Washington, Sep 15 (IANS): A US Congressional report has pointed to BJP-ruled Gujarat as "India's best example of effective governance and impressive development" and showered praise on "controversial" Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the state's growth and progress.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) in its latest report on India, has chosen Bihar, where the BJP is in a ruling alliance with the Janata Dal-United, as the next state deserving praise for development. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been praised for his governance and administrative skills.
"Perhaps India's best example of effective governance and impressive development is found in Gujarat, where controversial Chief Minister Narendra Modi has streamlined economic processes, removing red tape and curtailing corruption in ways that have made the state a key driver of national economic growth," said the CRS report.
The CRS, an independent and bipartisan wing of the US Congress, prepares periodic reports on issues of interest to the US lawmakers. The 94-page report was released by the CRS for US lawmakers on Sep 1, a copy of which made public by the Federation of American Scientists.
"Seeking to overcome the taint of his alleged complicity in 2002 riots, Modi has overseen heavy investment in modern roads and power infrastructure, and annual growth of more than 11 per cent in recent years," the CRS said.
It said, Gujarat has attracted major international investors such as General Motors and Mitsubishi. It said with only five percent of the country's population, Gujarat accounts for more than one-fifth of India's exports.
On Bihar, it says: "Another positive example in 2011 has been Bihar, one of India's poorest states, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has won national attention through his considerable success in emphasising good governance over caste-based politics.
"He is credited with restoring law and order across much of the state, as well as overseeing infrastructure and educational improvements of direct benefit to common citizens projects," the report said.
"Kumar's Janata Dal (United) party, in alliance with the main national opposition BJP, won an overwhelming reelection majority in November 2010 state elections," the report said.
On Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, the CRS says: "Chief Minister Mayawati, who is widely believed to maintain national political ambitions and was at the forefront of a nascent "Third Front" in 2009, has shifted her own focus much more toward infrastructure projects such as road-building and improving the state's poor energy grid."
The CRS also refers to the ongoing Telangana movement in Andhra Pradesh, and the new Trinamool-Congress rule in West Bengal.