Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh, the Heartland of Incredible India turns 61 today. I was born three years after its coming into existence. When I grew I was wondered at the unmatched greatness and uniqueness of the state richly endowed with bounty of nature. When I came of age I was at sea as to why this wonderful state continued to remain underperformer despite possessing all that is required to become a developed state. Development and growth is a continuous process and all my predecessors right from the inception have contributed their mite to the best of their abilities and visions; however one question persisted on my mind as to why the state failed to live upto its potential. I don’t want to go into the reasons for this. In 2005 when my party assigned me the responsibility of Madhya Pradesh as Chief Minister, my enthusiasm knew no bounds as it gave me the opportunity to do something worthwhile for the state as per my thinking.
The political and cultural values imbibed by me greatly helped me and I dedicated myself to the task of rebuilding Madhya Pradesh. I received unstinted support and cooperation from my party colleagues, leaders and administration. I have always maintained that entire Madhya Pradesh is my family. It is not just a catchphrase but an article of faith for me. Madhya Pradesh is like a temple, its people are my gods and I serve them to the best of my ability. For me politics is not a profession but a mission – a mission to serve the state, society and the country as a whole. Working wholeheartedly on this line I earned the love and affection of the people. As a result, now Madhya Pradesh is being rated as the best performing state.
As for as the transformation of Madhya Pradesh in last 10-11 years is concerned, some people tend to call it a miracle. I must say that it is not a miracle but result of the hard work of Team Madhya Pradesh and enterprising and peace loving people of the state coupled with clear and well meaning policies of the state government. It is a tribute to the toil of the farmers of Madhya Pradesh that despite severe natural calamities for three years in a row they didn’t allow farm output to go down but on the contrary it went up. Madhya Pradesh has been receiving the prestigious Krishi Karman Award for its excellent performance in farm sector for last four years.
Now our children from not only big cities but also small towns and villages are bringing laurels to the state and the country in the world by dint of their good education and talent.
It is due to the labour of our workers and entrepreneurship of entrepreneurs that Madhya Pradesh has been able to maintain 8 percent industrial growth rate consistently. The favourable industrial climate and improved Ease of Doing Business has made the state a preferred destination for investors. The response the recently held Global Investors Summit (GIS) at Indore received makes it amply clear that Madhya Pradesh is on the threshold of an industrial revolution.
I feel justifiably proud that women empowerment is a reality in Madhya Pradesh. Our daughters and sisters are giving a very good account of themselves in every field. We have implemented well- contemplated schemes for socio-economic, political and psychological empowerment of women with encouraging results.
My dream is to see Madhya Pradesh become one of the leading states of not only India but world. My experience grew with maturity of the state. I have full faith and confidence in the capacities of the state and its people and I can say that we will achieve our goal.
Due to its central geographical location and other advantages Madhya Pradesh is all set to play a very significant role in growth story of India and further strengthening Indian economy. I can say that the next decade belong to Madhya Pradesh.
(From Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s blog)