Crisis haunts Gujarat as Mehta quits
Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay
The six-month-old Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat was in crisis after the resignation of Industry Minister Suresh Mehta.
Despite Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel's efforts, Mehta refused to withdraw his resignation though he would continue in office to 'fulfil constitutional obligations till I am relieved from the ministry'.
The move has come as a serious blow to the Patel government though the ruling BJP commands 117 out of the 182 seats in the Gujarat assembly.
The dispute between the duo began on Saturday when Mehta blasted the state government following the murder of his confidant Bawuji Jadeja on Thursday in Kutch district.
Six other cabinet ministers also pulled up the state government for its failure to protect a committed BJP worker.
Upset over the chief minister's inaction in spite of his ire, Mehta met Keshubhai today and submitted his resignation. However, Patel did not accept his resignation and asked him to continue in office.
However, a Mehta associate told Rediff On The NeT that Mehta would not go back on his decision as he has been sidelined in party matters ever since the Patel ministry was sworn in.
"After all, Mehta is a former Gujarat chief minister. He has every reason to be upset when his own government fails to take any action in a party worker's murder case," the source added.
Interestingly, the dispute between Mehta and Patel has its roots in the rebellion led by Shankarsinh Vaghela in 1995 which shook the Sangh Parivar's foundation.
However, timely intervention by senior party leaders saved the then BJP government. And Vaghela made peace after the party agreed to replace Patel with Suresh Mehta as chief minister.
However, party hardliners were upset with Mehta and they alleged that he was a 'hand in glove with Vaghela'.
The honeymoon between Vaghela and Mehta did not continue for long as exactly a year later Vaghela split the BJP and formed his own government with the Congress support.
However, within a year Vaghela had to resign as chief minister following differences with the Congress. His confidant Dilip Parikh took over as the compromise candidate.
In no time, the Parikh government was disillusioned with the Congress leadership's interference and the chief minister recommended the dissolution of the assembly, paving the way for a fresh assembly election which saw the BJP regaining power in the state.
With the party entrusting the chief ministership again to Patel, the seeds of dissension were instantly sown as Mehta, too, eyed the post.
Fuelling Mehta's feelings of alienation was the fact he was sidelined by Education Minister Anandiben Patel.
Anandiben, a former Rajya Sabha member, is widely tipped to be the state's next chief minister if Keshubhai Patel steps down for health reasons.
"In spite of his seniority and capability, Mehta has been isolated in the party," a Mehta confidant told Rediff On The NeT, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Though Mehta's supporters claim that nearly 25 MLAs are with him, they are not confident of splitting the party and forming an alternative government with the Congress support.
"We have seen Vaghela's fate. He won only four seats in the February 1998 election. So nobody will dare to split the party," said a Mehta supporter, a minister in the Patel government.
Following the crisis, Patel has cancelled his trip to Delhi tomorrow. This is the fourth time Patel is cancelling his Delhi visit, where he was to discuss the state plan.
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