Gujarat BJP hits back after Rahul Gandhi flags drugs, crime during Congress yatra

Gujarat BJP ministers said that a stronger India is no longer prepared to tolerate the Congress and that women in Gujarat are the safest in the country

Published on: Dec 3, 2025, 20:59:31 IST

By Maulik Pathak

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Ahmedabad: Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Wednesday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for raising concerns about illegal narcotics and liquor trafficking in the state during the ongoing Congress Jan Aakrosh Yatra.

Gujarat BJP minister of state Rivaba Jadeja, responding to Gandhi’s posts, said on X, “Gujarat’s crime rate against women is merely 1.48%, which is less than half the national average of 4%.” (Representative photo)

In posts on X, Gandhi, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said people — especially women — had told Congress workers during the yatra that rising drug use, illegal liquor, and crime have made Gujarat unsafe.

He questioned which BJP leaders were shielding criminals and accused the state government of failing farmers affected by recent floods.

Hitting back, Gujarat ministers Jitu Vaghani and Rivaba Jadeja said that a stronger India is no longer prepared to tolerate the Congress and that women in Gujarat are the safest in the country.

Gujarat BJP minister of state and Jamnagar MLA Rivaba Jadeja, responding to Gandhi’s posts, said on X, “Gujarat’s crime rate against women is merely 1.48%, which is less than half the national average of 4%. Mothers and sisters are safe in Gujarat – Gujarat was, is, and will remain number one in their security.”

Jadeja further said the people of Gujarat have made up their mind that the BJP will win the 2027 Assembly elections with a thumping majority while Congress will be reduced to single-digit seats.

Gujarat agriculture minister and state government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani said that Congress has been wiped out in 21 states under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership and now rules only in two or three states.

Addressing a conference, Vaghani said that former chief minister late “Vijay Rupani had rightly said that the Congress has reduced itself to a family enterprise”.

Vaghani added that the BJP works for public welfare and that public welfare is its only goal. He said that the government has already paid ₹1,100 crore in compensation to five lakh farmers affected by unseasonal rain.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Darshan Nayak released a list of 538 illegal liquor dens in the state during the concluding event of the party’s Jan Aakrosh Yatra in north Gujarat, demanding action.

State party president Amit Chavda alleged that illegal liquor trade is active even in the hometown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but the police are not taking action.

Speaking via video conference at the Congress Jan Aakrosh rally in Becharaji in Mehsana, former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said the benefits of development in Gujarat are limited to a few.

Pilot said that one percent of the population holds 40% of the country’s wealth and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening.

He added that narcotics worth trillions of rupees are being seized in Gujarat while the state’s Dalits, farmers, labourers and youth are facing severe hardship but the government is not taking action.

He criticised the Centre, saying institutions such as the Election Commission have been hollowed out and the conduct of the Chief Election Commissioner is disappointing as the institutions once known for neutrality now appear weakened.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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