Nitin Gadkari is a Minister in PM Modi’s cabinet and is always termed as the Highway man of India due to the transformational change which he has brought to the country’s infrastructure and connectivity in the last nine years as minister of road transport and highways. Gadkari, like many other BJP politicians, has a RSS background and comes from the city of Nagpur where he started his political career as a Karyakarta of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Gadkari is also credited for being the man behind the first ever expressway (Mumbai-Pune) by bringing in new technologies in the country and helping private companies to ensure quality work in creating modern infrastructure. Gadkari is also a strong advocate of sustainable development and his eco-friendly initiatives in road construction have led to the use of garbage in road construction as a raw material. Before taking charge as union minister, Gadkari donned several hats in organisation as well as governance and has served as BJP national president from 2009 to 2013 and PWD Minister from 1995-1999 in Maharashtra. In this edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Gadkari talks about big ticket projects being constructed by his ministry, he also talks about the developmental push in the north-east and future projects for the country. He also highlights the importance of sustainable development and how he plans to reduce the dependency of automobiles on traditional fuel to alternative sources of energy. He further talks about how the transformational change in infrastructure is helping grow the country’s economy and is reducing poverty. On the political front, he also slams the opposition for attacking Savarkar and claims that the BJP will be sweeping in upcoming legislative elections in states as well as the general elections in 2024.
