Shivneri Fort (Pune): Indicating that Gujarat was still the preferred destination for industrialists, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on March 20 said his state has received foreign direct investment (FDI) to the tune of Rs 800 crore this year.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of Shiv Jayanti celebrations at Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of the Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji, he said petroleum products and gas were in abundance in his state.

Modi said "jal shakti, gyan shakti, urja shakti, jan shakti and raksha shakti" were the thrust of the state government.

He was chief guest at Shivneri celebrations, organised by the Shivneri Smarak Samiti (SSS).

Recognising the importance of manpower, the state has been putting special emphasis on human resource development and infrastructure, he said.

Modi said he would soon meet a Russian delegation of businessmen who were keen to make investments in Gujarat.

Earlier, addressing the gathering at the fort, Modi, alluding to the secularists, asked how could those who did not take pride in their own religion and protect it, claim to protect the religion of others.

"In the olden days, Parsis came to India from Iran with the hope that India, which was in its pristine glory, could protect them. But now the condition is different. When we cannot protect our own religion, how can we think of protecting that of others?" he asked.

PTI