Keshubhai to reply to BJP's show-cause notice

Ahmedabad, Dec 22 (UNI) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's arch rival and former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, who was served a show cause notice by the by the BJP High Command yesterday for alleged anti-party activities in the recently concluded Gujarat Assembly Polls, today said he would give a reply to the notice once he received a copy of the same.

Mr Patel told reporters here, : ''It would have been better if I had been called (to Delhi) for my views (my clarification) before deciding anything.'' The BJP high command had served the notice to Mr Patel, asking him to reply within seven days.

Besides Mr Patel, the BJP had initiated action against three other leaders. They are MP Kashiram Rana and two suspended MPs -- Vallabh Kathiria and Soma Patel.

Since last several months, Keshubhai had been comparing Mr Modi with Adolf Hitler and had reportedly remarked that a ''mini-emergency like situation'' prevailed in Gujarat during the run-up to the state elections.

He had also launched an indirect anti-Modi campaign by supporting BJP dissidents, led by former Home Minister Gordhan Zadaphia, who under the title of Sardar Patel Utkarsh Samiti came out with a number of advertisements with Keshubhai's photo appealing in the vernacular newspapers just a few days ahead of the elections, calling for a ''change in the dictatorial regime.'' Meanwhile, BJP state spokesman Vijay Roopani this evening said the party has issued suspension notices to six other members for their anti-party activities.

They are A K Patel (Mehsana), Fakirbhai Chauhan, Jivrajbhai Dharikavala (both Surat), Chandresh Patel (Jamnagar), Arvind Patel (Patan) and Lalitbhai Mehta (Vankaner), Mr Roopani said.

UNI