New Delhi: Industrialist Gautam Adani on Wednesday refuted charges of benefiting from his relation with Prime Minister Modi, saying that he is an easy target for hailing from Gujarat.
His journey as an entrepreneur, Adani said, took off during the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister after he liberalized export-import policy, NDTV reported.
Gautam Adani rubbished the growth of his business empire having any link to any one political leader.
Hailing from Gujarat like Prime Minister Modi makes him an easy target of baseless allegations and narratives, he told India Today.
“The fact of the matter is that my professional success is not because of any individual leader but because of the policy and institutional reforms initiated by several leaders and governments during a long period of over three decades,” Adani reportedly said.
Following Rajiv Gandhi’s policy initiatives, the second big push came after Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh initiated sweeping economic reforms in 1991.
“Just like many other entrepreneurs, I too was a beneficiary of those reforms," he said.
In 1995 when Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel of the BJP focused on the coastal development of Gujarat, the “third turning point” in his career came with him builing up his first port in Mundra.
The fourth turning point came about in 2001 when Gujarat under Modi saw massive focus on development, which helped take off both industries and employment like never before, he said.
India is now seeing similar resurgence at the national and international levels under the leadership of PM Modi, Adani added.
Adani paid tribute to Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani saying that he is a source of inspiration for him.
Ambani showed that a humble man without backing or resources could set up a world-class business group, he said.