The Delhi Chief Minister’s upcoming visit to Gujarat has generated political heat following Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani terming Arvind Kejriwal as Pakistani hero.
Vaghani on Wednesday also said that the Aam Aadami Party (AAP) supremo’s sole intention of visiting the State was to gain political benefit. Kejriwal would again rake up older issues (Patidar & Dalit) and try to harm Gujarat’s peace, said the Gujarat BJP president, adding that the people of Gujarat know his true colour and would not believe him.
The three-day visit of AAP’s national convener is beginning on Saturday from Ahmedabad. He would also visit Mehsana in North Gujarat. In the next two days, he would have series of meetings in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat. In a span of around 2-and-half months, this would be Kejriwal’s third visit to Gujarat.
Sources in the political circles of the State said that there would be some important announcement on Patidars and Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener Hardik Patel from the Delhi Chief Minister at Surat on Sunday. A day before the huge rally at Surat, Kejriwal will visit to Mehsana and meet family members of a youth who died during pro-quota Patidar agitation in 2015. Reacting on Kejriwal’s visit PAAS leader Chirag Patel said that PAAS would like to welcome Kejriwal’s Gujarat visit, but PAAS members would ask him on his party’s plans on Patidars.
Meanwhile, a poster war over the Delhi CM’s visit has also begun in the State as posters in favour as well against him appeared in Ahmedabad and Surat. Yuva Azadi Sangathan, a newly cropped organisation has put posters in different areas of Ahmedabad asking Kejriwal that why sudden love for Patel youth who died more than a year ago.
A view reflected in series of fierce poster attack against Kejriwal’s proposed visit to Surat. In one such poster Kejriwal’s photograph has been placed along with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani, Osama Bin laden and lashkar-e-Taiyaba chief Hafeez Saeed. The banner is titled as ‘the heroes of Pakistan’. Posters warning Kejriwal from entering certain areas of Surat too have cropped up across Surat. They read that Kejriwal desist from visiting them as each house in their locality belongs to BJP and no one else.
Another poster has Kejriwal’s photograph with anti-Narmada Dam activist Medha Patkar. The poster reads: “These are the people who stopped Narmada dam (progress) for years. These are the people who kept Saurashtra thirsty for years.”
Countering the blames on the party and its national convener, AAP leaders in Gujarat claimed that in wake of flop rally of BJP president Amit Shah in Surat, the saffron party trying to put obstacle so that Kejriwal’s rally would not become successful.