'Violence punches holes in Gujarat model'

The Congress has held the Gujarat government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responsible for the flare up in the state, which claimed eight lives so far. Accusing Chief Minister Anandiben Patel of pushing the state into lawlessness, the Congress has questioned the need for the administration to resort to lathicharge and firing, instead of engaging in dialogue with the protesting members of the Patel community demanding reservation.

Attributing the current crisis as a failure of Narendra Modi's 'Gujarat Model', both the Congress and Left parties have stated that it has exposed the hollowness of tall claims of inclusive growth in the state.

Congress Communication in-charge Randeep Surjewala said practically the whole state had been impacted; curfew has been imposed in the four main cities of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Mehsana. Thousands of people were injured and hundreds were arrested without a warrant, he alleged. Surjewala asked, why internet, SMS, whatsapp and other services have been shut down for 48 hours.

Reacting to the chief minister's statement that she had not ordered lathicharge and firing, Surjewala said, "This is indeed serious, if this is true. Is Gujarat being run from PMO now?"

However, it's not just the Congress alone, the Left parties too have attributed the arson in Gujarat to the failure of the Gujarat model. CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said, \"That, this (demand for reservation) should come from a fairly well-to-do community is the clearest proof that the Gujarat model is not an inclusive model.\" The agitation has \"thoroughly exposed all the claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been making and all the propaganda that we have heard for more than two years on this so-called Gujarat model\".