An Indian Express editorial, ‘Modi vs BJP? (IE, July 21, 2007), alleged that Mr Narendra Modi was unavailable to his party MLAs and ministers, developed a personality cult and diminished and marginalised his party. The facts are at odds with this, and it is my duty to set the record straight for the readers of this esteemed newspaper.

Mr Modi has headed the state government for more than five years. The state cabinet meets every Wednesday, and he personally ensures the presence of the entire council of ministers. Before these meetings, through a system called ‘zero hour’ institutionalised at his behest, ministers freely discuss various issues for approximately 45 minutes in his absence. This discussion is then carried into the formal meeting to facilitate collective decision-making.

MPs and MLAs can meet him individually or as a delegation every Tuesday; 45 of them from both BJP and Congress do so regularly. These sessions continue late into the evening until all legislators have had an audience with him. During the assembly session, he is accessible every working day. He has introduced a system to promptly address all references made to him by legislators — 11,279 of which have been resolved thus far. To facilitate continuous interaction between peoples’ representatives and the government, minister-led groups comprising eight to 10 MLAs have been formed, which meet once in a week to freely discuss various issues pertaining to the public.

He has been instrumental in making democracy vibrant and lively at the grassroots level through a vast network of gram sabhas. They meet three times a year. MLAs and various leaders from local bodies, in addition to Class I officers of the state government attend them. This has provided them a very active forum to have direct contact with the people at the village level and to formulate development plan for the villages.

... contd.