Keeping Shankersinh Vaghela in Congress was a big mistake: Ashok Gehlot

Gujarat Congress in-charge Ashok Gehlot on Thursday tore into former party leader Shankersinh Vaghela and accused him of “betraying” the party at the behest of the ruling BJP.

Gehlot said it was a mistake to keep Vaghela in the Congress for two decades. Addressing Youth Congress workers at a function here, Gehlot lashed out at Vaghela for “orchestrating” cross-voting during the recent Rajya Sabha polls and triggering defection of MLAs. He said Vaghela was acting as per the instructions of the ruling BJP. “We now realise that it was a big mistake to keep Vaghela in the party for the last 20 years. We not only gave him respect, but also made him Union minister, president of the state unit and also the leader of opposition in the Gujarat Assembly,” he said.

Gehlot said Vaghela had assured that he will work as a “disciplined soldier” of the Congress when he joined the party 20 years ago. “When he joined Congress 20 years ago, he gave an assurance that he will never leave the party. But, he didn’t keep his word and betrayed the party,” the former Rajasthan chief minister said. Gehlot claimed Vaghela had deliberately laid “impractical conditions” ahead of the August …read more