The main thrust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election campaign is about bringing Maharashtra on par with Gujarat on all fronts in terms of development. It is something that riles Maharashtra’s state leaders, especially the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. A look at the numbers shows that the state is ahead of Gujarat in various parameters.
For instance in gross state domestic product (GSDP), Maharashtra has maintained a considerable lead since 2001-02, from when the figures are available.
Maharashtra is number one in providing employment and number two in the number of establishments, according to provisional results of the Sixth Economic Census released in August.
As per the report, of the 127 million employed people (excluding crop production, plantation, public administration, defence and compulsory social security services activities), Maharashtra employs around 14 million (11.62%), while Gujarat employs 9 million (7%). Gujarat is fifth in terms of employment.The overall growth rate in number of establishments during the intervening period of the Fifth Economic Census (2005) and Sixth Economic Census is 41.73%.
Among states, more than 60% growth in number of establishments has been observed in Manipur (109.37%), Sikkim (102.92%), Assam (100.17%), Nagaland (78.74%), Telangana (78.70%), Uttar Pradesh (67.80%), Gujarat (67.07%) and Himachal Pradesh (60.98%).
Of the total number of establishments, Maharashtra has more than 6 million (10.48%), while Gujarat has nearly 4 million (6.83%).
Former Maharashtra Planning Commission chairperson Ratnakar Gaikwad said Maharashtra's state gross domestic product is double that of Gujarat, and foreign direct investment at Rs.2.41 lakh crore is more than that of Gujarat at Rs.35,927 crore.
“It is not about comparison.It is about consistency of performance. Even in the human development index (HDI) parameters, be it average school years up to 12 years of age, Maharashtra is ahead of Gujarat.Maharashtra is more literate than Gujarat, Maharashtra's infant mortality rate is lower than Gujarat's. Irrespective of the hype, Maharashtra remains ahead of Gujarat,'' he said.
BJP spokesperson Vivekananda Gupta said the ground reality was different. “Farmers are committing suicide in Maharashtra, Rs.70,000 crore has been spent on irrigation but there is water scarcity , people staying within BMC limits in Bhandup and Mulund face load-shedding. The scenario is no different in the rest of Maharashtra. The roads in Gujarat are better than those in Maharashtra,'' he said.
Gupta said it was not only economic parameters; the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated considerably , he said. “We are committed to taking Maharashtra ahead of Gujarat,'' he said.Mahajan said when the BJP says it will make a Gujarat out of Maharashtra, what it really means is, “We will only make Maharashtra worse,'' he said.
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