988-95^[7]
• National Secretary, B.J.P. : 1995 -98^[7]
• Elected to the 11th Lok Sabha (1st term): 1996^[7]
• Member of the Governing Council Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 1996–97^[7]
• Member of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Ministry of Industry : 1996-97^[7]
• Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, Ministry of Railways : 1996-97^[7]
• Elected to the 12th Lok Sabha (2nd term) : 1998^[7]
• Union Cabinet Minister, Civil Aviation : March 1998- October 1999^[7]
• Additional charge, Ministry of Tourism : January 1999 -October 1999^[7]
• Elected to the 13th Lok Sabha (3rd term) : 1999^[7]
• Union Cabinet Minister, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports : October 1999- 2 February 2000^[7]
• Union Cabinet Minister, Tourism and Culture : February 2000 -September 2001^[7]
• Union Cabinet Minister, Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation with additional charge of Rural Development : September 2001- July 2003^[1]
• President, Bharatiya Janata Party, Karnataka : 2003-2004^[1]
• Elected to the 14th Lok Sabha (4th term) : 2004^[1]
• Chairman, Committee on Coal & Steel : August 2004^[1]
• Member of the Parliamentary General Purposes Committee : 2004^[1]
• National General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party : Since 2004^[1]
• Chairman, Parliamentary standing committee on Finance: 2007^[1]
• Member, Business advisory committee: 2007^[1]
• Elected to the 15th Lok Sabha (5th term) : 2009^[1]
• Chairman, Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers(31 Aug 2009-5 May 2010)^[1]
• Member, Committee of Privileges(23 Sept 2009)^[1]
• Member, Rules CommitteeChairman, Committee on External Affairs( 7 May 2010)^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Members of Fourteenth Lok Sabha - Parliament of India website
• Official website of Ananth Kumar
• Election campaign site of Ananth Kumar
• Hudco Scam covered by The Hindu

Jagadish Shettar in a function.

Jagadish Shivappa Shettar (Kannada:ಜಗದೀಶ್ ಶಿವಪ್ಪ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ್) (Born 17 December 1955) is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka, India. Currently, he is serving as the Minister of Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation in the Government of Karnataka.^[1] Earlier, he was the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly during 2008-2009.^[2]

Early life[link]

Shettar was born on 17th December 1955 in Kerur village of Badami Taluk in Bagalkot district, Karnataka. His parents were Sri. S.S.Shettar and Smt. Basavanemma. His father S S Shettar, a senior activist of the Jana Sangh, was elected five times to the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation and became the first Jana Sangh Mayor of Hubli-Dharwad. His uncle Sadashiv Shettar was the first Jana Sangh leader in the South to get elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Hubli City in 1967. Shettar holds BCom and LLB degrees and was a practicing lawyer for 20 years at the Hubli Bar. He married Smt. Shilpa and the couple have 2 sons - Prashant and Sankalp.

Political Career[link]

Shettar began his public life with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and participated actively in all its activities before becoming an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

In 1990, he became the President of Hubli Rural Unit of the BJP and in 1994, the Dharwad District Unit President of the party. He was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1994 and has been reelected as Member of the Legislative Assembly from Hubli rural constituency for four successive terms. In 1996, he became the BJP State Secretary and in 1999, he was chosen as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly following the defeat of the BJP in the state elections. Shettar was the Leader of Opposition when S.M. Krishna was the Chief minister and effectively discharged his duties.

In 2005, he was appointed as the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Later, he went on to become the Revenue Minister in the JD(S)-BJP coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy in 2006. In 2008, following the BJP victory in Karnataka assembly elections, Shettar was elected as the Speaker of the Karnataka legislative assembly. However, he resigned from this post in 2009 and was inducted in to the cabinet of B.S. Yeddyurappa as minister for Rural development and Panchayat Raj.^[3] In 2011, following the resignation of B.S. Yeddyurappa, Shettar emerged as a major contender to the post of Chief Minister. However, he was defeated by D.V. Sadananda Gowda in the election to select the Leader of the BJP Legislature party.

As one of the most influential leaders of north Karnataka region, he has been associated with many reforms including the Khalasa Banduri project, construction of suvarna vidhana soudha in Belgaum, establishment of South western railways headquarters to Hubli Dharwad etc.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website of Jagadish Shettar

Narendra Modi નરેન્દ્ર મોદી
Chief Minister of Gujarat
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 October 2001
Governor	Dr. Kamla Beniwal
Preceded by	Keshubhai Patel
Constituency	Maninagar
Personal details
Born	(1950-09-17) 17 September 1950 (age 61) Vadnagar, Gujarat, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Residence	Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Alma mater	Gujarat University[1]
Religion	Hinduism
Website	Narendra Modi
As of 9 March, 2009 Source: Government of Gujarat

