Gujarat residents praise Modi after he completes a decade in office

Ahmedabad, Oct 7 (ANI): Residents of Vadnagar, the native village of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday congratulated him as he completed a decade in office.

Modi, who was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, became the chief minister of Gujarat in October 2001. He was promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the by-elections.

Muslims in the state accepted the Modi Government with open arms, despite the controversy surrounding the 2002 Gujarat riots.

"The Muslims in Gujarat as well as other people who reside here are staying in peace and harmony. In fact, business and trade has been fine since the last ten years. There is development in Gujarat. Muslims in Gujarat are not against the state. We only want basic amenities like food and shelter, which we are getting," said Jagdish Bhai Rawal, a villager.

Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister began on October 7, 2001. In July 2007, he became the longest serving chief minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously.

"The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, is going to complete 10 years of his rule. In fact, no one Chief Minister has completed such a long term. So, he is the number one CM, if you consider development. In fact, we have really done well, if you talk about the state," said Soma Bhai Modi, Narendra Modi's brother.

Meanwhile, there are some who feel that Modi's name always evokes a negative sentiment. In fact, there are a few people, who feel that development cannot wipe out his misdeeds.

"If you talk about development in Gujarat, then it has been the leader in corruption. The most corrupt government in India is the Gujarat government and the most corrupt Chief Minister is Narendra Modi. He has done a lot of corruption in 17 schemes. To avoid any kind of investigation, Modi has stopped the appointment of Lokayukta ," said Sunil Mehta, Mayor of Vadnagar.

Modi was elected again for a third term on December 23, 2007 with an emphatic win in the state elections. (ANI)