"“Any Gujarati, in any corner of the world, if they talk of Gujarat it is with the head held high. This is what Gujarat has achieved.” Shri Modi"
"“Relation with our roots must be strengthened as much as possible” Shri Modi"
"“It is my dream to turn Gandhinagar into a Solar City.” Shri Modi"

On April 9th 2013, Shri Modi addressed a gathering of the Kolkata Gujarati Samaj. He also visited the Kolkata Gujarati Samaj’s new building in Kolkata.

Below are excerpts from Shri Modi’s speech:

Any Gujarati, in any corner of the world, if they talk of Gujarat it is with the head held high. This is what Gujarat has achieved.

“Today, any Gujarati is questioned about the Gujarat development model, so today; the people of Gujarat are well-equipped with knowledge about Gujarat’s growth.”

“There was a time Kutch had negative growth. People went elsewhere, now it is reverse. People are returning to Gujarat.”

“Gujarat has scaled new heights of development. Due to this, in the entire nation Gujarat is known as a model of development.”

“In a place more commonly known for dust, fruits are being exported. This transformation does not happen overnight. This happened because we made people partners in development.”

“12-15 years ago if you met someone and said you are from Gujarat, the expression looked like food without salt. Today if you say you are from Gujarat do you notice the difference?”

“Any Gujarati, in any corner of the world, if they talk of Gujarat it is with the head held high. This is what Gujarat has achieved.”

Relation with our roots must be strengthened as much as possible

“I say, once a year, you must send your children for Gujarat Darshan. They see villages, Mohallas, relatives. We may have been out for years but we must link our new generations with Gujarat. Can it not happen from your schools, one tour comes to Gujarat? This is because we have to build a link with Gujarat.”

“Let us use social media & through Facebook, Twitter connect with people from Gujarat. If you are enthusiastic then I am ready! I have experienced power of social media.”

“I am one of the most active people on social media. I connect with lakhs of people.”

“Relation with our roots must be strengthened as much as possible.”

“We should have a good Gujarati library. Children can know who our writers are. Nowadays there is e-library where you can get over 20 lac books.”

“Gujarat Jova Jevu Che, Gujarat Java Jevu Che.”

“Gujarat is marching ahead with new dreams. Earlier we were not known for tourism. Gujaratis went all over but no one came to Gujarat!”

“Gujarat Jova Jevu Che, Gujarat Java Jevu Che.” (Gujarat is worth seeing, Gujarat is worth visiting)

“Gujarat's tourist growth is double of that of India. I tell you, come spend a few days in Gujarat.”

“It is my dream to turn Gandhinagar into a Solar City.”

“Our nation has energy crisis. In Gujarat we have lot of heat and sun rays. The same rays are now dear for us.”

Gujarat has earned praised for advances in solar energy. We were first state with solar policy:

“We have plans to produce 3000 MW solar energy. This will be a global record. It is also environment friendly. Gujarat has the largest canal network in the world. We have installed Canal top Solar panels. This has increased water retention and has generated solar power.”

“It is my dream to turn Gandhinagar into a Solar City. We got a Rooftop Policy to do so.”

A New Gujarat within Gujarat

“We have 1600 km coastline. In the past people thought what is this, only salty water and people left villages, went where place.”

“In coming days a new Gujarat within Gujarat will develop on the coast of Gujarat.”

“Dholera Special Investment Region will be six times the size of Shanghai.”

“We also plan to build GIFT, a city dedicated for Financial Technology.”

Gujarat’s Initiatives and Successes

“When people discuss infrastructure, they discuss roads. In Gujarat we have the longest network of water pipelines. Pipes are big enough for you to travel in them in a car.”

“The Central Government is fighting over 6 and 9 cylinders. We have a gas grid pipeline of 2200 Km.”

“Since 2009, every village in Gujarat has broadband connectivity.”

“In 2001, there were 11 universities in Gujarat, today there are 42 universities. We have specialized universities like GNLU, Petroleum University, Raksha Shakti University. Many youth will benefit from these universities.”

“Gujarat has 2.5 lakh Sakhi Mandals in the state. Women are engaged in economic activities worth 1700 Cr through Sakhi Mandals, we wish to increase this to 5000 Cr.”

“Gujarat has many policies to empower women. We have encouraged women to buy property on their name through incentives.”