AHMEDABAD: Troubles in the Congress continue to mount. On Saturday, former Minister Khumansinh Vasiya and former general secretary of Gujarat Congress Dalpat Vasava joined the Bhartiya Janta party (BJP) in presence of Gujarat BJP chief CR Patil. After Joining BJP, Khumansinh Vansia gave a controversial statement. He said, “I have a strong opinion that if BJP promises to lift the liquor prohibition in Gujarat, then no one can stop BJP from winning all 182 Assembly seats.”
He clarified later: “This is my personal opinion and I am bound to accept the party’s stand on the liquor ban issue.”His statement however spread like wildfire in the state. Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi reacted sharply saying, “The alcohol ban in Gujarat dates back to the time of Mahatma Gandhi. But the alcohol ban has been on paper only for the last 27 years of BJP rule. If today, a BJP leader, who has newly joined, is saying publicly that lifting the ban on alcohol can win it 182 seats, it means that the BJP wants to win the elections by giving free hand to bootleggers.
“Even before this, BJP MP from Bharuch, Mansukh Vasava, had asked for the lifting of alcohol ban,” he added. The Aam Aadmi Party also opposed the BJP leader’s statement. AAP spokesperson Yogesh Jadvani said, “Everyone knows that CR Patil has been a bootlegger. Now, if a leader joins in his presence, it is natural for him to talk about alcohol to make them feel good.”