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Gujarat state Congress Party President Shankersinh Vaghela has urged nonresident Indians, especially those from Gujurat, to help violence-ravaged Gujarat. Vaghela is on a weeks tour of the United States to highlight the conditions in Gujarat and invite investment to the state.
Recently addressing a gathering of about 500 at the Royal Alberts Palace in Fords, New Jersey, the former state chief minister said, I request all the ladies and gentlemen of Indian origin, and especially those who hail from Gujarat, not to desist from investing in Gujarat. Our state is in dire straits at present. Violence has broken the backbone of its economy. And I hope people here understand this fact.
Vaghela said the carnage at Godhra, where 58 died in the torching of a train, the retaliatory riots that followed, the terror attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, and the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, all had a lot in common.
These incidents have their origins in fascist ideology, he said. Being an Indian and from the state of Gujarat, you must have empathized with your compatriots when thousands were butchered and burned alive at the altar of communalism in Gujarat, he added.
There might be an argument about why we (Congress) did not condemn the Godhra carnage and why we castigated the violence thereafter. I state that the Congress condemns every incident of violence equally. I was deeply pained when I heard about the Godhra carnage and my grief had no bounds as I heard the horrid tales of violence thereafter, he said.
Gujarat was in the grip of communal violence earlier this year following the torching of a train and the killing of 58 passengers, mostly volunteers of hardline Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), at Godhra. The retaliatory violence that went on for some three months claimed the lives of at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. Vaghela said if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies like the VHP and the Bajrang Dal link Islam with terrorism, then the post-Godhra violence, too, was nothing less than terrorism.
Vaghela contended that the caretaker BJP government in Gujarat was responsible for Gujarats financial woes. Today, foreign investors will think twice about considering Gujarat for their investments, Vaghela said.
The delegation led by Vaghela includes All India Congress Committee General Secretary Naresh Raval, former Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Narhari Amin, Girish Dani, Vipul Chowdhary, Himanshu Vyas and Suresh Patel.
Before the event, organized by Overseas Friends of Gujarat, delegation members stood in silence to pay homage to those killed in the communal violence in Gujarat.
Recently addressing a gathering of about 500 at the Royal Alberts Palace in Fords, New Jersey, the former state chief minister said, I request all the ladies and gentlemen of Indian origin, and especially those who hail from Gujarat, not to desist from investing in Gujarat. Our state is in dire straits at present. Violence has broken the backbone of its economy. And I hope people here understand this fact.
Vaghela said the carnage at Godhra, where 58 died in the torching of a train, the retaliatory riots that followed, the terror attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, and the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, all had a lot in common.
These incidents have their origins in fascist ideology, he said. Being an Indian and from the state of Gujarat, you must have empathized with your compatriots when thousands were butchered and burned alive at the altar of communalism in Gujarat, he added.
There might be an argument about why we (Congress) did not condemn the Godhra carnage and why we castigated the violence thereafter. I state that the Congress condemns every incident of violence equally. I was deeply pained when I heard about the Godhra carnage and my grief had no bounds as I heard the horrid tales of violence thereafter, he said.
Gujarat was in the grip of communal violence earlier this year following the torching of a train and the killing of 58 passengers, mostly volunteers of hardline Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), at Godhra. The retaliatory violence that went on for some three months claimed the lives of at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. Vaghela said if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies like the VHP and the Bajrang Dal link Islam with terrorism, then the post-Godhra violence, too, was nothing less than terrorism.
Vaghela contended that the caretaker BJP government in Gujarat was responsible for Gujarats financial woes. Today, foreign investors will think twice about considering Gujarat for their investments, Vaghela said.
The delegation led by Vaghela includes All India Congress Committee General Secretary Naresh Raval, former Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Narhari Amin, Girish Dani, Vipul Chowdhary, Himanshu Vyas and Suresh Patel.
Before the event, organized by Overseas Friends of Gujarat, delegation members stood in silence to pay homage to those killed in the communal violence in Gujarat.