Congressmen want party to withdraw support to Vaghela

In Gandhinagar on Tuesday, Congress observers led by Pranab Mukherjee sought the opinion of around 275 of the total number of 365 party delegates on the issue of continued support to the Shankarsinh Vaghela government in Gujarat.

Delegates who met the team included former chief minister Chhabildas Mehta, former Union minister Urmilaben Patel, Congress Legislature Party leader Amarsinh Chaudhary and state party president C D Patel.

Sources indicate that a good 80 per cent of the delegates interviewed thus far were of the opinion that the Congress should withdraw support to the Vaghela ministry immediately. However, some party legislators such as Manubhai Kotadia, Virjibhai Thumar and Udaysinh Baria expressed apprehension that Vaghela might opt for an immediate dissolution of the assembly in the event the Congress withdrew support.

Vaghela himself, meanwhile, seemed remarkably unperturbed. Asked what he thought the outcome of the Congress deliberations would be, he said, "Only God can decide my future."

"The Congress is supporting my government," he added, "and it has the right to withdraw support at any point. It does not matter, power has never been my goal in life anyway. As long as it lasts, I will rule the state with dignity."

UNI