The Congress party on Thursday blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel for “failure” to handle the situation arising out of the Patel stir leading to “complete breakdown of law and order” in the State. Party vice- president Rahul Gandhi said it was a repercussion of the “politics of anger” pursued by Modi.
“Our Prime Minister Modi is doing politics of anger and such politics has repercussions for the country which you are seeing in Gujarat,” the Congress vice-president said after addressing a farmers’ rally near Srinagar during his 3-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
AICC Spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the Gujarat Government and BJP have pushed the State into a “fire of reckless violence and complete lawlessness”. On whether the BJP-run State has become a “fit case” for imposition of President’s rule, Surjewala said, “Gujarat ClP made the demand for removal of the Chief Minister. There is complete breakdown of law and order and the Chief Minister is unable.....To handle the situation. I will reserve my comments. We will look at the situation in the next few days.”
Surjewala, however, steered clear of the demand by the influential Patel community for reservation.
“If a person, group or a particular community has any grievance and demand, then it should be resolved by holding a dialogue...I do not want to resort to politics by saying anything more on the issue in the current situation”, he said.
Posing questions to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister, Surjewala expressed surprise over the CM’s statement that she never ordered police lathi charge or firing on agitators as he sought to know whether it meant that the Gujarat admininstration “is being run from the PMOIJ”
Asked as to why Congress was blaming the Prime Minister, Surjewala said that Modi had set up the Gujarat model of governance which has kept farmers, poor and the young “away from the process of development” which “benefited only a few crony capitalists”.
The party said that what was being witnessed in Gujarat now was the manifestation of “complete disillusionment” of the people in the State as 90 per cent were kept away from paradigm of development and devoid of any social security cover.
Surjewala condemned the “dictatorial behaviour” of the state government by shutting down SMS, Whatsapp and Internet services in the State in the wake of the violence. He also accused the state police of highhandeness and beating up people mercilessly even in their homes.