DNA Exclusive: Hindutva not appeasement, it is development, says Guj CM Vijay Rupani

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani believes that the fact that he has come up the hard way is the reason he hasn’t faced any personal or political allegations during his term at the helm of the state.

“I was as an ordinary worker of the BJP throughout my career,” Rupani told DNA in an exclusive interview, “Like lakhs others, I worked for my party without any expectations, and had never dreamed of getting any political position. The CM’s responsibility fell on me suddenly, but I have worked in the way that I have lived my life — in a clean manner. This is why I haven’t faced any charges or allegations.”

Rupani said that he was given the formula of a transparent, decisive, sensitive and progressive government when he took over, and he has tried to adhere to it. He pointed out that he stayed put in Banaskantha for five days straight to oversee flood relief, showing the government’s sensitivity to people’s problems.

He was non-committal when asked if he would be the CM after elections, saying, “I will fulfill the responsibility my party assigns to me. At present, my only expectation is that the party wins 150+ seats.”

Even as the BJP faces …read more