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Gandhi's Gujarat has become Godse's Gujarat: Sonia

Charging the BJP with 'behaving like power brokers', the Congress on Wednesday alleged that the government machinery in Gujarat had failed to do enough to control violence with an eye on the forthcoming assembly elections.

"If the government wanted, the post-Godhra violence could have been controlled. But they did not do anything as their target is winning the assembly elections," Congress president Sonia Gandhi said in her address at a peace rally in Porbandar attended by a large crowd from across Saurashtra region.

"Its a matter of tragedy that some people are bent upon turning Gandhi's Gujarat to Godse's Gujarat," she said in her first public speech after the defeat of the opposition's censure motion on the Gujarat violence in the Lok Sabha.

Gandhi said her visits to Keerti mandir, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, always gave her inspiration to fight for the downtrodden.

She lamented that Gujarat, a state known for prosperity and pluralism, has been turned into a land rooted in fundamentalism communal rage.

Incidentally, Gujarat got full-fledged statehood on this day 42 years ago.

Gandhi said the 'poison of hatred' would have spread elsewhere had the Congress not spearheaded a campaign against the fundamentalism of the BJP.

"The time has come to launch a do-or-die battle on three fronts - corruption, communalism and maladministration," she said.

"The overwhelming turn-out at the rally showed that the people of Gujarat wanted immediate change," AICC general secretary Kamal Nath said.

"Modi's much talked about 'Apna Gujarat' has turned out to be a slogan of hatred and communal unrest," Gujarat Congress president Amarsinh Chaudhary said.

He asserted that the efforts to saffronise Gujarat will not yield any result.

Later in the evening, Sonia Gandhi led a march in Ahmedabad for restoring peace and communal harmony in violence-ravaged Gujarat.

A large number of women, carrying placards appealing for communal harmony, joined Gandhi in the peace march from the Vivekanand statue in Ellis Bridge area to Sardar gardan in Laldarwaja area.

She was accompanied by AICC general secretary in-charge of Gujarat Kamal Nath, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dixit, senior party leaders Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, Kumari Shailja, Gujarat Congress president Amarsinh Choudhary and leader of opposition in the state assembly Naresh Rawal.

The Congress president also addressed a large number of party workers.

PTI

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