M A I N   N E W S

35 BJP MLAs rebel against Modi

Gandhinagar, March 9
Amid allegations of tapping of their phone calls, over 35 BJP MLAs from Gujarat today met senior party leader Keshubhai Patel to air their grievances against Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s style of functioning.

“All our problems and woes have been expressed to Keshubhai and other senior leaders. It is now up to them to take a decision,” party MLA Purshottam Solanki told reporters after emerging from Patel’s house, where more than 35 MLAs and five MPs held a closed-door meeting with Patel, a known Modi-baiter.

Solanki, however, refused to divulge any details of the crucial meeting but indicated that all “problems” of the MLAs in connection with Modi’s style of functioning were told to Patel, the former Chief Minister.

“The voice of MLAs and even party workers was never heard and their problems were not addressed (by Modi),” Rakesh Rao, BJP MLA from Matar in Kheda district, told reporters.

“This was clearly expressed to the former Chief Minister and senior leaders today,” Rao said.

MLAs and party workers, who had previously abstained from voicing protest against Modi, were also seen going to Patel’s residence today.

This is for the second time that MLAs in such a large number have gathered to express their grievances against Modi. Earlier, a group of MLAs had met at the house of senior MP A K Patel last year.

The MLAs and A K Patel (MP from Mehsana) have alleged that the state government is tapping their phone calls. They have also given a letter in this regard to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The ongoing Budget session of the Assembly also witnessed a furore last week over the phone-tapping issue with the Opposition Congress producing a copy of A K Patel’s letter to Vajpayee and staging a noisy walkout on the issue.

Even Keshubhai Patel had openly expressed his unhappiness with Modi’s style of functioning and had described the situation in Gujarat as ‘mini emergency’. — PTI