Patan: An internal rift within the Gujarat Congress reportedly over a disagreement regarding the appointment of the Patan District SC Morcha president has come out in the public fore. The issue has triggered a war of words between two Congress MLAs, Jignesh Mevani and Kirit Patel.

The dispute intensified during a public event in Patan held to mark the birth anniversary of Veer Meghmaya Satam, where Mevani delivered a sharp and aggressive speech. Without naming anyone directly, Mevani warned, “Anyone who thinks they can harm Hitendra Pithadiya on the soil of Patan should remove such thoughts immediately. We are the people who can shake the Gujarat government, someone like you is nothing before us. And if you have so much arrogance, then go and fall at the place where the BJP government removed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s name and wrote Narendra Modi’s name instead. Only then will you understand.”

In response, Patan MLA Kirit Patel urged restraint, stressing that political leaders must choose their words carefully to maintain social harmony and prevent tensions between communities or classes.

In a video statement, Patel said, “First of all, through the media, I want to say that today was a very proud day for the people of Patan. Veer Meghmaya ji set an excellent example of social unity by sacrificing his life to secure drinking water for Patan. On such an occasion, making such reckless political statements is completely inappropriate. Leaders from the BJP and other parties were present, yet no one made such remarks.”

He further added, “I feel such statements are being made because many people have developed a habit of saying anything in front of the media. I had said earlier as well that speaking irresponsibly about anyone is not right. For the past five days, videos were circulated on social media asking thousands to gather, but only 5 to 25 supporters actually turned up. Those who call themselves mass leaders become mentally frustrated when such a small crowd appears. They suffer from insecurity, lose psychological balance, and end up making such statements which is not acceptable.”

As tensions escalate, the eyes will be on the Congress high command to defuse the situation before it leads to significant political and electoral fallout in North Gujarat ahead of upcoming local body polls.