Editorial with Sujit Nair | Nitin Gadkari — The Fall of Modi Govt’s ‘Highway Man’ | BJP

[00:00:00] When he started, I mean we all thought he was God's gift to humanity. We all thought possibly like I said he was the best minister Modi ever had. And finally what came out of it is disastrous. Takes country's money, start building road left right and center and after everything is built you say oops, workmanship in a problem. Supervision you know we couldn't do. If he's that ashamed then you know there is something on a paper. Take that paper, write a resignation letter, hand it over to the board and say I'm sorry I'm ashamed I'm walking out.

[00:00:36] Namaskar. Welcome to another episode of editorial. Imagine a chief executive officer. Chief executive officer who is appointed by the board and who has paid crores of rupees salary given fabulous luxurious car stays in Malabaril given a penthouse all of that so that he can run the company so that he's responsible to the company.

[00:01:08] He's appointed as chief executive officer. Okay. Now the company doesn't do well. Every project that the company does goes kaput. Flop. Either spoiled, either rejected or the clients are not happy. Doldrums. Everything in doldrums.

[00:01:28] What does the CEO say? The CEO says oh that no that is not my mistake. That is the works manager's mistake. Oh that no that is definitely not my mistake. That is the marketing manager's mistake. Oh that no that is the HRD head's mistake. Completely his mistake. You see I am not going to go for this new project. I am not going to go for this new project because I am not happy. I am ashamed. I am ashamed so I am not going to go for the launch.

[00:01:50] It is all that man's mistake. It is all that branch manager's mistake. It is because of that branch manager everything went wrong. So I am ashamed I am not going to go for this project. What would you call them? What would you call this man? A chief executive officer or a excuse officer? Does he deserve to be the chief executive officer? If he is that ashamed then you know there is something called a paper. Take that paper write a resignation letter hand it over to the board and say I am sorry I am ashamed I am walking out. Let some other competent person take my place.

[00:02:20] That's being really ashamed. That's how an efficient CEO functions. Am I saying the truth? Do you agree to me?

[00:02:30] Okay. Now let's come to the topic at hand. The union road transport and highway minister Mr. Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that he felt ashamed over the prolonged delay in completing Mumbai Gohar highway and vowed action against errant contractors and officials.

[00:02:52] This is what he said. This is what he said. He said very bad. I am going to take action against the contractors. I am going to take action against the official. This is what normally happens when something flops. When something has delayed the blame is on the contractors. When something has delayed the blame is on the officials. You see the contractors and the official could be blamed. It could be their fault.

[00:03:14] But then we are not concerned with that. Let us be very clear India. We are not concerned with that. We are concerned with the boss. We can't say that are a contractor. Which contractor? Which contractor? The Deshmukar Nambiyar? Which was the contractor who did the mistake? Why did it not our concern? It is his concern. It is his concern. He is responsible. Contractor is not. At least not to us. Contractor may be responsible to him. Not to us. Let us be very clear.

[00:03:42] Because if we don't know how to run our country. How to ensure that we manage our elected representatives. Our ministers. Then do not expect this country to progress. You need to learn first. And that's exactly what I am trying to tell you. What do you mean he doesn't want to go for the launch? What do you mean he doesn't want to go for the inauguration? Are you go for the inauguration or you don't go for the inauguration but you still are responsible to ensure that that project was completed in time?

[00:04:08] So that's the point I wanted to make. You see the reason I talk about Mr. Gadkari is because Mr. Gadkari in his own words. You know said that the king of Saudi Arabia wanted him for six days six months. He asked Mr. Modi to lend him for six months. And you know so that he could convert, change Saudi Arabia into what? Into our bridges. My God. Dubai. Imagine Dubai being converted into our kind of bridges that we have.

[00:04:39] All that he said. Finally what happened? Finally what did he deliver? What I was trying to tell you is you see I too all these years. Over a decade I thought he was possibly one of the best ministers Modi had. I genuinely thought he was effective. I genuinely thought he was efficient. Till such time that his results started showing because his kind of ministry requires time. He was handling it for 11 years, 12 years.

[00:05:07] Now the results are showing and the results are disastrous. And that is why I feel very let down. Honestly speaking. He may be a good man. I have nothing to say about that. But I feel that his results completely let down. The hope he built, the brand he built about himself was humongous and finally what came out of it is disastrous. This is my opinion today. And that is why I am doing this editorial. As always let's talk some facts and figures.

[00:05:37] Let's talk some facts and figures. Because 2014 when he took over we had 91,287 kilometers of highway, national highway. 2026 today, March that is 2026 March has cut off. We have 1,46,572 kilometers of national highway. Very good. Very good. Has he delivered? To some extent he has. But you know the problem.

[00:06:03] The problem is independent reports recorded roughly 170 bridge collapse across India between 2021 and 2025. Which resulted in about 200 deaths and 400 injuries. This is also a fact. Like I said when he started, I mean we all thought he was God's gift to humanity. We all thought possibly like I said he was the best minister Modi ever had. But when reality dawned, it was all different.

