Valsad (Gujarat), May 21 (IANS) Member of Parliament from Gujarat’s Valsad, Dhaval Patel, on Thursday, alleged that the opposition INDIA bloc has considerably weakened in the wake of recent electoral developments, claiming that this has left Congress leader Rahul Gandhi frustrated.
His remarks came in response to Gandhi’s statement during a public rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli, in which he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah “traitors” and accused them of attacking democratic institutions.
Gandhi said: “When you go back home, when these RSS workers come to you, they will talk about Narendra Modi, they will talk about Amit Shah. You look at them in the face and say, ‘Your Prime Minister is a traitor, your home minister is a traitor, your organisation is a traitor. You have worked to sell out India. You have attacked our organisation, our Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, and Mahatma Gandhi.’ Tell them this.”
Responding to this, Patel said, “The INDIA bloc has completely fallen apart after elections. Their internal contradictions are now visible to everyone.”
He specifically referred to two major alliance partners, stating that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the DMK had distanced themselves from the coalition.
Patel claimed: “The DMK has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requesting separate seating arrangements, and the TMC has also publicly distanced itself from the INDIA bloc.”
He added that this breakdown had created internal instability within the Congress-led opposition alliance and reflected political frustration within its leadership.
Patel also referred to past statements made by senior Congress leaders. He said, “Mallikarjun Kharge had made remarks in Kerala describing Gujaratis as uneducated and foolish, which shows their mindset towards Gujarat and its people.”
He further referred to another political controversy, stating: “Sonia Gandhi had earlier called Narendra Modi a ‘maut ka saudagar’ (merchant of death) when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2007. The people of Gujarat responded democratically to such remarks.”
Patel alleged that repeated criticism of the Prime Minister and the government reflected a broader pattern within the Congress party.
He claimed, “This is not new. The Congress leadership has repeatedly used such language against India’s leadership and institutions. The opposition alliance has lost coherence after the elections. The mandate of the people is clear, and attempts to distort it through statements or alliances will not succeed.”
–IANS
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