New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit Gujarat on July 6 to interact with the victims of the recent fire incident in Rajkot and the bridge collapse in Morbi. The visit assumes significance as it comes days after Rahul challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha saying the India bloc will defeat the BJP in the next Gujarat Assembly polls. Rahul had also slammed the PM saying the BJP did not represent all the Hindus in the country.
The remarks provoked violent attacks on the state Congress offices and party workers allegedly by the BJP-backed goons, said party functionaries. Rahul had said the attacks had justified his views about the saffron party. Rahul’s visit is also important as it comes a day after he met the victims of the Hathras stampede in Uttar Pradesh and urged the BJP government to provide all help to the affected persons saying he did not want to play politics over the matter. Around 121 persons lost their lives in the stampede that took place at a religious congregation in Hathras.
According to party functionaries, the case is different in Gujarat where the Congress party has been demanding justice for the victims of the May 25, 2024, Rajkot gaming zone fire incident, in which 33 persons died and the earlier October 30, 2022, Machchhu river bridge collapse in Morbi, in which 141 persons had died.
“We have been seeking justice for the affected persons in these two tragedies, but there has been no significant development. Rahul Gandhi will interact with the families of the victims of the two tragedies. We will keep fighting for justice,” senior Gujarat Congress leader Siddhartha Patel told ETV Bharat.
“Rahul Gandhi will also meet the party workers, who were attacked recently. This will send a strong message and assure the workers that the top leadership is with them in the fight against BJP,” he said.
According to Gujarat CLP leader Amit Chavda, the BJP-backed goons attacked the party office at night after Rahul’s speech on July 1 and the next day attacked the party workers in the presence of the police.
“The police just watched as the goons entered the party offices and attacked our workers. If the BJP wants to fight, they should come in the front,” Chavda told ETV Bharat.
After interacting with the various social groups and party workers, Rahul is expected to hold a meeting with the senior state leaders and discuss ways to strengthen the organisation, said party insiders. On June 27, AICC in-charge of Gujarat Mukul Wasnik reviewed the Lok Sabha results with senior leaders.
“The good thing is we won one Lok Sabha seat out of 26 in the state and our vote share has increased in several seats. Now we must start working hard for the local body polls, which will be held over the next few months. After that our work on the 2027 assembly polls will continue,” said Chavda. “If we could gain 77 out of 182 Assembly seats in 2017 with a good strategy, we can do the same again in 2027. There is anger among the people against the BJP government. We have to capitalize on it,” he added.
Read more: Rahul Gandhi Reaches Aligarh, Meets Kin of Hathras Stampede Victims
