New Delhi, August 28Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged there were conspiracies to defame Gujarat and stop investments, but his home state ignored them and charted a new path of progress.PM Modi was addressing a rally in Kutch district on the second day of his two-day visit to Gujarat, where elections are due later this year.Before the rally, the PM held a 3-km long roadshow in Bhuj, where thousands of people gathered on both sides of the road to greet him.He also said he could clearly visualise that in spite of many deficiencies now, India would be a developed nation by 2047.After the roadshow, PM Modi inaugurated ‘Smriti Van’, a memorial built on the outskirts of Bhuj town in memory of the 2001 earthquake victims. He later went to Kutch University to address a mass gathering and launch other projects collectively worth about Rs 4,400 crore, including Kutch branch canal of the Sardar Sarovar project, new automatic milk processing and packing plant of Sarhad Dairy, Regional Science Centre at Bhuj, and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Convention Centre at Gandhidham.Addressing the rally, Modi said, “While Gujarat was dealing with natural calamities one after the other, there were conspiracies hatched to defame it in the country and the world. Repeated attempts were made to stop investment coming to Gujarat.” He said Gujarat ignored all efforts to defame it, defied the conspiracies and the state charted a new industrial new path of progress.”After the 2001 Kutch earthquake, in the midst of the destruction, I had spoken about redevelopment of Kutch and we worked hard for it. In that hour of challenge, we had proclaimed that we will turn disaster into an opportunity and we achieved it. Today, you are witnessing the results,” he said.
