E-Paper
Congress functionary quits day before Rahul Gandhi’s Gujarat visit
A Congress leader said that Vishwanathsinh Vaghela was close to Hardik Patel, who quit the party this year and joined BJP
The head of Congress’s youth wing in Gujarat quit the party blaming factionalism a day before Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the poll-bound state on Monday to address a rally of booth-level workers ahead of his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
In his resignation letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and state president Jagdish Thakor, Vishwanathsinh Vaghela claimed freedom fighters were no longer respected in Congress and that their photos are not displayed at the party’s office.
Vaghela, 35, who was appointed Gujarat Youth Congress president in January, said that it was not the same party that fought for the country’s freedom. He claimed to have paid ₹70 lakh to Congress for the posts he held in it from 2016 to 2021.
A Congress leader said Vaghela was close to Hardik Patel, who quit the party this year. “...since Hardik left Congress and joined the [ruling] BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party], Vaghela was expected to follow suit,” said the leader, who spoke on conditions of anonymity
Fourteen Gujarat lawmakers have been among Congress leaders, who have switched to the BJP over the last three years. The party has also faced a series of defections nationally.
BJP leader Rutvij Patel said Rahul Gandhi is coming to Gujarat for the party’s poll campaign but a “quit Congress campaign” is going on in the state.
Congress leader Manish Doshi said it was time for leaders to decide whether they want to struggle and fight the injustice Gujarat’s people suffer due to the BJP or take an easy route and join the ruling party. “Congress supported Vaghela and made him the leader of Youth Congress in Gujarat. He was supposed to fight for the youths in Gujarat but he chose to quit. He claims he gave ₹70 lakhs to the party. I want to ask him where did he get the money from? He comes from a very humble financial background. All his allegations are baseless.”
The Congress has planned a 90-day poll campaign in Gujarat. Both Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to be a part of it.
Rahul Gandhi, who addressed a rally at Dahod in central Gujarat in May, will begin his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari on Wednesday.
