Vaghela remarks at minorities meet leave Congress red-faced

Unmindful that his words may have offended some in the audience,Vaghela continued,Your low turnout will not do. It must be 90 per cent minimum. The reason,the Congress already bears the accusation of being a party of Muslims,so the onus of ensuring victory lies on Muslims.

In 2002 and 2007,there was Godhra8230;Akshardham8230;bringing the burnt bodies to Ahmedabad to divide people. All elections were fought on Hindu vs Muslims issue8230;, he said.

Later,Bharuch MLA Iqbal Patel agreed that Vaghelas utterances were indeed harsh and hurtful and that it could be seen from the mood of the audience immediately after the speech.

Asked if any group could be instructed to vote for a party by way of right,he said this might lead a to reaction in the community later.

GPCC president Arjun Modhwadia said it was typical of Vaghela to use such tone in community meetings but he should have understood the popular sentiment at the convention.

I later spoke to him on this and he told me that his words might have been harsh but the spirit was not wrong, Modhwadia said.