Ahmedabad, May 31: Former Gujarat chief Ministers Keshubhai Patel and Suresh Mehta on Wednesday joined hands along with former ministers Gordhan Zadafia and Kashiram Rana to chalk out a strategy against Narendra Modi in view of the forthcoming assembly polls.
Keshubhai Patel said Emergency was “better” than Narendra Modi's rule.
Patel, a known rival of Modi, hosted the meeting of former Chief Minister Suresh Mehta, former Union Minister Kanshiram Rana, former Minister of State for Home Gordhan Zadafia and other disgruntled BJP leaders to discuss their strategy for the state elections, scheduled to be held later this year.
“Emergency was better than rule of Modi,” Mehta, who has quit BJP and had formed an NGO Prabudh Nagrik Shakti Manch, told reporters here.
Patel, who is with the BJP, in the last couple of months has been very vocal against Modi and has time and again said his community is living under fear in Gujarat. “We have met here to discuss the grave situation which has developed in the state under the present rule.
BJP leaders, and those who had quit the party earlier have come together to discuss the situation which is going out of hand in Gujarat,” Mehta said.
“As far as administration is concerned, the situation in Gujarat has gone to dogs,” Mehta said.
“We are concerned about the deteriorating situation of the ruling party,” Mehta said.
He slammed the reported statement of BJP leader Purshottam Rupala, during the last Sunday's BJP workers training meet, asking them to go “all out to collect votes”. “....Go all out to make voters happy and start financial transactions with them (voters) from now.
This transaction will not be counted in poll expenses till the time model code of conduct for elections comes into force,” Rupala, the national vice-president of BJP, had allegedly said.
“This means that the party is telling its workers to go and buy voters. This is very bad culture,” Mehta said, adding he had moved the Election Commission against the statement made by a responsible party leader as the elections are scheduled this year.
“Today Rupala has responded to me, but not denied the fact that he had spoken such a thing. Indirectly he agreed that he had made such an statement,” Mehta said. He said recent ‘Dhan Dhan' (money donation) campaign by BJP to fund election campaign was a “ploy to extract crores from common people”.
“I am worried about the common masses of Gujarat as the state government is not doing anything in their interest to help them fight against the burden of price rise,” Mehta alleged.
“We came together and discussed all these issues as the common man has been out of mind as far as the ruling party is concerned,” Mehta said.
Keshubhai is worried about the situation getting worse and worse in Gujarat, he said.
Mehta, however, refused to divulge future strategy of the group which has come together for the first time before the state election, saying they are discussing all possibilities.
Mehta had quit BJP before the 2007 polls, while Keshubhai and Rana are still with the party. Meanwhile, former RSS pracharak Bhaskarrao Damle also attended the meeting.
