Senior dissident's suspension unlikely to boost anti-Modi camp

Vadodara, Sep 3 (UNI) The anti-Modi movement in Gujarat spearheaded by former chief minister Keshubhai Patel is unlikely to get a boost following the suspension of senior dissident leader Nalin Bhatt.

According to political observers, the dissidents were not likely to be able to make Bhatt's issue a big one and put Modi in an embarrassing situation as Bhatt is no longer a mass leader.

Since the suspension of Bhatt on August 27, hardly 100 of his supporters, including a few former councillors, had tendered their resignations from the party which would have no impact on the Vadodara city and district units of the BJP, the observers felt.

BJP city president Sabdasharan Brahmabhatt said only 10 of the 27 party workers, who were issued show cause notices for supporting Bhatt in his August 26 road-show in the city, had resigned from the party, and he had forwarded them to the state party president recommending disciplinary action against them too.

While members of the dissident camp now regrouping against Narendra Modi, are very much optimistic about the move, state BJP does not see any threat to the party or its leadership from the rebels in the wake of former minister Bhatt's suspension from the party for his anti-party activities.

The suspended leader, who has been given time till September 5 to show cause as to why he should not be expelled from the party, seems more firm on his stand not to bow down on the issue. Rather, he was planning yet another agitational programme to protest against the ''misdeeds'' of the administration and further embarrass the Modi government.

''There is no question of tendering an apology to the party leadership as I have not done anything wrong by raising the public issues and exposing the local administration for its failure to handle the pre and post-flood situation,'' Bhatt says.

Replying to a query, Bhatt, who had earlier threatened to take the matter to BJP national president Rajnath Singh said he had still two days left with him to reply to the show cause notice issued by state party president Vajubhai Vala.

A defiant Bhatt, who is reportedly in touch with dissident leaders like Keshubhai Patel, Suresh Mehta, Kasiram Rana and Siddharth Parmar, said he would like to resume his agitational programme soon despite the show cause notice and take up the matter with party's central leadership at an appropriate time. Criticising BJP general secretary and party's Gujarat affairs incharge Om Prakash Mathur for his statement justifying the action taken against him, Bhatt said the party owes an answer to the people of Gujarat as to why the posts of chairmen in different state-owned corporations and boards were not being filled up despite repeated promises by the government.

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