Anandiben scotches speculations about her removal as CM

Ahmedabad

After Gujarat BJP dismissed the rumors yesterday by issuing a formal statement from the state party headquarters, today Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel herself called widespread rumours of her removal as the CM as totally baseless. Anandiben said this after meeting ailing Bhaiyy Maharaj in Indore. Anandiben is in Ujjain town of Madhya Pradesh today to attend the Sihanstha Maha Kumbh.

“Nothing like that is on,” Anandiben told reporters at Indore in Madhya Pradesh where she had gone to participate in the ongoing Simhastha Kumbh at Ujjain and meet spiritual guru Bhaiyu Maharaj.

She blamed media for linking her and state Health Minister Nitin Patel’s visit to Delhi, suggesting that a change of leadership in Gujarat was imminent.

The Gujarat CM arrived at Indore to meet spiritual guru Bhaiyu Maharaj at his Vijay Nagar residence. When mediapersons asked her about reports of change of leadership, she quipped “At present, I am here in Indore.”

“You (media) had linked two different visits to Delhi to come to this conclusion. I had gone to Delhi for the meeting related to water crisis and Nitinbhai (Nitin Patel, health minister) had gone to Delhi on the NEET issue,” she said.

Asked whether the BJP’s political base has suffered because of Patel quota agitation, she said, “At present there is no Patel agitation going on in the state. This protest is completely over now.”

Asked about the purpose of her over one-and-a-half hour meeting with the spiritual guru, with whom recently RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also had a meeting, Anandiben said she took his guidance for agriculture and education and would try to implement his suggestions in Gujarat.

Yesterday evening when rumors on ‘change of guard’ in Gujarat were on peak, Anandiben after attending a function in Ahmedabad had in reply to media queries reacted, “leave it, you will come to know” with smile on face.

– DeshGujarat