AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Congress has launched a scathing attack on the BJP government, alleging massive corruption across municipalities in the state. From North Gujarat to Saurashtra, the Congress claims BJP-run local bodies are mired in scams, inflated tenders and internal revolts, with even BJP members writing complaints against their own leaders.
Calling the situation “pathetic and corrupt to the core,” the Congress demanded immediate state action, saying the municipal system has become a den of loot while public services collapse.
The storm of allegations against Gujarat’s BJP-ruled municipalities is intensifying — and this time, the thunder comes not just from the Opposition, but from within the BJP’s own ranks.
Gujarat Congress, sharpening its political blades, has accused the ruling party of turning local governance into a “bazaar of corruption” across the state.
Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Dr Hiren Banker dropped a dossier of evidence, asserting that “BJP’s corruption is no longer an allegation — it’s a confession.”
He claimed that BJP’s own leaders are now penning letters against their party-run municipalities, exposing what he called a “systematic loot of public money under saffron cover.”
The Congress highlighted how Amreli district has allegedly become a symbol of the rot. In Chalala Nagar Palika, the internal power struggle has boiled over — 20 out of 24 members have filed a no-confidence motion against the BJP president and vice-president.
Banker said the municipal board has failed to even convene basic meetings, holding only one budget meeting in seven months, leaving members excluded from administrative decisions and citizens deprived of development.
According to Congress, the rot does not stop there. In Central Gujarat’s Lunawada Municipality, Congress revealed shocking details of a swimming pool project worth ₹40.69 lakh, allegedly cleared with manipulated payments.
The complaint, ironically, has been lodged by 11 BJP members against their own president, Kirti Patel. Further, a glaring scam allegedly surfaced in streetlight procurement — lights worth ₹300 were purchased for ₹2,978, turning public funds into private gains.
From Saurashtra’s Upleta to Rajkot, the pattern allegedly repeats. Upleta Municipality, according to Congress, spent ₹20 lakh on tube lights, but each light costing ₹800 was billed at ₹1,900, reflecting what the party called a “factory of fraud” under BJP rule. Banker said, “The BJP has not just normalised corruption; it has institutionalised it.”
The Congress further alleged that the situation in 67 municipalities across Saurashtra-Kutch has reached a breaking point. Municipal treasuries are reportedly empty, and several civic bodies are borrowing money at interest to pay pending electricity bills worth ₹395 crore. Banker mocked, “The BJP talks of development, but its municipalities can’t even keep the lights on.”
Taking a direct swipe at the ruling party, Hiren Banker thundered, “The condition of Gujarat’s municipalities is pathetic — the BJP has reduced them to dens of loot. These are not administrators; they are self-serving tyrants filling their pockets while citizens suffer.”
He demanded immediate and strict action against those involved, urging the state government to stop the bleeding of municipal treasuries before the crisis deepens.