[00:06:33] Ping, ping, ping. Bridge started collapsing. He would build a bridge today and tomorrow it would go down. He would build a road today and there would be a whole swimming pool inside that road. This became the reality. Let me also read out his own reply in parliament. In his own reply he said, he informed the Rajya Sabha that 48 incidents reported between 2021 and 26 were linked to poor workmanship. This is his own reply by the way.

[00:07:02] Poor workmanship, poor design and inadequate supervision. Of these 19 were reported in 2025. And this year with Kerala accounting for the highest number of recent incidents followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. He himself gave this number of 48 incidents. And he says poor supervision, poor workmanship. Whose responsibility it is? You take money.

[00:07:28] You in fact, according to some CAG reports, that money spent exceeded the budgets. You take money, take public money, take tax money, take country's money, start building road left, right and center. And after everything is built, you say oops. Oops. Workmanship in problem. Supervision, you know, we couldn't do. So there were 48 incidents of bridge collapsing, road caving in, so on and so forth. I mean, how fair is this? Where are we going with this?

[00:07:57] I'll give you another incident. Another incident. In three years, this is a report from the Reporters Collective, July 2026. He is a highway minister, road minister. I don't know why he's getting into fuel. Why he's so, so eager about ethanol? Why does he want to push ethanol to this country? I had, I have no clue. Why is he doing this? But all the same. Let's hear this.

[00:08:25] The Reporters Collective, July 2026 report says that in three years, Indian motorists paid 88,000 Indian motorists, you and me, you and me, middle class, normal people, common people. Indian motorists paid 88,234 crore extra to fuel Modi government's great ethanol experiment. This is not me.

[00:08:51] This is the Reporters Collective, July 2026 report. Minister Gadkari and Puri called complaints of rising fuel bills of vehicles running on ethanol blended petrol as insignificant and bullshit. The Reporters Collective calculated that vehicle owners have paid an exorbitant amount for this experiment in the last three years. So, like I said, I'm not saying this.

[00:09:19] I don't know the authenticity of this report, but this is what is printed in. This is what Reporters Collective reported, which I wanted to share with you. This is the condition. This is what our minister is. This is what he did with his own ministry. Achha. He went beyond his own ministry and this is what he did to fuel. This is what he did to petroleum ministry. Here, ultimately, who is paying the price? You and I are paying the price. We pay our price.

[00:09:45] We tighten our belt to pay taxes and this is what happens to our tax money. Okay. Let me give you another incident. Another incident that caught my eyes and I thought, actually, it was quite a serious incident. You see, Mr. Gadkari, he went out to say that, I was very, I don't know, I don't support them.

[00:10:44] My first question. Our gentleman knows that 99% of the people who are supporters are from underworld. Which means he knows the underworld. Shouldn't he, Mr. Gadkari be going and doing something about it? Isn't he as a citizen of this country and as a minister of this union government and as a legislature shouldn't isn't it his job to ensure that he curbs underworld?

[00:11:14] Underworld are criminals. They could be murderers, they could be smugglers, they could be anti-social elements. He says I know them because they vote for me Baba. But how many underworld has he gone and reported to the agencies, to security agencies, to police? I mean what are we talking about? What am I supposed to infer out of this? That he knows who the underworld are but he will not talk about it. He will not talk about it. He is not friends with them. That is what he said. Let's take it for face value.

[00:11:43] He is not friends but he will not report them. What does that actually mean? He talks about underworld, he talks about red light area. He seems to know everything but he does nothing about it. As a union minister he does nothing about it. As a union minister for highway he will interfere in fuel. That he will do. But he will not go and sort a law and order problem. When he goes and tells the police in his constituency that listen you know my constituency there are underworld. That he will not say Baba. Check this out. Check what he said out.

[00:12:12] And this is true today that you, as many people who are sitting here, I won't become MP. Because when you have a day of the law, you say I will come and I will come and I will come and I will come and then the police will come and the police will not come. And when we meet you, what is going to happen to this country? If you don't do the law, if you don't do the law, then you need to do the law. You have to take the law.

[00:12:41] You have to take the law. If you don't do the law, then the biggest problem is not political party or neta. The people are the big deal. He says the problem with democracy are the people. The problem with roads are contractors. The problem with highways are officials. The problem with democracy are people. Ultimately everybody's problem, not his. He is the only person who there is no problem. Everything is right about him. All the people are good as he is concerned.

[00:13:10] Rest everywhere, there's a problem. Think about it. So, like I said in the beginning of my editorial, I am very disillusioned with Mr. Gadkari. I am very disillusioned with Mr. Ghatkari because I was tremendously hopeful of this man. I had thought that this man was possibly the next best thing that happened in India. Possibly the good thing that happened in Modi government. To be very honest with you, I thought he was a ray of hope in Modi government.

[00:13:39] But what I am seeing currently is disaster. That's precisely why I thought I should talk about him. I'm sure he's a good man. But this is something that needs to be seriously kept in mind when we go to cast our votes. Till I see you next time. That's tomorrow at 10. Namaskar. Bill Howland