Talala (Gir Somnath): Giving a new twist to the Gir lions deaths, Leader of opposition in Gujarat and Congress MLA from Amreli Paresh Dhanani today said that that a possibility of conspiracy to kill the lions to pave way for easy translocation of some of them to poll bound Madhya Pradesh could not be ruled out.

Dhanani told newsmen here today that it should also be kept in mind whether the death of 23 lions of just one family (pride) in Sarasiya vidi under Dalkhaniya range of East Gir in Amreli district has some other reason. ‘The Gir lions were pride of Gujarat and is there a deliberate attempt to push them out of the boundary of Gujarat. Has it all any connection with finding a way to trans-locating them to poll bound MP for political reasons. It is also possible that the lions were either served impure and infected food or killed deliberately through poisoning etc,’ he said.

Notably, a case pertaining to translocation of Gir lions to a Kuno forest in Madhya Pradesh is in the apex court and the matter is hanging in balance for long.

More than five years ago, the Supreme Court, in a prescient order, had called for shifting some lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh to set up a second home for the endangered species “to save it from extinction, due to catastrophes like epidemic” etc

Dhanani’s allegations meant that the BJP government in Gujarat which earlier on was opposing the shifting of lions now want to do it in a veiled manner to derive electoral benefit in poll bound MP.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat BJP today reacted strongly against Dhanani’s statement saying that the statement was ‘nonsensical’, absurd and immature.

Media convener of the party Harshad Patel said that Congress suffers from election phobia and it can stoop any low in giving statements on such occasions. ‘What is the connection between MP election and Gir lions death. A LoP level leader should not have given such a nonsensical’, absurd and immature statement.

DeshGujarat