BJP rebels knock on Congress doors for admission
New Delhi, Oct 12 (UNI) BJP rebels against Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat are negotiating with the Congress leadership for joining the party, top sources said.
A group of three BJP leaders including former Gujarat Chief Minister Suresh Mehta, BJP MP from Rajkot Valabbhai Kathiria and former Gujarat Minister Gordhan Zadafia have been in touch with the Congress leadership both at state and central levels for the last several days and a decision may be taken in a couple of days, the sources confirmed.
These leaders have been holding consultative meetings at the residence of former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and have been organising Patidar community meetings at several places in the state, including Surat and Rajkot, for the last several months.
The state level panel which is interacting with the rebel BJP leaders consisted of Gujarat Pradesh Congress President Bharat Solanki, State Congress Legislative Party leader Arjun Motwadia, Union Textile Minister Shankar Singh Vaghela, Minister of State for Railways Naranbhai Rathwa and one more leader.
After the names are cleared at the state level, the matter will come up before the Apex panel for a final clearance. This panel will consist of AICC General Secretary B K Hariprasad, Union Minister of State Pritviraj Chauhan and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, sources said.
The rebel sources, which have publically maintained that they have kept 'all options open', said if they were knocking the doors of the Congress, the BJP leadership should be held responsible because none of their grievances were addressed by the leadership for three long years.
The BJP which have refused to take note of the rebellion, however, today indicated that the party may be in the mood to act against the rebellion when senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said there could be an announcement soon.
UNI