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950^[1]) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben.^[2] He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat.^[3] In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously.^[4] He was elected again for a third term^[5] on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".^[6][7]

Personal life[link]

Modi was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what was then Bombay State, India.^[8] During the Indo-Pak war in the mid sixties, even as a young boy, he volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at railway stations.^[9] As a young man, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organisation and was involved in the anti-corruption Nav Nirmāṇ ("Reconstruction") Movement. After working as a full time organiser for the organisation, he was later nominated as its representative in the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[10] As a teenager Modi used to run a tea stall with his brother.^[11] Modi completed his schooling in Vadnagar. He earned a masters degree in political science from Gujarat University.^[12]

Early activism and politics[link]

Modi was a pracharak (campaigner) in the RSS during his university years.^[12][13] He took up the challenging task of energising the party cadres in right earnest. In partnership with Shankersinh Vaghela, Modi set about creating a strong cadre base in Gujarat. In the initial period, Vaghela was seen as a mass leader, while Modi was recognised as a master strategist.

The party started gaining political mileage and formed a coalition government at the centre in April 1990. This partnership fell apart within a few months, but the BJP came to power with a two-thirds majority on its own in Gujarat in 1995. During this period, Modi was entrusted with the responsibility of organising two crucial national events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a political rally through India on a converted Toyota van) of L.K. Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of India) to Kashmir in the North. After the exit of Shankarsingh Vaghela from the BJP, Keshubhai Patel was made Chief Minister while Narendra Modi was sent to New Delhi as a General Secretary of the Party.

In 1995, Modi was appointed the National Secretary of the party and given the charge of five major states in India. In 1998, he was promoted as the General Secretary (Organization), a post he held until October 2001. In 2001, Narendra Modi was chosen by the party to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat after the removal of chief minister Keshubhai Patel.

Tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat[link]

Personality[link]

Modi is known for leading a frugal lifestyle. He has a personal staff of just three. He is known to be a workaholic Chief Minister and an introvert.^[14] He ordered the demolition of many Hindu temples that were built without proper government sanction which earned him the ire of VHP^[11] He is a crowd puller as a speaker. Modi has also tried to turn his image from an Hindu Nationalist politician to an image of able administrator. He wears business suits and is improving his command over the English language.^[15]

Awards and recognitions[link]

Modi was awarded Gujarat Ratna by Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on celebration of centenary year.^[16]

Development of Gujarat[link]

As a Chief Minister, Modi started various 'yojanas' or plans. This includes:

• Panchamrut Yojana,^[17][18][19] a five-pronged strategy for an integrated development of the state,
• Sujalam Sufalam, a scheme to create a grid of water resources in Gujarat in an innovative step towards water conservation and its appropriate utilisation.
• Krishi Mahotsav – agricultural research labs for the land
• Chiranjeevi Yojana – To reduce infant mortality rate
• Matru Vandana – Providing preventive and curative services under the Reproductive and Child Health Programme
• Beti Bachao – Campaign against female infanticide to improve sex ratio
• Jyotigram Yojana – Provide electricity to every village
• Karmayogi Abhiyan – To educate and train government employees
• Kanya Kelavani Yojana – To encourage female literacy and education
• Balbhog Yojana – Midday meal scheme for students to encourage school attendance from poor backgrounds.^[20]

Vibrant Gujarat[link]

Vibrant Gujarat is a biennial Global Investors' Summit held by the Government of Gujarat in Gujarat, India. The event is aimed at bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers; the summit is advertised as a platform to understand and explore business opportunities in the State of Gujarat. the event has been held continuously since 2003.

Gujarat earthquake[link]

The biggest challenge which he had to face when he took over as the Chief Minister, was the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the massive Gujarat Earthquake of January 2001.

Gujarat violence[link]

On 27 February 2002, a train was burned by a Muslim mob in the town of Godhra leading to 59 deaths, most of them Hindu pilgrims and activists returning from the holy city of Ayodhya.^[21] Riots broke out in the state after it was suspected to be caused by Muslims, leading to 1180 deaths, many of them Muslims. Modi administration was accused of inaction over the riots and for encouraging them.^[15] As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue. Even Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), allies of the BJP, asked for Modi's resignation.^[22][23] Modi submitted his resignation to the Governor and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.^[24][25] In the following state re-elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.

