The Hindu : Front Page : Rebels use Keshubhai’s speeches for campaign

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Tuesday, Dec 04, 2007
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Rebels use Keshubhai’s speeches for campaign

Manas Dasgupta

Bring out advertisements, in which he criticises Narendra Modi, in regional publications

Keshubhai Patel

GANDHINAGAR: The Sardar Patel Utkarsha Samiti, formed by Bharatiya Janata Party dissidents to fight against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, has published old speeches of veteran leader Keshubhai Patel for use as campaign material.

Mr. Patel, who had initially sounded the bugle of revolt against Mr. Modi, has declined to campaign for his supporters after they sought the Congress ticket. He made it clear that he was a BJP member, and there was no question of campaigning for Congress candidates. But at the same time, the former Chief Minister also turned down all pleas from the BJP central leadership, saying he would not campaign for “Mr. Modi’s BJP.”

“Change in Gujarat”

However, the Samiti on Monday issued a half-page advertisement in some regional dailies using clippings of his speeches and interviews, in which he criticised the “dictatorial” Chief Minister with an appeal to the voters “for a change in Gujarat.”

Asked whether Mr. Patel had given his consent for the advertisement, dissident leader Arvind Patel said there was no question of seeking his consent; they had only used quotes that had appeared in newspapers and magazines.

“The question of consent comes only if we have used his name for something not already in the public realm,” he said. Even after the publication of the advertisement, the former Chief Minister had not raised any objections.

Mr. Patel was away from the State capital and not available for comments.

The advertisement, with a gloomy picture of Mr. Patel, carried a few lines in the Samiti’s name informing the voters that he had decided not to campaign for the BJP because he felt that Gujarat’s interests were being compromised by the present regime. “Realise the sorrow Mr. Patel felt about the BJP and Mr. Modi, and come out in large numbers to vote for a change,” it said.

“Remove the dictator”

It carried a quote from his August 15 address in Surat, asking the people to “remove” the dictator holding the people to ransom. “Today’s weak leaders want to rule over the State only by creating a scare among the people,” it said.

“The government has no money for the poor and the farmers but has huge funds for celebrations and personal publicity. The hunger for personal publicity has consumed the party long ago, and now it is crossing all limits with Mr. Modi’s photograph being displayed even bigger than that of Goddess Amba.”

The people want “power, drinking water, security, but no one is allowed to air the people’s views in the State Assembly,” he was quoted as saying in an interview.

In a direct attack on Mr. Modi’s “Hindutva,” Mr. Patel was quoted as having said in a public meeting in Rajkot that “after using Hindutva, he has given it up, has split up Hindu organisations. Left the families of all those killed in the Godhra train carnage in the lurch, providing them no facilities. Now that the Hindutva card has been used, he is now talking about development.”

With the media campaign hotting up, advertisements were also inserted by the Congress and the BJP against each other, but even the Congress ad was not as strong as that of the Samiti.

Not issued by me: Keshubhai

PTI reports from Gandhinagar:

Mr. Patel said the advertisement was not issued by him, but it was a compilation of his previous speeches.

“I have not given the advertisement. It is a compilation of my speeches given at various places and published in the newspapers. I am not denying that I have not said what has been published, but I have not made the appeal,” he told reporters here.

Asked if he had any objection to the advertisement, Mr. Patel said, “Where is the question of objection?”

When asked if he wanted the people not to vote for the BJP, he said, “I don’t have to say anything more than this.”

Samiti head and dissident MLA Gordhan Zadafia said, “The advertisement was issued with the idea to refresh the memory of the people regarding what Keshubhai Patel had said earlier against Narendra Modi. The advertisement carries verbatim quotes of Keshubhai Patel spoken at different places.”

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar refused to make any comment on Mr. Patel’s reaction to the advertisement.

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