Rahul Gandhi a migratory bird, will be sent back to his place: Gujarat BJP president Jitu Vaghani

Gujarat BJP president Jitu Vaghani

Gujarat BJP president Jitu Vaghani on Sunday called Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi a “migratory bird” who will be sent back to his “place” by the people of Gujarat after the Assembly elections. “Some people who come to Gujarat like migratory birds – birds like Demoiselle crane — will be sent back to their place by the people of Gujarat after the elections in December,” Vaghani said, while addressing a press conference on the Gujarat Gaurav Mahasammelan, which will be jointly addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah at a village near Gandhinagar Monday.

When asked to explain his “migratory bird” comment, Vaghani said, “Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is coming to Gujarat as a migratory bird because before this (election season) how many times did he come to Gujarat, how many times did he express concern for Gujarat?” “It has been the policy and practice of Congresspersons to appear among public only during the elections, and therefore they are away from power,” he said. Rahul has recently carried out two phases of Navsarjan Yatra in Gujarat, just months ahead of the Assembly elections.

On the Gujarat Gaurav Mahasammelan, the state BJP chief said, “This, I think, will probably be the country’s first a such big workers’ convention, for which we have made elaborate arrangements… It (the venue for the event) will have 26 entry and exit points, and 15 parking slots.” Around seven lakh party workers — page pramukhs — are expected to participate in the convention. The event is being held a day after the conclusion of Gujarat Gaurav Yatra, which was launched on October 1 and covered around 4,471 km in 149 of the 182 Assembly constituencies.

Confirming his participation in Moday’s event, Prime Minister Modi tweeted: “Tomorrow in Gandhinagar, I will join Gujarat Gaurav Mahasammelan, which will bring together lakhs of BJP Karyakartas from across Gujarat.” In another tweet, he said: Gujarat Gaurav Yatras covered almost 4500 kms & 149 Assembly seats. People of all age groups & from all sections of society joined the Yatra.”