The Tehelka expose on the Gujarat carnage was a "belated attempt" by the Narendra Modi government to boost his sagging image among the voters ahead of forthcoming state assembly elections, Union Textile Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela alleged on Saturday.
"The stirring of post-Godhra communal riots was a belated attempt by the Gujarat chief minister to boost his sagging image among the voters," the minister said in Mumbai, at the sidelines of the sixth DHL CIAe International Fashion Awards.
The senior Congress leader said, "It's a complete Congress wave in Gujarat. Any attempts by the state administration to encash on the sentiments of the people through the over-exposed Godhra episode will have no impact among the voters."
Dismissing queries of negative fallout in the state elections for the Congress, Vaghela said the party is in a strong position and will be able to secure a majority.
"This was just an attempt to deflect public attention from the ongoing infighting within the Gujarat unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party," he added.
"It is more like a fake encounter, to build his own image as hardcore pro-Hindu and trying to revive Hinduisim," the minister alleged.