Gujarat BJP MLAs more proactive than Opposition in questioning own govt

AHMEDABAD: In Gujarat, it is the BJP leaders, rather than the Opposition, who are speaking out against their own government which was formed after the party bagged 156 seats in the recent polls.  Ketan Inamdar, MLA of Vadodara Savli, has accused the BJP-led management of corruption in Baroda Dairy, while Viramgam BJP MLA Hardik Patel has threatened to launch an agitation over alleged farmers’ exploitation. 

Surat Varachha MLA Kumar Kanani, on the other hand, has criticised many government policies. Following the formation of the government, Vadodara’s Savli MLA Ketan Inamdar began raising questions against his own party. Inamdar has alleged there is rampant corruption in BJP-ruled Baroda District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited (BDCMPUL), popularly known as Baroda Dairy. He accused a few directors of making out-of-turn appointments of their relatives to positions in the dairy, as well as corruption in the awarding of maintenance contracts. 

Inamdar also sat in protest outside the Baroda Dairy. As a result, an Independent, vice-chairman, and acting chairman of Baroda Dairy G B Solanki resigned on February 22. Hardik Patel, who led the Patidar agitation in the state, has been threatening to stage protests against the state government over the state of the farmers in his electoral district.

He wrote a letter to Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel requesting that non-BT cotton be added to the government’s procurement list for the minimum support price (MSP) regime. He also claimed that commercial dealers defraud farmers in the weighing of cotton bales.  In a letter, he also threatened to protest in a Gandhian manner if his demands were not met.

Kishor Kanani, the MLA from Varachha in Surat, has challenged the government on several issues. First, he wrote to the Gujarat CM, stating that students going abroad do not receive loans under the government scheme for six months, jeopardising their future.