System failure behind violence

"Such incidents are bound to occur because the Keshubhai Patel government does not know how to rule," Mistry said. Justifying the people’s anger, he said they took recourse to violence because despite the fact that the BJP is in a majority in the SMC, the latter failed to take timely measures to remove garbage which had gathered in the city due to the floods. "I am saying the system has crumbled because there is a some sort of pattern in such incidents one of which recently occurred in Ahmedabad where a bus driver was lynched by the people," Mistry said adding that incidents of mob violence frequently occurring in the State was an eye-opener for those who are in power.

He, however, said that a high-level RJP committee headed by party president Shankersinh Vaghela is already on a visit to the flood-hit city of Surat. "Besides monitoring the flood situation, the committee members will also ensure that the two truck loads of food and blankets that the party has already dispatched to Surat are distributed among the affected people," Mistry said. "The very fact that despite the heavy rains, water from the Tapi river was allowed to accumulate in the nearby dam up to the danger mark speaks volumes of the government’s ignorance about the sensitive matters of technical importance," he added.