Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday claimed that Gujarat has remained the most developed state in the nation. He was giving a speech in the Gujarat Assembly during the debate over the Governor's address. During his speech, he also took jibes at the opposition party Congress. Rupani started his speech with Gujarati poetry and said, "You do not appreciate our feelings, but we are affectionate towards your hatred." He said that the increasing size of the budget of his state government was the barometer with which one could gauge the development and growth of the economy in Gujarat. Presenting the report by CRISIL, he mentioned that Gujarat remained the number one state in providing employment to the youth, industrial growth, agricultural growth rate, milk production and Gross State Domestic Production and that there were many indicators that put Gujarat at the top spot. Rupani said, "Our PM Narendrabhai Modi set the benchmark of an efficient government when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. We are inheriting his legacy and following the path paved by him. We are resolved to continue that tradition. He brought Gujarat out of the politics that was based on casteism and regionalism." "After becoming the PM, he sanctioned the proposal of setting up piers at the Narmada Dam. Besides that, he gave pending amount of royalty on oil exploration from Gujarat, the bullet train project, AIIMS, new road networks and railway lines and many more," Rupani added. Rupani also praised his government and the PM for honouring the memory of Mahatma Gandhi by renovating his memorial at Alfred High School in Rajkot and also of Sardar Patel by sanctioning the Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue. Taking jibes at the Congress, he said, "Almost two decades back, chief ministers of Gujarat had to pray before the former central government for moving any proposal. They were forced to wait outside the chamber of the leaders in Delhi. But today, the PM fulfills all the demands from Gujarat without us going to Delhi." Speaking during the debate for supplementary demands in the budget for the current year, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Nitin Patel said, "Treasury of Gujarat government will remain open for the growth of the state and development of every citizen of Gujarat." He said that the government had to make additional expenditures, beyond the budget estimates in the current year, because the funds were used to pay assistance to farmers in scarcity hit areas of the state after poor monsoon last year, something that had not been anticipated. He also said that the government recruited many youth in services and their salaries were also paid from the additional funds. STARK REMARKS Taking jibes at the Cong, CM Vijay Rupani said, “Almost two decades back, chief ministers of Gujarat had to pray before the former central government for moving any proposal.”

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