Gujarat BJP rulers using state assembly for political ends: Former BJP chief minister

By A Representative
Former BJP chief minister Suresh Mehta has accused the Gujarat government of "misusing" the state assembly for political ends. Referring to the decision to call one-day state assembly session on January 10, he told media in Ahmedabad that it has been called "without any agenda", adding, "MLAs have been kept in the dark about why the session has been summoned, yet the governor has issued notification for it."
Pointing out that the actual reason behind calling the state assembly session apparently is to pass a resolution in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), though officially nobody in the government is uttering a word on it, Mehta said, "Any resolution by the state government supporting CAA runs counters to the stated position of the Government of India -- that CAA is a Central Act, and states have no say in the matter."
Mehta, who was also state parliamentary affairs and law minister under a previous BJP dispensations in Gujarat, said, "No assembly session can be called without declaring official and unofficial agenda to be taken up in the House. It is a violation of the MLAs' rights. It is very unfortunate that the assembly speaker is not uttering a word on this and accepting the government's ways."
Resigned from BJP in late 2000s after differences with Narendra Modi, who was Gujarat chief minister, Mehta, now his mid-80s, has not joined any political party, though has been part of non-political campaigns against the BJP rule. Those who addressed media along with him were a former Cabinet minister, Pravinsinh Jadeja, and representatives of Aam Aadmi Party and Nationalist Congress Party under the banner of Rashtriya Manch.
Mehta said, the purpose of coming up with CAA resolution was to divide Gujarat on communal lines for political ends. "There was no need to come up with CAA. Who stopped BJP rulers to give citizenship to anyone they liked from a foreign land? The 1955 Act is empowers the Central government", he asserted, quoting from the original 1955 Act as well as CAA.

Yashwant Sinha

"The state assembly needs to discuss several major issues, including tabling of a Public Accounts Committee report on political corruption in Gujarat. The report has been unanimously passed by BJP and Congress MLAs. However, the state government appears to be in no mood to make it public", Mehta said.
Interestingly, Modi, on becoming chief minister in October 2001 had compared Mehta with Lord Krishna, stating, "During Kurukshetra war, Arjun had one charioteer (sarathi), I have two." He was referring to two ex-BJP chief ministers -- Suresh Mehta Keshubhai Patel. Modi replaced Patel after rebellion broke out against the latter in 2001.
Jadeja announced veteran rebel BJP leader Yashwant Sinha's anti-CAA yatra's Gujarat programme, saying, it would start in Mumbai on January 9, crossing Gujarat on January 11. It would pass through major Gujarat cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surendranagar, reaching Ahmedabad on January 18, before proceeding to Udaipur. The yatra would reach Delhi on January 30, the day Gandhiji was martyred.
Jadeja said, leaders from different political parties from across the country would greet or participate in the yatra. When asked whether well-known tribal leader Chhotubhai Vasava and Dalit rights leader Jignesh Mevani, independent MLA, had been approached, he said, "Vasava would greet the yatra in South Gujarat. As for Mevani, he is being contacted".

Comments

Why Venezuela govt granting amnesty to political prisoners isn't a sign of weakness

By Guillermo Barreto On 20 May 2017, during a violent protest planned by sectors of the Venezuelan opposition, 21-year-old Orlando Figuera was attacked by a mob that accused him of being a Chavista. After being stabbed, he was doused with gasoline and set on fire in front of everyone present. Young Orlando was admitted to a hospital with multiple wounds and burns covering 80 percent of his body and died 15 days later, on 4 June.

Walk for peace: Buddhist monks and America’s search for healing

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The #BuddhistMonks in the United States have completed their #WalkForPeace after covering nearly 3,700 kilometers in an arduous journey. They reached Washington, DC yesterday. The journey began at the Huong Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 26, 2025, and concluded in Washington, DC after a 108-day walk. The monks, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, undertook this journey for peace and mindfulness. Their number ranged between 19 and 24. Led by Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara (also known as Sư Tuệ Nhân), a Vietnamese-born monk based in the United States, this “Walk for Peace” reflected deeply on the crisis within American society and the search for inner strength among its people.

Pace bowlers who transcended pace bowling prowess to heights unscaled

By Harsh Thakor* This is my selection and ranking of the most complete and versatile fast bowlers of all time. They are not rated on the basis of statistics or sheer speed, but on all-round pace-bowling skill. I have given preference to technical mastery over raw talent, and versatility over raw pace.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

'Paradigm shift needed': Analyst warns draft electricity policy ignores ecological costs

By A Representative The Ministry of Power’s Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP), 2026 has drawn sharp criticism from power and climate policy analyst Shankar Sharma, who has submitted detailed feedback highlighting what he calls “serious omissions” in the government’s approach to energy transition.

Search This Blog