Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greatest quality is that he has no personal or family interests. For him, India is his family, industrialist Ravi Pillai said.
In an interview with an English daily, Ravi Pillai said that he had known Modi through expatriate programmes even before he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
“I have known him through Pravasi events even before he became Gujarat Chief Minister. His best quality is that he has no personal or family interests. For him, India is his family,” said Ravi Pillai, one of Kerala’s most prominent business leaders and among the richest in the world.
Ravi Pillai also praised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, saying Vijayan is a strong leader who wants Kerala to progress.
He said it is not possible to do business in Kerala without political support and that obtaining permissions is difficult without government backing. Otherwise, officials will not act, he added.
He said Kerala’s prosperity is deeply linked to Gulf migration and that today’s Kerala would not have existed had there been no Gulf migration.
“If there were no Gulf migration, the Kerala we see today would not exist. Lakhs of people have worked there and sent millions back home. Many of us, including me, would not be where we are without that opportunity,” Ravi Pillai said in the interview published on Sunday.
Ravi Pillai said the attitude of foreigners towards Indians has now changed drastically.
“The position of Indians has changed drastically. About 20 years ago, I went to meet the chairman of one of the world’s largest companies in the US. His CEO, an American, remarked that Indians could not be trusted and that their knowledge was limited to car washing and kitchen cleaning. At the time, migrant employees were given accommodation nearly 200 km away, under the belief that Asians posed health risks and were not trustworthy. Today, people actively seek out Indians. I think Indian expatriates in the Gulf are the happiest. I think 98% of those who went to the Gulf have prospered,” he said.
Stating that there is a hostile attitude towards the rich in Kerala, Ravi Pillai said some might even consider such wealth illegitimate.
“There is a hostile attitude towards the rich in Kerala. It is jealousy. One might even say it is illegitimate wealth. This can be seen only in Kerala. But in other countries, the rich are highly valued and welcomed. The attitude of the people of Kerala is the opposite of that in the Gulf, “ Ravi Pillai said
“There is a hostile attitude towards the rich in Kerala. It is jealousy. One might even say it is illegitimate wealth. This can be seen only in Kerala. But in other countries, the rich are highly valued and welcomed. The attitude of the people of Kerala is the opposite of that in the Gulf,” Ravi Pillai said.