In April 2009, the Supreme Court of India appointed a special team of investigators to look into the role Modi had played in the alleged anti-Muslim conspiracy.^[15] The team was appointed in response to the complaint of zakia Jafri, the widow of ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was murdered in the riots.^[26] In December 2010, a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its report to the Supreme Court seeking answers pertaining to the Ehsan Jafri case, submitted that they had found no evidence against Narendra Modi.^[27]

However in February 2011, the Times of India reported that a confidential report from the SIT indicted Modi on several counts of alleged complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002.^[28] Most other sources have noted that the SIT report does not indict Modi for the riots due to lack of evidence.^[29][30] The Indian Express too said the report did not find any Modi involvement in the violence, though it did accuse him of watering down the seriousness of the situation.^[31] According to the Hindu, the report not only found that Modi tried to water down the seriousness of the situation, but Modi also implicitly justified the killings of Muslims, and failed to condemn the attacks on them.^[32] The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded an investigation into the publication of the report, claiming the leak was politically motivated.^[33]

The apex court refused to pass any order on the case and referred it to the Ahmedabad magistrate for a decision.^[34] In April 2012, a Special Investigation Team found absolved Modi of any involvement in the Gulberg massacre, arguably the worst episode of the riots.^[35]. On 7 May 2012, a Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran observed that Modi can be prosecuted under sections 153 A (1) (a) & (b), 153 B (1), 166 and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity among different groups during the 2002 Gujarat riots.^[36]. However the amicus report has been criticised by the Special Investigation Team for relying heavily on the testimony of a perjurer^[37].

2007 elections[link]

Modi made a speech at Mangrol in which he justified the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, During the election campaign In response to Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of death",^[38] and referred to Sohrabuddin's killing. For this speech the Election Commission of India, a constitutional body governing election proceedings in India, cautioned Modi as it considered it as indulging in an activity which may aggravate existing differences between different communities.^[39] Modi won the election and continued his post as the Chief Minister Of Gujarat, he won with majority of votes of 122 seats out of 182 total assembly seats.^[40]

Conflicts with Governor Kamla Beniwal[link]

On 25 August 2011 Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal appointed Justice R A Mehta to the post of Lokyukta of Gujarat, a critical anti-corruption post that had been lying vacant since 2003. Justice R A Mehta was recommended for the post by the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in June. Since Governor Beniwal had made this decision without consulting and getting the approval of the chief minister and his council of ministers, the action angered Narendra Modi and his BJP party.^[41]

This marked the beginning of a strained relationship between Modi and the Governor. On 25 September 2011, Narendra Modi accused the Governor of running a parallel government in the state supported by the Congress. He demanded that she be recalled back.^[42] He also later accused her of delaying the progress of bills by not passing them.

The decision of the governor in the appointment of R A Mehta was challenged in the high court by the Modi government. The two member high court bench gave a split verdict on 10 October 2011. Later, a third member upheld the governor's decision in January 2012.^[43]

Foreign visits[link]

As the Chief Minister of the Gujarat State, to attract foreign investment in the state, Narendra Modi has made visits to foreign countries, including China and Singapore.

Narendra Modi made his first China visit in 2007 to invite investors Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit,^[44] and second visit in November 2011. One month after the second visit to China, the Chinese Government released 13 Diamond traders from India jailed by the Shenzhen Customs, which the Chief Minister described as the consequece of his diplomatic efforts and statesmanship.^[45]

In 2005 Narendra Modi was denied of diplomatic visa to the United States, in addition to this visa denial, he was also revoked from his already granted B-1/B-2 visa.^[46]

Sadbhavna Mission[link]

In the late 2011-early 2012 Narandra Modi practised a series of fasts in the name of Sadbhavna Mission. The mission started on 17 September 2011 in Ahmedabad with 3 day fast with a view to strengthen the atmosphere of peace, unity and harmony in the state. He observed total 36 fasts in 26 districts, 8 cities including Ahmedabad.^[47]

Views and opinions[link]

Modi's position on terrorism[link]

On 18 July 2006 Modi delivered a speech criticising Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislations" like the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the Centre to empower states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the blasts in Mumbai.^[48] Quoting Modi:

Narendra Modi has frequently commented that if the BJP came to power at the Centre, they will honour the 2004 Supreme Court judgement to hang Afzal Guru.^[49] Afzal was convicted of terrorism in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack in 2004 by the Supreme Court of India and is in Tihar Jail.^[50]

On account of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, on Thursday 27 November, Narendra Modi held a meeting to discuss waterfront security along the coastline.^[51] The meeting decided to ask the Central government to urgently sanction the following:

• Increase the number of police stations along the coast to 50 (from 10)
• Increase the number of police to 1500 from 250
• 30 modern high-speed surveillance boats.

The 30 coastal boats, under construction at Goa's shipbuilding yard, will have the capacity to run at the speed of 25 nautical miles per hour. These are being manufactured under the Centre's Rs 58-crore grant for coastal security.^[51]

Views on criticism of Modi's governance[link]

In 2003, when Narendra Modi was asked about the conflict of his dreams for Gujarat's future with international criticism of his past activities, Modi said,^[52]

Modi's decision to link Gujarat's violence with the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US drew criticism from some observers, who contrasted it with the then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's unpleasant apology for Gujarat in London a year ago.^[52] Modi responded to this criticism by The Guardian,^[52]

See also[link]

• Chief Minister
• Gujarat
• Bhartiya Janata Party

References[link]