Day after his removal, Thakor warns against ‘those trying to defame Congress leadership’

Speaking to mediapersons at his residence in Ahmedabad, Gohil, whose Rajya Sabha term ends in 2026, said he would work “at the national level and in Gujarat” to strengthen the party. All the leaders of the party had supported him from the heart, he added.

In a video put out hours before Gohil’s press conference, Thakor said, “Attempts are being made to defame those who are honest, those who have never been in illegal financial dealings, those with an unblemished character and the one who has taken up humanitarian causes, which is unfortunate. Beware of those people who are defaming the Congress leadership, those who are talking about Congress leaders being involved in financial corruption and having sold out the party… beware.”

“I want to tell the Congress leadership and the people of Gujarat that if even a dealing of Re 1 is found, bring it to me, even if I am not the president, honourable Rahulji (Gandhi), honourable K C Venugopalji, Shaktisinhji and (legislature party leader) Amitbhai (Chavda) we will take a decision and bring justice,” he added.

Asked about Thakor’s comment, Gohil feigned ignorance about the video, saying: “He is the president, so whatever he is saying he is right, he is a responsible person.” Gohil claimed that having worked with most of the current leaders’ fathers in the former dispensations, he had “good relations with everyone”.

Asked how he would tackle the groupism in the party, he said, “All groups are with me. This is our internal democracy, which some people call groupism. One group puts forth its opinion, that is internal democracy. The real groupism is in the BJP where when Haren Pandya raised a voice of dissent, he was killed.”

Gohil, who was appointed party chief when there is less than a year to go to the Lok Sabha elections, added: “I had become a legislator at a very young age… there might be differences of opinion but my fight is to re-establish the old traditions of Gujarat, where the gap between the rich and poor is less.”

On June 18, he will pay obeisance to Mahatma Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram and hold a padyatra to the party office in Paldi, around 8 km away, to take charge as the Congress state chief. He cited price rise, unemployment and paper leaks among issues to be tackled in Gujarat.