Ahmedabad

Ever since the Gujarat government has started organizing Vibrant Gujarat summits, the Congress party has attempted its best to play a role of villain.

In past, then leader of opposition in Gujarat had sent a letter to then union Finance minister seeking Income Tax probe against those who promise investment in Gujarat during the Vibrant Gujarat summit!

While non-cooperation of Congress-led UPA government to Vibrant Gujarat summit is now a matter of past, as Congress is no more a ruling party in centre, the latest attempt against the summit is a ‘bandh call’ by party’s state unit.

Gujarat Congress gave a call for a statewide bandh on January 10, barring four cities, to protest against the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, saying that the state government is wasting tax payers’ money at a time when farmers are suffering due to low minimum support price (MSP).

“We had asked for permission to protest against the Vibrant Gujarat Summit during three days of the summit from January 11, but we were denied permission yesterday,” Gujarat state unit Congress chief Arjun Modhvadia said.

“We have given a call for a Gujarat bandh on January 10, but have spared the four major cities of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara from it. All the villages, towns and small cities will join the bandh,” Modhvadia said.

“The reason why we have spared the four cities is because many NRIs who have come here to take part in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, would be stranded,” he said.

Modhvadia also said that the Congress has supported the call of various farmers’ bodies to take a march to the venue of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar on January 11.

Some farmers organisations protesting against low MSP for cotton and groundnut have called for a march on the very first day of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

He said that the Congress would protest against the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in front of Gandhi Ashram on January 12 and January 13, despite denial of permission.

Leader of the Congress Legislative Party Shankarsinh Vaghela said that the Gujarat state government has covered the roadside slum areas by erecting partitions made of big green cloth, closed several main roads for commuters, closed schools in the vicinity of the event’s venue and disallowed street vendors in the city.

Instead of protecting people, the police is only protecting VIPs, he said.

“They claim that they neutralised a boat of suspected terrorists. If terrorists killed themselves by setting their vessel on fire, where are their bodies? This is a bogus claim,” Vaghela alleged.

© with inputs from PTI