While India Inc and Gujarati middle class celebrated the shifting of the Nano from West Bengal to Gujarat, unorganised labour in the state is upset with the Modi government for laying out the red carpet for the little car.
“The Nano project has come to Gujarat. The state government laid out the red carpet for it. If we were given even 50 per cent of that support the diamond industry would be back on its feet,” said a diamond worker.
The state's 10 lakh diamond workers come from Saurashtra, a region the BJP swept in the 2007 assembly elections after a booming economy had replaced hindutva as Modi's election trump card.
Then came the recession, diamond exports crashed and the highly skilled men were offered work by the government under the NREG. It hurt their asmita.
“The Nano was an external creation, brought in as if an organic growth. The diamond industry is a local creation. People in the diamond industry are saying how is the Nano car preferred to what has been organically created. Nano will be the first threat to Modi,” said Shiv Vishwanathan, social scientist, Ambani Institute, Ahmedabad,
So, will Nano envy become the rallying point for those feeling the heat of recession and for opposition parties looking to stop the seemingly unstoppable chief minister?
(NDTV Sources and Report)
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