Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani’s two-day visit to Lucknow was dominated by the issue of the exodus of north Indians from the western state following the alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl last month.
Rupani accused the Congress of fomenting trouble in Gujarat which is likely to trigger a fresh war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition parties.
The Gujarat chief minister was in Lucknow to invite his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath for the unveiling of the 182-metre high Statue of Unity at Sardar Sarovar Dam by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31.
“Yogi had earlier spoken to Rupani over the phone and was assured that action has been taken against those responsible for attacks on north Indians in Gujarat. Therefore, the exodus issue did not figure in talks between the two chief ministers,” an official spokesperson said.
Other officials, however, claimed that the issue came up for discussion during Rupani’s meetings with state leaders. Rupani also met deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, who has earlier worked as the BJP’s in-charge in Gujarat.
The BJP is bound to use Rupani’s visit and his meetings with Adityanath to control the political damage on the issue as the Congress has been consistently raising it for the past few days to gain mileage.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP is bound to use Rupani’s visit and his meetings with Adityanath to control the political damage on the issue as the Congress has been consistently raising it for the past few days to gain mileage.
{{/usCountry}}“The Gujarat chief minister’s move to visit Lucknow to invite not only chief minister Yogi Adityanath but also to extend an invitation to the people of the state to attend the October 31 event is sufficient proof of the BJP’s honest intentions,” said BJP’s state unit spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava.
Rupani spoke about the contribution of the people of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the development of Gujarat and said that the north Indians have blended in Gujarat just as sugar in milk, his observations have evoked mixed reactions.
“It is good that the Gujarat chief minister has visited Lucknow and met Yogi Adityanath. Action should be taken against those responsible for the exodus or else the affected people will give a befitting reply,” president of Bhojpuri Samaj PN Rai said.
However, the Congress was not amused. Leaders of the state unit of the opposition party showed black flags to Rupani as he arrived in Lucknow on Sunday evening. The Congress leaders also released black balloons on Monday as well to protest against the issue.
“The UP CM is not sensitive to the problems of the people. The Gujarat CM is not coming out with the truth on the issue. Rupani is not aware of the meaning of unity,” UP Congress Committee president Raj Babbar said.
“There was an exodus of north Indians in Gujarat and the CM is not following ‘raj dharma’. He is inviting Yogi for the inauguration of the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who worked for the unity of India,” Babbar said.