Ahmedabad: Senior Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela on Tuesday alleged that Gujarat had become "bankrupt" during the 25 years of BJP rule.
People wanted to know what concrete steps Government took in the last 25 years and not just during the tenure of Chief Minister Anandiben Patel who completed two years in the office on May 22, he said.
"BJP is ruling the state for almost 25 years. So it has no right to hold the past Congress Governments responsible to cover up its own failures. It is time BJP Government explained what they have done in these 25 years because people will not be satisfied with the false claims of development," said Vaghela, the Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly.
"Gujarat and its people have become bankrupt, as crores of rupees were spent on publicity drives instead of developing the state....state debt crossed Rs 2,00,000 crore and the people of Gujarat are paying Rs 3,200 crore towards interest on this debt every year," said the former Chief Minister.
The much-hyped 'Vibrant Gujarat Summits' were nothing but an attempt by the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi to "whitewash" his image, he said.
"Our former CM (Modi) spent crores on Vibrant Gujarat Summits not for the development but to improve his tarnished image. Vibrant Gujarat was meant for only his publicity."
More than 60 lakh educated youths in Gujarat were unemployed while 60,000 small and medium industries closed down during the 25 years of BJP rule, he claimed.
"People of Gujarat want to know how many new dams, power plants, government hospitals, schools, colleges and dairies were built in the last 25 years....people's sufferings have only increased," Vaghela said.
