Former chief minister of Gujarat Solanki mourned
MODI PAYS TRIBUTE TO ‘A FORMIDABLE LEADER WHO LOVED TO DISCUSS BOOKS’, WHILE SON RECALLS STATE’S GOLDEN PERIOD UNDER HIS WATCH
VETERAN Congress leader Madhavsinh Solanki, who had served as chief minister of Gujarat on four occasions, was last Sunday (10) cremated with full state honours in Ahmedabad.
Solanki, a former minister for external affairs, died last Saturday (9) at his home in Gandhinagar. He was 93. His son Bharatsinh Solanki, a former federal minister, who returned from the US last Sunday to perform the last rites, said his father was a “friend, philosopher and guide”.
“Wherever I am today is because of my father. He was my friend, philosopher and guide, always standing by my side like a rock. Gujarat knows him very well. In the six decades of his public life, he served the people,” said Bharatsinh, a former president of the Congress in Gujarat.
He said the people of Gujarat had witnessed a “golden period” when his father, as chief minister, implemented a variety of measures – ranging from a mid-day meal scheme in schools to Kanya Kelavni (free education for girls in Gujarat), to taking the state’s GDP to more than 32 per cent, making it the highest in the country. “My father as a chief minister also ensured the state attains top position industrially.
“He managed to get environmental clearance for the Narmada Dam project, brought the Planning Commission to the taluka level and also led the party to a record 149-seat win in the Assembly elections (in 1985),” Bharatsinh added.
Solanki served in the administration of prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narsimha Rao; he was India’s foreign minister from June 1991 to March 1992.
Prime minister Narendra Modi paid tribute, writing on Twitter: “Shri Madhavsinh Solanki Ji was a formidable leader, playing a key role in Gujarat politics for decades. He will be remembered for his rich service to society. Saddened by his demise.
“Beyond politics, Shri Madhavsinh Solanki Ji enjoyed reading and was passionate about culture. Whenever I would meet him or speak to him, we would discuss books and he would tell me about a new book he recently read. I will always cherish the interactions we had.”
Solanki was known for his ‘KHAM’ (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim) initiative – under which the Congress engaged with underprivileged members of society – and which helped the party win state elections in Gujarat in 1980 and 1985.
As chief minister he supported caste-based quotas and this helped him shape the central government’s policy of having reservations during VP Singh’s tenure as prime minister. Solanki was a friend of Garavi Gujarat’s late founder and editor in chief Ramniklal
Solanki.