Speech of Shri LK Advani Hon'ble Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha at the inaugural of the Global Investors' Summit 2005 :

At the outset, I add my own 'Suswagatam' to the hearty welcome extended by previous speakers to all the delegates, especially our guests from abroad.

Friends, we are meeting here in the tragic aftermath of the Tsunami disaster, the worst ever natural calamity in human history. Never in the past have people from so many countries perished in such large numbers in a single calamity. I congratulate the government of Gujarat for its prompt and large-hearted response to the people in affected states.

Disaster management: Learning from Gujarat

But it is not only the financial and material contribution that the government of Gujarat made to the national effort that is important. Of much greater importance, in my view, is the praiseworthy example that Gujarat has set in disaster management. This is the first state that set up a disaster management authority with statutory powers. The work of the GSDMA in rehabilitation and reconstruction in Kutch and elsewhere in the state has been praised even by international agencies.

I wish the Central Government was as generous in publicly recognizing the work of the Gujarat government in disaster management. Nevertheless, I am gratified that, at the all-party meeting held on Sunday, the Prime Minister accepted our demand for setting up a National Disaster Management Authority on the lines of GSDMA.

As we show our sympathy and solidarity with those affected in the Tsunami disaster, it is also appropriate that we salute the resilience of the people of Gujarat. They have never allowed any adversity to daunt them.

Consider the number of natural calamities that affected Gujarat in the past few years. Cyclone, earthquake, drought … all in quick succession. Gujarat has weathered all these adversities and emerged more dynamic than before.

Today's conference, and the fabulous response it has received, is a tribute to the Gujarat that is dynamic, that is vibrant, one that shows the path to other states.

All of us must congratulate Narendrabhai for organizing this excellent conference - for the second time in a row. It seems that the Global Investors' Conference in Gujarat has become as much of an annual feature as the Pravasi Bharatiya Conference, which it closely follows. The former has almost become a companion conference of the latter. As soon as the Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan is over - whether it is held in Delhi, Mumbai and in some other city in the coming years -- almost all the Gujarati and many non-Gujarati participants in that sammelan invariably make their way to Ahmedabad to participate in this conference.

NRGs: Doing India and Gujarat proud

As a matter of fact, Narendrabhai should be credited with popularizing a unique new term - NRGs, meaning Non-Resident Gujaratis -- which has become a companion term of NRIs, or Non-Resident Indians. There are of course NRIs from Mahrashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and other states. But I am yet to come across terms like NRMs, NRKs, NRAPs, NRPs etc. In contrast, the term NRG seems to have caught on.

What is so special about Gujaratis and Non-Resident Gujaratis? Several qualities can be cited. One is of course their legendary entrepreneurship. Their principle of business is simple: A Gujarati entrepreneur knows that one can get anything, if one is willing to help others get what they want.

He also follows another success-guaranteeing business principle: One can achieve anything, if one is willing to go farther than others to follow an opportunity, even if it means going to the other end of the planet. This explains why Gujaratis account for 20 % of all Indians in North-America, although they account for only 5% of all Indians in India. They are also among the wealthiest members of the Indian Diaspora in any part of the world.

For all their wealth and success, Non-Resident Gujaratis deserve our praise for zealously maintaining their cultural-social-spiritual links with Gujarat and with India. It is not surprising that some of the magnificent Hindu temples built outside India are by the Swaminarayan Sanstha. Now a glorious Swaminarayan temple is also coming up in Delhi, adding a new Hindu monument to the architectural treasure of the national capital.

I urge other wealthy Indians to emulate wealthy Gujaratis, who not only invest in business opportunities but also contribute generously to philanthropic and spiritual projects.

The third quality that accounts for the success of Gujarati businessmen and professionals is their knowledge and belief that the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. 

Whether you are in New Jersey or Navsari,
whether you are in Houston or Valsad,
whether you are in Manchester or Ahmedabad,
whether you are in Antwerp or Surat, or
whether you are in Osaka or Rajkot,

 And now we have a government in Gujarat that does not just promise an employment guarantee act but has actually helped produce the highest number of employment and self-employment opportunities in the country. This is not a claim made by the Gujarat chief minister. Rather, it is a statement made in Parliament recently by a minister in the UPA government.

NDA Government's achievements vindicated

Friends, the larger national context in which this year's Global Investors' Conference in Gujarat is taking place presents two features. One shows discontinuity on the political front and the other shows a certain continuity on the economic front. At the time of a similar conference last year, the NDA government was at the Centre headed by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Now there is a UPA government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh.

However, as far as the economic and business landscape is concerned, India continues to be an attractive destination for investment. Stock market is humming with optimism and new opportunities. India is doing well in many sectors of industry, especially in manufacturing. India's IT revolution continues to be a major global story.

