Gandhinagar: Within a week after his appointment as incharge of Gujarat Congress, Maharashtra Lok Sabha MP and Rahul Gandhi confidant Rajeev Satav has deleted his tweet in which he extended support to Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar and her agitation against the Sardar Sarovar Narmada dam, the project which is considered a lifeline of Gujarat.

In his August 2017 tweet, Rajeev Satav had attached a letter he had written to Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar. In this letter, Rajeev had among other things said: I am aware of the fact that this project (Narmada dam) violates basic human rights under the garb of development… I extend my full support to your movement.

Satav was appointed incharge of Gujarat Congress by Congress president Rahul Gandhi on 30th March. Within three days, he has deleted his tweet, apparently because Narmada dam is a sentimental issue for the people of Gujarat.

Screenshots of Satav’s deleted tweet are attached to this article.

Original link of the tweet:

https://twitter.com/SATAVRAJEEV/status/894102886057103360

The original tweet is still visible through Google Catch:

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:xahuHNHV7PIJ:https://twitter.com/SATAVRAJEEV/status/894102886057103360+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in

The photo(letter to Medha Patkar) tweeted is available on this link:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGh9zt1VoAEziKH.jpg

Update: Leader of Opposition, Paresh Dhanani has in a statement said that permission to fill water upto highest level in Sardar Sarovar Narmada dam was because of Medha Patkar.

Relevant portion of Dhanani’s statement in support of Satav reads: Medha Patkar’s agitation put pressure on Madhya Pradesh government due to which those displaced were paid rightful compensation for resettlement. And therefore Gujarat could get permission to store water upto 138.92 meter capacity in Sardar Sarovar dam. If Medha Patkar had not put pressure on Madhya Pradesh government, permission to store water upto its full capacity could not be obtained even after erection of gates. Permission to store water is thanks to Medha Patkar’s agitation. Rajeev Satavji had supported Medha Patkar’s agitation for good of Gujarat.

This argument doesn’t stand because permission of impounding water in the reservoir upto its full level was cleared in June 2017 itself, way before Satav supported Patkar in August 2017. Patkar was fasting against storage of water upto full level when Satav supported her through a letter. There’s no clarification on why the tweet was deleted. There’s also no clarification on remark ‘…in garb of development’. If everything was fine, why the tweet was deleted, the question remains unanswered.

DeshGujarat