Much-hyped Gujarat model of development is a dismal failure: Tarun Gogoi

Guwahati, Dec 3: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said the setback for BJP at the rural bodies elections in Gujarat is a clear indication that the much-hyped Gujarat model of development is a "dismal failure".

In a statement, Gogoi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-touted Gujarat model of development has been a dismal failure as people in the rural areas have outrightly rejected it in the just-concluded Panchayat elections.

"There is disenchantment everywhere with people rejecting the BJP one after the other.

"Delhi, Uttarakhand, Bihar and now Gujarat Panchayat elections have proved that the people have become alienated from the BJP and are fed up with its promises during just one-and-a-half-year of its rule at the Centre," Gogoi said.

The Gujarat model has thoroughly exposed the fact that it was meant for the rich, not for the poor, he added.

Gogoi further said, "80 per cent of the populace of our country lives in the rural areas. The people living in rural areas of Gujarat have made the BJP bite dust in the Panchayat elections as they have realised that the BJP government is for the rich and affluent and not for the poor."

He also said that the Modi-led government is pro-rich and pro-corporate centric, leaving the poor in the lurch.

"The BJP-led government talks of inclusive development, but how can it be inclusive if poor people are left out of the scheme of things," Gogoi added.

PTI