At the very least, this shows that hardly any of our political opponents can say that the Vajpayee government had left the economy in a bad shape, or that all the positive elements in today's business and economic climate are the creation of the past seven months. The ambitious infrastructure projects that we launched, and the policies that we unveiled for attracting private investment, are there for all to see -- in highway construction, rural roads construction, telecom, port development, energy sector, etc.

Having said this, I'll quickly add that, as a constructive and responsible opposition party, we shall not be found wanting in making our contribution to India's economic and investment agenda. Even before the onset of economic reforms in the early 1990s, we had steadfastly opposed the license-permit-quota raj that had so badly stifled India's economic growth. During six years of our government, we boldly pushed forward the agenda of economic reforms. That we are in the opposition now makes no difference to our support for such economic reforms as will accelerate growth, create employment opportunities, alleviate poverty and promote all-round development. To us, what counts first and foremost is the good of the nation. Nation First, Party Next - that's always been our motto.

Gujarat: Engine of India's progress

Distinguished delegates, all of you know very well that in India the focus of economic growth, especially the key aspect of implementation, has shifted from the Centre to the states. This is where Gujarat has distinguished itself from most other states. 

Gujarat today represents the very best of India, in terms of the quality of infrastructure, global outlook of its business community, investor-friendly policies, and speed of decision making in government. It is widely reckoned as the Growth Engine of India. More than 21% of Indian exports originate from this state alone.

Similar is the story of Gujarat's contribution in industrial production, tax revenues, market capitalization and so on in the national context. Gujarat has acquired a commanding position in the production of chemicals and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering and plastic goods, salt, ceramics and diamond processing. Gujarat is now geared for establishment of 5 new SEZs and functional Industrial Parks at various locations. Industrial relations in Gujarat have always been the best in India, and man-days lost in Gujarat are the least in India.

The people and the government of Gujarat deserve our applause for all this. However, this conference is also an occasion for both the business community and the government of Gujarat to see where they must direct their attention - both immediate and long-term. Here I have two specific suggestions.

Firstly, Gujarat must intensify its ongoing efforts to enrich its human capital in the fields of science, technology, management, agriculture and all the new areas of the knowledge economy. The infrastructure of education and training here must be expanded and strengthened at all levels. Gujarat deserves far many more world-class institutions in higher and professional education, as well as in R&D, than it has today. I would urge Non-Resident Gujaratis to step up their involvement in this vital field. Let there be:

Education with Excellence
Management with Modern work culture
Technology with Tradition
Agriculture with Advanced techniques
Strength with Sensitivity

My second suggestion relates to the critical importance of water management. Gujarat has many resources in abundance, but the one resource that is in short supply - and will continue to remain in short supply in the future too -- is water. All of us are happy that the state is on the verge of completing the multi-purpose Sardar Sarovar Narmada Project. The waters of Narmada have already started flowing all over Gujarat. This project will change the agricultural canvas of the state completely, placing Gujarat on the thresholds of a second green revolution. Gujarat is on the verge of a modern-day agricultural metamorphosis.

What is needed, however, is a simultaneous campaign for efficient water management - in industry, agriculture, households. The people of Gujarat should mentally re-orient themselves into believing that, as far as water is concerned, Gujarat is akin to Israel. They should emulate Israelis in technology, management, and public awareness in the use of water. 

PM's ill-advised announcement on dual citizenship

Friends, before I conclude, I would like to revert to a point, I mentioned earlier in my speech. It is about this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan in Mumbai. It is not out of place here to make a few remarks on this subject, since many of you have participated in it as delegates.

While inaugurating the Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan in Mumbai, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announced that Dual Citizenship would be granted to all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), with 26th January, 1950 as the cut-off date. In doing so, the Prime Minister said, "I am aware that this was promised in the previous two editions of this event and I regret that little has happened to implement this declaration of intent."

I am one of those, who genuinely believe that Dr. Manmohan Singh is a good man. I have said so publicly, even in election rallies. However, I must say that I was both baffled and deeply disappointed that the Prime Minister should have surrendered himself to the temptation of a politically motivated denigration of the NDA government.

Let me put the record straight, which gives the lie to the claim that "little has happened to implement" the NDA government's promise about dual citizenship. On December 23, 2003, our government got the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003, passed in Parliament. This legislation confers the right of dual citizenship to PIOs who are citizens of 16 countries - namely, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Cyprus, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and the USA.

The criterion of identifying these 16 countries was that their local laws allowed dual citizenships. Our government had also made it clear that more countries would be added to this list based on two guiding factors - enablement by the local legal system and considerations of India's national security.

It is this second factor, namely our national security considerations which compels me to make another, and more serious criticism of the Prime Minister's speech in Mumbai. In this speech, the Prime Minister said, "The Government has received several representations against the original approach of notifying some selected countries for this facility.…I do hope that a day will come, when every single overseas citizen who wishes to secure Indian citizenship will actually be able to do so. I pledge to you that I will work in that direction." 

Coming from the Prime Minister this pledge is most unfortunate.