BY DEVIKA C. MEHTA
NORWALK, CA - Gujarat Minister of Industry, Mines, Minerals and Finance, Rohitbhai Patel, visited SoCal recently.The Los Angeles chapter of Overseas Friends of BJP in USA, welcomed him by organizing a public event at ISSO Swami Narayan temple here on May 19. The event saw attendance from OFBJP leaders, members,
NORWALK, CA - Gujarat Minister of Industry, Mines, Minerals and Finance, Rohitbhai Patel, visited SoCal recently.The Los Angeles chapter of Overseas Friends of BJP in USA, welcomed him by organizing a public event at ISSO Swami Narayan temple here on May 19. The event saw attendance from OFBJP leaders, members,
senior leaders of organizations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh , American Hindu Foundation, Indian Cultural Society, United Federation of Indo-Americans in California, among others. At the meet and greet, attendees got an opportunity to converse with the minister l after he was introduced to the key leaders and prominent entrepreneurs in Southern California by PK Nayak, the Convener of OFBJP-California.
Introducing the OFBJP team, Vijay Patil, General Secretary said, “OFBJP-Los Angeles team has been around for over 20 years and some of our senior leaders like P K Nayak, Ramjibhai Patel, Gopal Chaturvedi, Dr Gadasalli, Pranav Desai, Kanaksinh Zala, and others have been diligently advancing the objectives of OFBJP for decades.”
The minister’s elder brother, Praful Patel, initiated the formal event by welcoming the audience and thanking everyone for attending the event in large number on a short notice.
Later, taking the dais, the minister talked about the progress India is witnessing and shared Gujarat’s development story that has become an example for others states to follow. He also emphasized the importance of focusing on grass roots projects to solve the real issues people are grappling with and gave examples of successful initiatives like Goraksha Andolan and railroad-crossing issues. Highlighting some current challenges in governance, Rohitbhai Patel added, “While the results are visible and almost everyone appreciates the progress, it has been challenging at times to deal with the bureaucratic systems and processes. Questioning those practices and challenging the status-quo has helped me improve a lot of things. However, a major challenge is recruiting new leaders at municipal and local government levels”.
He further mentioned that the party is attracting candidates who are thought leaders and more importantly have no criminal and corruption charges against them. “The party is not going to compromise on those ideals,” Patel insisted. The minister spoke for nearly an hour engaging the audience in his remarks. The speech was followed by a ‘Questions and Answers’ session which ranged from very personal “Why was I not able to exchange old currency?” to very futuristic “How India can build a meritocratic society where progress will be based on ability and talent rather than on class, privilege or wealth?” His answers proved to be quite engaging. Thanking the minister, Natoobhai Patel, the founder & chairman of ISSO SwamiNarayan temple lauded him for spending time with the local community, Jinutbhai Patel, a senior member of OFBJP-LA team making a comment on the upcoming Gujarat elections, challenged the audience to support it so that BJP wins with super-majority in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state.
Introducing the OFBJP team, Vijay Patil, General Secretary said, “OFBJP-Los Angeles team has been around for over 20 years and some of our senior leaders like P K Nayak, Ramjibhai Patel, Gopal Chaturvedi, Dr Gadasalli, Pranav Desai, Kanaksinh Zala, and others have been diligently advancing the objectives of OFBJP for decades.”
The minister’s elder brother, Praful Patel, initiated the formal event by welcoming the audience and thanking everyone for attending the event in large number on a short notice.
Later, taking the dais, the minister talked about the progress India is witnessing and shared Gujarat’s development story that has become an example for others states to follow. He also emphasized the importance of focusing on grass roots projects to solve the real issues people are grappling with and gave examples of successful initiatives like Goraksha Andolan and railroad-crossing issues. Highlighting some current challenges in governance, Rohitbhai Patel added, “While the results are visible and almost everyone appreciates the progress, it has been challenging at times to deal with the bureaucratic systems and processes. Questioning those practices and challenging the status-quo has helped me improve a lot of things. However, a major challenge is recruiting new leaders at municipal and local government levels”.
He further mentioned that the party is attracting candidates who are thought leaders and more importantly have no criminal and corruption charges against them. “The party is not going to compromise on those ideals,” Patel insisted. The minister spoke for nearly an hour engaging the audience in his remarks. The speech was followed by a ‘Questions and Answers’ session which ranged from very personal “Why was I not able to exchange old currency?” to very futuristic “How India can build a meritocratic society where progress will be based on ability and talent rather than on class, privilege or wealth?” His answers proved to be quite engaging. Thanking the minister, Natoobhai Patel, the founder & chairman of ISSO SwamiNarayan temple lauded him for spending time with the local community, Jinutbhai Patel, a senior member of OFBJP-LA team making a comment on the upcoming Gujarat elections, challenged the audience to support it so that BJP wins with super-majority in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state.
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