ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE

The likes of Mayawatis and Laloo Prasad Yadavs should take a leaf or two from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s style of governance instead of accepting garlands of currency notes worth millions of rupees on their birthdays and filling up their individual coffers with public money.

In March, the public auctioning of gift articles from the collection of Modi’s treasure house generated more than $10 million in Vadodara, Gujarat. The proceedings of public auction would be spent on girls’ education in the state.

As many as 1,173 gift articles from Modi’s treasure house were auctioned during the exhibition cum auction held at Vivekananda Art gallery there which included 87 silver articles, 109 shields mementos and 185 art pieces from the deposits of gifts and momentos awarded to him as a mark of respect and affection by citizens in various public functions held across the state over the years. People from all walks of life, ranging from ordinary citizens to various associations and organizations, took part in the auction conducted by the district administration.

Reportedly his office also collected millions in the past five years from his appearance as special guest at public functions. Apparently he charged a fee when various corporates and associations invited him to their functions. A crowd-puller that he is, Modi managed to create a fund, a large chunk of which has been diverted to Kanya Kelavni Nidhi, created for educating the girl child in Gujarat. A lot of scholarships to bright girl students and bonds worth Rs 1,000 each to help support the education of millions of girls have come out of this fund.

According to his aides, a part of the collections also goes to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, which saw inflow to the tune of $1000 M ever since Modi took over the reins.

The donation is voluntary and Modi has presided over hundreds of such events since starting the practice in 2006. His dedication towards promoting education in the society is evident from the fact that he launched a program called ‘Vanche Gujarat’ (Read Gujarat) as a part of the state’s Golden Jubilee celebration this year.

Outlining the essence of ‘Vanche Gujarat’ mission, Chief Minister said reading does not just provide knowledge it inspires the intellectuality to evoke and lead to growth.

Motivating people to include a library in their house, he said that there should not be a house without books. He also suggested giving a book instead of flower on greeting occasions and that such small experiments can make a big difference. For a child ‘reading’ is something, which he does to pass the exam of school. “We should infuse the environment with such a craze for reading that the child starts taking ‘reading’ as a tool to pass the exam of life,” he said.

It is sheer hypocrisy that a Chief Minister of his stature was called to answer questions by the Special Investigation Team while in the past a number of politicians have faced allegations of involvement in riots.