NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD: Ahead of the Assembly election in Gujarat, the ruling BJP is facing heat over the Par-Tapi-Narmada river-linking project. The tribals in the state have been protesting against the project, which was announced in this year’s Union budget, and now the echoes of it have reached the national capital.
At a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday, party leaders from Gujarat said the BJP government is rattled because of the continuous protests. The Congress leaders said they would continue agitations till the project is shelved.
“When the BJP felt that there would be losses in the upcoming Assembly election, it decided to put the project on hold. The announcement was not made by the government but by BJP’s Gujarat state chief CR Patil,” said Shaktisinh Gohil, Congress Rajya Sabha MP.
The project envisages transferring of water from the surplus regions of Western Ghats to the deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch, and needs seven dams. Congress MLA and tribal leader Anant Patel demanded a white paper on the project. “How could one accept a BJP leader’s workds as the project was announced by the Centre?”
Congress also alleged the project aimed to only benefit the “industrialist-friends” of the government. “Water has not reached Kutch. It is not available to people in Saurashtra. You are giving water to industrialists. The government should reply,” said Gohil. Incidently, Gujarat minister Kanu Desai on Wednesday told the Assembly that Central government has decided to drop the project.
Modi to visit tribal-dominated Gujarat district
Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the tribal-dominated Dahod area of Gujarat on April 21, state BJP president C R Paatil said on Wednesday. Though there has been no official announcement of the prime minister’s visit, party sources said he was likely to speak at a rally in the region.
Addressing BJP workers in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, Paatil said, “Prime minister Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat on April 21. His first programme in the morning will be held in Dahod.” Referring to the Congress attacking it over the Tapi river-linking project, he said that while Congress organises press conference in Delhi on issues related to Gujarat, BJP workers hold meetings for programme to be organised in tribal areas. On Tuesday, Paatil had said the Centre has decided not to give a go-ahead to the Par-Tapi-Narmada project.