Nirupam hit out at Fadnavis alleging that the chief minister was indulging in cheap politics by not allowing Rahul to stay at the guest house, despite him being a 'Special Protection Group (SPG) protectee'.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis did not let Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi stay at the Sahyadri state guest house during his Mumbai visit last week, city Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam alleged on Monday.
Nirupam hit out at Fadnavis alleging that the chief minister was indulging in cheap politics by not allowing Rahul to stay at the guest house, despite him being a 'Special Protection Group (SPG) protectee'.
Nirupam said that many letters were sent to Fadnavis's office requesting him to allot a room for Rahul but he got no response. "We wrote to the CM on January 11 and sent an email on January 12. But, Fadnavis neither acknowledged it nor responded to any requests. We were just asked by speak to one official after another. Not just me but former CM Prithviraj Chavanji and former protocol minister Suresh Shettyji also called. They too did not get any response. It is very unfortunate. It also shows his mean mindedness and we condemn this," said Nirupam.
According to officials, the chief minister makes the allotment of the Sahyadri guest house, he claimed. Rahul was on a two-day visit to the city last week.
Nirupam revealed that during the Congress rule, the plush Malabar Hill guest house was allotted to several top BJP leaders. In fact Nirupam said that BJP leaders like LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj were even designated as state guests.
"We had not even demanded status of state guest for Rahul. We had just requested for his stay and were ready to pay for it as per the norms. There was no such discrimination during our time. Rahuji did not want to stay at any hotel so we had to arrange for other accommodation for him as per SPG instructions and security concerns. On one hand the BJP says we don't cooperate with them and then they give us this kind of treatment," Nirupam added.
Nirupam also condemned sloganeering by BJP activists at Rahul's interaction with students at Vile Parle's NM College. "It was not a political event. The BJP has stooped to a new low. The chief minister should seriously rethink on how he is running the state," Nirupam said.
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