Modi: ‘The best’

Gandhinagar, Sept. 12: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi displayed his political skills by not reacting as rebel MLAs blasted him at the BJP legislature party meeting shortly before the three-day Assembly session began today.

An expressionless Modi heard the dissidents but pretended as if they were taking up issues too trivial to merit his attention. The chief minister gave the legislators no assurance that their grievances would be looked into.

After the legislators had spoken, the chief minister nonchalantly concluded the meeting, asking the MLAs to work hard in their constituencies for the coming district panchayat elections.

Twenty-three of the 25 districts of the state are under Congress control. As such, the stakes are high for the chief minister, whose popularity will be put to test during the district panchayat or the civic elections, scheduled to be held in November or December.

Senior party leader Bechar Bhadani fired the first salvo, saying he knows of the corrupt practices of many ministers and dared Modi to institute a probe against them to show he is really committed to providing a clean and transparent administration.

Surat legislator Dheeru Gajera was at his acerbic best when he told the chief minister that he should not be talking about party discipline as he himself was indulging in anti-party activities by instigating supporters to target senior leaders like former textiles minister Kashiram Rana.

Gajera challenged Modi to punish those burning effigies of Rana and former chief minister Keshubhai Patel. “Everybody knows who instigated a handful of people to protest against Rana,” he said.

On Saturday, a group of Modi supporters had heckled Rana at a function organised by a corporate house in Surat and did not allow him to speak. Earlier last week, the chief minister had taken a pot shot at Rana at another function held in Surat and an organisation called Gaurav Samiti held demonstrations at the residence of the former textiles minister.

Rana is believed to have called up senior central leaders of the party in Delhi and drawn their attention to the “regular, obnoxious campaign” against him by Modi loyalists.

Gordhan Zadhaphia, who had earlier snubbed Modi by refusing to accept a cabinet berth, handed over to Modi a bunch of pamphlets praising the chief minister and ridiculing dissident.

“We know you are behind this nasty campaign,” he told the chief minister.

Many rebel BJP legislators were heard in the Assembly corridors wondering who had certified Modi as “Number one chief minister”.

The Congress also distributed pamphlets questioning Modi’s number one status.