He pulled off the Khajuraho coup on Keshubhai Patel more than a decade ago; but can he repeat the performance? If Sunday’s rally by government employees where veteran political leader Shankersinh Vaghela was to address is any indicator, then political bigwigs in both BJP and Congress camps are taking a note of this.
When Vaghela and another veteran leader Suresh Mehta donned their fatigues on for a power show rally to take up the cause of government employees, political top brass of both the parties in Gujarat was watching closely. It was an attempt to make a striking comeback after losing the last Lok Sabha elections - and being categorically sidelined by the Congress.
“For long, Vaghela has explicitly said to the Congress high command, if there is anyone who can upset Modi, it’s him. After being ignored for an important political role after the loss in LS polls, it was only a matter of time before Vaghela struck back,” a source in Congress said.
And if Vaghela is to be believed, Modi government pulled all stops to curb their protests, announcing a terror alert; the Congress cautiously jumped into the battlefield condemning Vaghela’s ‘illegal’ detention. “We condemn the illegal detention of Vaghela. In a democracy, people have the right to protest,” said AICC general secretary in charge of Gujarat, Sudhakar Reddy.
According to Vaghela, aka bapu, nearly two lakh people came out on the streets against ‘government atrocities’. Earlier, addressing a gathering soon after the LS polls in Kheda, bapu had announced support of at least seven BJP MLAs, indicating a distinct rift in the top echelons of the cabinet.
The BJP on its part though taking mental pointers is nonchalant about the development. “These leaders (bapu and Mehta) have lost credibility amongst the masses. There is indeed some dissidence in BJP and government employees, but Vaghela and company is unlikely to get the benefit of it. The mass gathered for the rally on Sunday was not because of Vaghela but because the issues they raised are genuine,’’ a senior observer in BJP said.
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