Cong targets Modi model of governance

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 27

Accusing the BJP government in Gujarat of deliberately avoiding a dialogue on the ongoing Patel agitation in the state, the Congress today took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by asking him if the reluctance to talk was part of his Gujarat model.

Non-committal on the issue of Patel’s demand for OBC quota in the state, Congress media head Randeep Singh Surjewala today said, “Communities are free to flag their demands. The government should have at least opened a dialogue. Why did the state government allow the situation to get out of hand? Poor governance is at its height and four major Gujarat cities are under curfew.”

The Congress also attacked the BJP government for crushing the agitation and asked the party whether batons were the right replacements for talks.

“Does any elected government brutalise its youths in this inhumane fashion? Is firing on unarmed innocents a solution? Is the principal reason for violence and unrest in Gujarat not the fact that the Patels’ social security cover has broken down leading to their exploitation.