Only one community responsible for illegal constructions and encroachments in Gujarat: Minister
Gandhinagar, Feb 25 (PTI): Gujarat minister Jagdish Vishwakarma on Tuesday said a particular community is only responsible for illegal constructions and encroachments in the state, a remark contested by lone Muslim MLA of Congress Imran Khedawala in the legislative assembly.
Without taking names, Vishwakarma also said leaders of a particular community are responsible for such illegal encroachments, and by doing so, they are putting Gujarat and India's pride at stake.
The Minister of State for Cooperation was addressing the House on the motion of thanks to Governor Acharya Devvrat.
The governor addressed the House on the first day of the Budget session on February 19.
Vishwakarma made these remarks while responding to Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Amit Chavda's comments criticising the BJP government for "bulldozer action".
Chavda said many legally-constructed houses and colonies were razed by the government in the recent past.
"Legally built houses were demolished in Odhav, Juhapura, Keshavpura in Ahmedabad, and Anand, Dwarka and Ambaji. Poor people suffered due to this bulldozer action. Instead of fulfilling your promise of giving houses, you are demolishing poor people's houses," said Chavda.
Why does this bulldozer not demolish illegal constructions of large corporates or wealthy middlemen working for the BJP, he asked.
Vishwakarma hit back, saying Congress leaders keep mum when the houses of Hindus are demolished.
"I want to respond to those complaining about demolitions in Gujarat. I want to ask who stays (illegally) near Chandola Lake in Ahmedabad. Be it Chandola Lake, or Dwarka or Somnath, you will find people from only one particular community who have done illegal encroachment in those areas," the minister said.
He was referring to the detention of 52 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from the areas surrounding Chandola Lake last year and subsequent deportation of 16 of them.
"Leaders of a particular community are responsible for such illegal encroachments and by doing so, they are putting Gujarat and India's pride at stake," the minister said, invoking a strong rebuttal from Congress MLA Imran Khedawala.
"These comments are an insult to my community," the MLA from Jamalpur-Khadia seat in Ahmedabad said.
The minister replied saying he didn't take any name in his remarks.
"I have not named anyone. I want to ask Congress....Why are people from only one community responsible for most illegal constructions and encroachments in Gujarat? The government and the people of Gujarat won't tolerate this," said Vishwakarma.
The minister further said a senior RTI activist "who keeps several lawyers" gives funds to Congress.
"They (Congress) will not interfere if a Hindu's house is demolished," he added without elaborating.
Senior BJP MLA and ex-Speaker Ramanlal Vora said the education system created by Lord Macaulay under British rule adversely impacted education in the country.
"Everyone knows the grandfather of Akbar or any other Mughal emperor. But, children do not know who was the grandfather of Mahatma Gandhi or Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, because it was never taught in schools. That is because of the Macaulay education system," said Vora.
He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a new National Education Policy to remove this Macaulay education system.
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'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
