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Journalism of Courage
THE ALLIANCE between AAP and Congress for the Lok Sabha polls is like a partnership between lame and blind persons, Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil said on Saturday.
He added that the AAP’s decision to contest only two of 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat is akin to the Arvind Kejriwal-led party accepting defeat even before the elections. Paatil also hinted that the BJP would welcome Faisal and Mumtaz Patel — late Congress veteran Ahmed Patel’s children, who were both looking to contest from Bharuch Lok Sabha seat — if they are unhappy with the seat-sharing arrangement. AAP will contest from Bharuch in the upcoming polls.
Congress, meanwhile, dismissed Paatil’s attack as “unfortunate and sad”, underlining he has hurt the sentiments of those who are physically challenged. Referring to a fable, Paatil told media persons, “The lame showed the way to escape the fire and make money by begging together. Later, the blind man felt the weight of the lame person sitting on his shoulder was increasing and he felt betrayed. A similar situation will be seen in Gujarat where a blind and a lame person have come together to win polls.”
“Even elected Congress representatives see no chance of victory. Such an alliance is not going to yield any result,” he added.
He added, “AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava had got only 13 per cent votes in the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat and the BJP had secured 51 per cent of the votes, while the Congress had got 26 per cent.”
“We have a strong base in Bhavnagar and Bharuch and we will win all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat with a margin of five lakh votes (in each seat).”
On buzz over Faisal Patel showing his displeasure over the AAP being given the Bharuch seat, Paatil said, “Many Congress workers will be heartbroken and they may shift to other parties too.”
Asked if Faisal and Mumtaz will get space in the BJP, Paatil said: “Congress leaders and their workers are worried about their existence. They knew that if they entered a coalition, they would cease to exist. The leaders and workers of both parties are unhappy and they will lose their bases. The BJP has always accepted and inducted leaders who left their party and joined us to work for the public.”
Later in the day, Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “In his arrogance of having power, Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil loosely used words such as lame, deaf, and blind to refer to the INDIA alliance. It is an insult to the physically challenged persons… The BJP government is constantly trying to suppress physically challenged persons and taking away their rights… The words have hurt the sentiments of the physically challenged persons.”
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