All that Narendra Modi spent to get Ratan Tata to relocate his dream Nano project to Gujarat was 50 paise — which was the cost of an SMS then. Modi's message read Suswagatam.
Later, Tata had remarked it would have been foolish for investors to overlook the immense investment potential Gujarat provided. Five years ago, all of us — the ministers in Karnataka's first BJP government — had the opportunity of listening to and interacting with Modi at a day-long event split into two sessions on the broad topics of governance and integrity.
Since we had mostly sat in the opposition until then, most of us had little exposure to the life on the other side of the fence. At Karnataka government's special invitation, Modi — Gujarat chief minister at that time — flew down to Bangalore, and addressed us in Suttur, near Mysore. He shared some very useful tips on aspects of governance.
Being Professional
He said all of us should go well prepared to official meetings, and not cancel any of them. If one had to cancel, for reasons beyond one's control, it could happen only with sufficient prior notice. His logic was simple: a lot of preparations go into organizing a meeting or an event. Cancelling would mean all of that effort going waste.
In hindsight, I realize how true is what today's prime minister had said then. In the election season this year, he addressed a total of 437 rallies; not one of them was cancelled or postponed. It is no child's play for someone to start off from Ahmedabad, address four to five election rallies a day across the country, and return home in the evening. That shows the man's infinite energy.
At the "saha chintan shibir", as the Suttur session was called, Modi told us we must value our as well as others' time, and manage it well. He disapproves of ministers attending to mobile calls during official meetings — something he would never like to do. Only twice did he veer off this rule — when he had to take calls from LK Advani and the then prime minister, Manmohan Singh.
As Gujarat CM, Modi was known for scrupulously adhering to project deadlines. He shared those secrets: as ministers, he said, we must demonstrate the same kind of enthusiasm through a project's execution that we show at the time of launching it.
People should see a project as their own, not that of a minister. Modi gave us the example of how thousands of people poured in when his government opened a small stretch of road — Gaurav Path — in Ahmedabad in February 2009 because people saw it as their own.
In short, he told us don't cut ribbons for a project and then forget about it. Review it until its completion. I recall another anecdote. In May 2011, as a minister, I visited Gujarat on the occasion of 50th anniversary of the formation of the state. On that day, he announced a `60-crore Gandhi Bhavan project in Gandhinagar. He announced the government would throw it open on the same day next year.
On the targeted day, the bhavan was ready. In the days to come, we will see the PM giving greater freedom and security of tenure to competent bureaucrats. This is something he diligently practised in Gujarat. He is against ministers using transfer as a weapon of punishment against bureaucrats.
At the session, Modi told us that by transferring an official we have issues with, we would not be solving the problem. Modi believes a good 4-5 years of tenure for an able bureaucrat in a position would allow him to deliver the goods. We also came to know from him that in Gujarat, once a year, the CM met all officers and ministers at a mega interaction. Officers were encouraged to give their ideas for innovation across sectors and departments.
Once a year, he would also lead ministers and bureaucrats on a week-long visit to villages and camp at these places. Modi also urged his ministers to share their room with officials from different departments to encourage closer interaction and understanding. The farmers were constantly educated about the latest farming techniques available. The result is evident: when the country had a growth of 3% in agriculture, Gujarat often recorded double-digit growth.
For the People
At a personal level, I once had the opportunity to spend about 45 minutes with him. On that occasion, he mentioned three things: states should not fight with each other on border or water-related issues. If at all they had to compete, that should be for new projects, economic growth and in human development indices.
Gujarat, he proudly said, would not see any state as its rival in terms of growth, but competed with the Southeast Asian tiger economies. Like we have one-day cricket, Gujarat practised a one-day governance mela.
What this served was if a citizen made an application for a service in the morning, he or she would get that by the evening. This revelation sowed the seeds of Sakala services (right to services) in my mind. We launched Sakala in Karnataka two years ago covering 151 services. The project has progressed to include 478 services today, and I am glad it is doing so well.
(As told to KR Balasubramanyam)
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