20 Union ministers may visit Gujarat for 'Vikas Parv'

As many as 20 Union ministers are expected to visit different parts of Gujarat between May 27 and June 12 to participate in the 'Vikas Parv' (development festival) organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit.

The 'Vikas Parv' is being organised to celebrate the completion of two years in office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel-led Gujarat government.

Some of the key ministers expected to visit the state include Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, as per a tentative list issued by the state BJP on Wednesday.

"All these ministers may visit Gujarat between May 27 and June 12. They are scheduled to participate in various 'Vikas Parv' gatherings and rallies in different parts of the state," Gujarat BJP's media convener Harshad Patel told PTI.

As per the schedule, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, along with Minister of State for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria, would address party workers and citizens here on May 27.

On the same day, Union Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar would visit Surat.

While Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and MoS-Science and Technology Y S Chowdhary are likely visit Vadodara, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and MoS-Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla would visit Bhuj.

Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu along with junior Finance Minister Jayant Sinha are scheduled to visit Rajkot.

Jaitley and MoS-HRD Upendra Kushwaha would address rallies in Anand, while Home Minister Rajnath Singh and MoS Defence Inderjit Singh Rao are likely to visit Porbandar.

While Swaraj along with MoS for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi would visit Surendranagar, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan and MoS-Food Processing Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti are expected to visit Bhavnagar.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and MoS-Agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan would visit Morbi and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar may take part in Junagadh.

BJP patriarch and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Gandhinagar LK Advani would address party workers and citizens on May 26 as part of the celebrations.