CM’s birthday gift:
‘You are inefficient’
"Keshubhai
Patel is the worst chief minister Gujarat has ever got. But it is unfortunate
that nothing concrete is being done about it," former chief minister
and Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela said on Sunday, on eve of Keshubhai’s
birthday, while criticising him for "having completely failed in getting
sufficient help from the Centre."
Mr Vaghela, who represents
Kapadwanj constituency in the Parliament said he would demand that the
Centre immediately allocate Rs 15,000 crores for various relief measures,
out of which 5,000 crores will be earmarked for Ahmedabad, which faced
heavy rainfall resulting in heavy loss to property.
"Keshubhai has completely
failed in getting Gujarat’s demands cleared from the Centre. He is totally
inefficient, be it the Kandla cyclone, the Ukai Dam or the recent deluge
in city. This is happening when there is a BJP-led government at the
Centre," Mr Vaghela said.
The former chief minister
blamed Keshubhai for all the problems, ranging from the Narmada controversy
to the poor investment in the state.
Mr Vaghela had no good
words for the NDA government headed by the BJP at the Centre either.
However, he abstained from criticising Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
"He is being blackmailed by his coalition partners," was all Mr Vaghela
said for the Prime Minister.
Mr Vaghela, who had been
associated with the RSS and the BJP for over four decades before he
staged the infamous Khajuraho coup, said it was ironical that RSS leader
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee lost his life in Kashmir. The RSS has no right
to hobnob with those who advocate for autonomy in Jammu and Kashmir,
he said, adding that Farooq Abdullah should have been sent behind the
bars by the Centre.
However, Shankarsinh Vaghela,
known for his outspokenness, minced words while dwelling on his party,
the Congress, which is embroiled in a bitter factional feud in Gujarat.
He denied that he was playing
the role of a mediator between state Congress president C.D. Patel and
former chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki. "Whatever has happened is
unfortunate," was all that he said.
